No. Gear sets are lapped at the factory and are a matched set. Attempting to run two different gears together will result in gear noise and eventual failure.
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No. Once the crush sleeve's tension between the bearings in released it cannot hold the proper tension again. This is also true if a crush sleeve is over-crushed during installation. It must be discarded and replaced with a new one.
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Put the transmission in neutral and jack up both tires. Turn one tire. If the other tire spins the opposite direction you have an open differential, and if it spins the same direction you have a posi or a locker.
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A limited slip or positraction differential typically uses some form of clutches that bind up the differential, providing traction to the both tires. The clutches will slip to some extent to allow tires to turn at different speeds on corners. Some limited slip differentials are more aggressive than others, and some can be set up or "pre-loaded" more or less aggressively. Limited slip units require a special gear oil additive and may chatter when turning. Clutch packs may also wear with time and require replacement.
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Here's 4 Reasons To Change Your Gear Ratio.
If you have larger than stock tires on your vehicle, the benefits of gearing CANNOT BE MATCHED BY ANY OTHER MODIFICATION TO THE VEHICLE!
By regearing it is guaranteed that:
1. TORQUE TO THE REAR AXLE WILL BE GREATLY IMPROVED
Even a simple change from a 31" diameter tire to a 33" diameter tire will affect the amount of available torque by 10%.
2. STRESS TO THE DRIVELINE WILL BE GREATLY LESSENED
Modern day transmissions cost $600 or more to perform a basic overhaul. Driving with even a 10% larger tire will result in the transmission being under the same load as always being driven on an incline. The transmission may not suddenly fail, but the life will definitely be reduced by thousands of miles.
3. ENGINE EFFICIENCY WILL BE REGAINED
RPM alone does not affect fuel mileage. An undergeared vehicle (as the result of oversized tires) will result in a substantial loss of fuel mileage. Also, just as with the transmission, your engine life will greatly be reduced.
4. SPEEDOMETER/ODOMETER ACCURACY WILL BE REGAINED
With kits in the $100+ range to calibrate speedometers after tire swaps, it seems pretty important to have an accurate speedometer, which can also be fixed with a simple gear change.
Don't put a bandage on a serious problem. By installing the proper gear ratio, easily determined with our gear calculators, you can save thousands of dollars and days of vehicle downtime, plus have a little fun to boot.
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It is nearly impossible to measure the preload on a carrier because it is in contact with the pinion at the time of assembly and therefore is receiving resistance from it as well. A carrier should have to be loaded in with some resistance, such as a few hits from a dead blow hammer. It should not simply load in by hand, and it should not take a huge amount of force to put into place.
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On a crush sleeve design differential it usually takes between three hundred (300) and four hundred 400) foot pounds of torque to crush the crush sleeve. Over the years I have used huge breaker bars and/or very strong air operated impact wrenches to crush the crush sleeve.
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Yes. It is not uncommon to gain up to a third of a rotation of "slop" in your driveline after a locker has been installed. This is perfectly normal, and is all part of how the locker operates.
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When installing a used gear, pay most of your attention to the pattern on the coast side of the gear. After years of use the face of the gear can become worn and make it very difficult to read any sort of pattern on it.
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Do NOT use bearing grease on your carrier bearings or pinion bearings when setting up your differential. This could cause premature failure from the oil not having the ability to lurbicate the bearings properly. Use clean gear oil only to pre-lubricate your bearings during the install.
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Jack up one tire if you have an open diff, or both tires if you have a working posi or locking differential. Rotate the tire one full revolution for posis and lockers and 2 full revolutions for open diffs. Carefully count the number of full revolutions the driveshaft makes. This is your gear ratio. In other words, if the drive shaft turns 3 ¾ turns, you probably have a 3.73 gear ratio. Turning the tire for twice the number of full revolutions and dividing the drive shaft revolutions by two will give you a more accurate reading.
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Differential Gear Ratio determines the number of times the drive shaft (or pinion) will rotate for each turn of the wheels (or ring gear). So if you have a 3.73:1 gear ratio the drive shaft turns 3.73 times for every turn of the wheel.
Gear ratio is calculated by dividing the number of teeth on the ring gear by the number of teeth on the pinion gear. The higher the number, the lower the ratio: a 5.29 gear has a lower ratio than a 4.10 gear. With a lower gear ratio the drive shaft (and thus the engine) turns more for each revolution of the wheel, delivering more power and torque to the wheel for any given speed. Lower ratios are generally desirable when going off-road. Higher ratios are better for freeway driving since they run at lower RPM’s and offer better fuel economy.
Changing tire size affects the final drive ratio. Switching from a 30" tire to a 35" tire changes the final drive ratio by about 17%. This may drop the engine out of its' "power band" and result in poor performance and fuel economy. To restore performance you must change the gear ratio to compensate for the change in tire size. If you originally had 3.07 gears you need a ratio that is approximately 17% lower, such as 3.55. If you want to increase off road performance you might want a 4.10 or lower ratio.
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A clunking sound that only occurs while turning is a result of broken or damaged spider gears. Spider gears do not move at all while traveling in a straight line. If this is the case then the spiders will need to be replaced and possibly the carrier as well. Be sure to inspect the ring and pinion to be sure broken debris did not damage it as well.
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All new gear sets require a break-in period to prevent damage from overheating. After driving the first 15 or 20 miles it is best to let the differential cool before proceeding. I recommend at least 500 miles before towing. I also recommend towing for very short distances (less than 15 miles) and letting the differential cool before continuing during the first 45 towing miles. This may seem unnecessary but I have seen many differentials damaged from being loaded before the gear set was broken in.
I also recommend changing the gear oil after the first 500 miles. This will remove any metal particles or phosphorus coating that has come from the new gear set.
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Whirring noise only while decelerating at any or all speeds is most likely caused by bad pinion bearings or loose pinion bearing preload, and almost never by bad ring and pinion gears.
A howl or whine during acceleration over a small or large speed range is usually caused by worn ring and pinion gears or improper gear set up.
Rumbling or whirring at speeds over about 20 mph can be caused by worn carrier bearings. The noise may change while turning.
Regular clunking every few feet may indicate broken ring or pinion gears.
Banging or clunking only on corners can be caused by broken spider gears, lack of sufficient positraction lubrication, or worn positraction clutches.
Rumble while turning may indicate bad wheel bearings.
A steady vibration that increases with the vehicle’s speed can be caused by worn u-joints or an out of balance driveshaft.
Clunking only when starting to move or getting on and off the gas might be loose yokes, bad u-joints or worn transfer case or transmission parts.
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It is most likely a result of the gear not being broken in properly or driven "too hard, too soon." When this happens, the gear oil breaks down and the resulting temperature inside the differential causes the face of the gear to wear away exposing the softer metal underneath. When this happens the gear will wear down more and more until the gear completely fails.
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