New Gear Breakin

[68PowerWagon]

I have done many heat cycles on my new gears. Mainly because my work is 15-20 minutes away & fits perfectly into what they recommend. My question is do I need to run the truck in 4X4 to work harden the front gear sets?

 

[G. Mcpherson]

I would think it's the same process.

 

[crazy jerry]

yep go find some dirt roads

 

[Mountaineer83]

That is a great question! My shop just called and my truck is ready to be picked up. Must not have needed a new carrier either as his quote was spot on. Total is $2308. But I'll ask about the carrier when I go pay them.

I should have it back tonight! Super pumped!

 

[68PowerWagon]

That is a great question! My shop just called and my truck is ready to be picked up. Must not have needed a new carrier either as his quote was spot on. Total is $2308. But I'll ask about the carrier when I go pay them.

I should have it back tonight! Super pumped!

Wish I could get a straight answer on that! I don't understand why some need carrier & some don't. Be nice if a user on here that installs gears could chime in. Maybe there is a work around where shims are used or something like that. All I know is I spent a grand more than you for more or less the same thing!

 

[Halligan]

I'm sure you guys already know but make sure drain and refill the diff oil after the first 500-1000 miles to flush out the nasty wear in metal/material from your gears.

 

[68PowerWagon]

I'm sure you guys already know but make sure drain and refill the diff oil after the first 500-1000 miles to flush out the nasty wear in metal/material from your gears.

Yeah I was planning on that. Odd thing was my installer stated it was not really necessary? I guess if you think about it most people do not drain diff oil after 500 miles when it's new. Either way I will be doing it for piece of mind. I am going to do mine right after I work harden it with the trailer behind it here in a few weeks. A lot of shops say to heat cycle the gears a couple times with a heavy load to completely break them in.

 

[Travelin Ram]

I have gone so far on some of mine as to remove the rear driveshaft and break in the front gears driving in front wheel drive. Of course that’s not possible on most transfer cases these days. And I only do that kind of thing because I’m OCD when it comes to machinery. In the real world the front diff will never see sustained high loads like the rear does.

Just idling around they’re getting polished on the coast side, not the drive side.

What I usually do with new 4x4’s is just operate them in 4WD whenever the opportunity presents; dirt, rain, snow, etc.

I always change break in oil. I do my own gears, it’s not particularly difficult as long as you are patient and don’t mind investing in a few specialty tools.

 

[68PowerWagon]

I always change break in oil. I do my own gears, it’s not particularly difficult as long as you are patient and don’t mind investing in a few specialty tools.

Aah great! Someone who has been in there. Why are we hearing conflicting reports of some 4th gen 2500's needing a different carrier & others don't?

 

[Travelin Ram]

I can’t say it’s something I do often enough to be intimately familiar with all the myriad parts combinations. I have never needed to research that particular application , but it’s common to have carriers that have a break point in the carrier size. E.G. maybe 3.73 and lower is one size and > 3.73 is a different size. In such a situation a truck going 3.42 to 4.1 would need a new carrier, while an otherwise identical truck could regear from 3.92 to 4.56 on the original carrier.

I know at some points in time Ram has -and may still for all I know- use different axles for the gas vs Diesel 2500.

Some aftermarket gear vendors also offer the option in a few situations to purchase a ring and pinion made to place a larger ring gear -say 4.1- on a small diameter carrier that typically is used for lower ratios.

You can research the available carrier and gear options from sites like ARB and Eaton to get insights into a particular application. Companies like East Coast Gear Supply are valuable sources of info and expertise.

On my personal projects the original carriers usually end up at the scrapyard because I’ll put in a locker. I do have a lot of respect for the AAM helical “anti spin” LSD and that would probably stay in place unless I was building a very hardcore rig.

 

[Mountaineer83]

My guy told me the 4.10 is where the carrier changes. So, I guess anyone with 3.73 or down need a new carrier, but the 4.10 trucks do not and have the correct carrier from the factory. I had 4.10 gears factory.

As for break in period, my inspection and oil change is included in the $2300 he charged me This guy is good. He has 30 reviews on google, every single one is 5 stars.

His wife, who runs the store front, gave me a form with the correct break in procedure, my current mileage, and the mileage that I need to return for my oil change and inspection. They did two of the three heat cycles before I picked it up. I did one just now on the way home by stopping for dinner midway.

I cant speak highly enough about him. They are super quite (Yukon btw), and I can already tell a difference and I didnt get over 2500 rpm. She hit 6th on the interstate and never shifted once, even at 60-65 on our hills here in WV.

 

[68PowerWagon]

My guy told me the 4.10 is where the carrier changes. So, I guess anyone with 3.73 or down need a new carrier, but the 4.10 trucks do not and have the correct carrier from the factory. I had 4.10 gears factory.

As for break in period, my inspection and oil change is included in the $2300 he charged me This guy is good. He has 30 reviews on google, every single one is 5 stars.

His wife, who runs the store front, gave me a form with the correct break in procedure, my current mileage, and the mileage that I need to return for my oil change and inspection. They did two of the three heat cycles before I picked it up. I did one just now on the way home by stopping for dinner midway.

I cant speak highly enough about him. They are super quite (Yukon btw), and I can already tell a difference and I didnt get over 2500 rpm. She hit 6th on the interstate and never shifted once, even at 60-65 on our hills here in WV.

Thanks for that info. I swear I seen some guys on here that had the 3.73's like myself that didn't have to have a different carrier. Oh well no sense harping on it... it's done & I love the new set up. It's amazing isn't it? Hills where the truck would normally have to down shift now crawl right up with ease. You went all the way up to 4.88's didn't you due to non stock tires?

 

[Mountaineer83]

Thanks for that info. I swear I seen some guys on here that had the 3.73's like myself that didn't have to have a different carrier. Oh well no sense harping on it... it's done & I love the new set up. It's amazing isn't it? Hills where the truck would normally have to down shift now crawl right up with ease. You went all the way up to 4.88's didn't you due to non stock tires?

Yep, went 4.88, mostly because I already had 4.10 and 4.56 wasn't enough to justify the swap. A you said, it's amazing now just how nice it drives. My mechanic called back this morning because he was out when i picked it up. He couldn't get over it.

Initially he feared I was going to low, because he had a 2019 cummins, but he was so impressed he took a video and is putting it on his Facebook and website. He couldn't stop taling about it. He think it's as close to the experience of a diesel as you can get now. His words, not min . But I agree. It gets to 6th a d just stays there.

I talked to him for over 15 min on the phone this morning just over how awesome it is and breaking them in. He did say it is a good idea if possible to run it in 4 wheel some during break in. So I'll do that.

But for anyone close to Charleston, WV, this guy is amazing. Hit me up and I will give e you his info for anyone wanting a swap. It's worth the drive.

He noticed a slight noise on deceleration he said, but I didnt. I think he may be hearing the MDS kicking in. I cant hear them at all and I'm super picky and hear everything. I am more then pleased with this mod so far.

 

[Mountaineer83]

Oh, he did have to modify the front case a little he said which is necessary on them all. A little grinding and a couple slots for the pins. But no carrier change.

 

[68PowerWagon]

Yep, went 4.88, mostly because I already had 4.10 and 4.56 wasn't enough to justify the swap. A you said, it's amazing now just how nice it drives. My mechanic called back this morning because he was out when i picked it up. He couldn't get over it.

Initially he feared I was going to low, because he had a 2019 cummins, but he was so impressed he took a video and is putting it on his Facebook and website. He couldn't stop taling about it. He think it's as close to the experience of a diesel as you can get now. His words, not min . But I agree. It gets to 6th a d just stays there.

I talked to him for over 15 min on the phone this morning just over how awesome it is and breaking them in. He did say it is a good idea if possible to run it in 4 wheel some during break in. So I'll do that.

But for anyone close to Charleston, WV, this guy is amazing. Hit me up and I will give e you his info for anyone wanting a swap. It's worth the drive.

He noticed a slight noise on deceleration he said, but I didnt. I think he may be hearing the MDS kicking in. I cant hear them at all and I'm super picky and hear everything. I am more then pleased with this mod so far.

Are you on stock tires? If so, I bet it's going to be a great stump puller! On my old gear set I used to hear some noise decelerating around 60-65mph. Now I am still hearing a little bit but it's more like 55-60 mph range. Yeah I heard that most guys were having to have a little grinding done to make it all fit correctly. Glad you are happy with yours so far. Now I have to recover from this hit of money so I can buy a tuner.

 

[Mountaineer83]

Are you on stock tires? If so, I bet it's going to be a great stump puller! On my old gear set I used to hear some noise decelerating around 60-65mph. Now I am still hearing a little bit but it's more like 55-60 mph range. Yeah I heard that most guys were having to have a little grinding done to make it all fit correctly. Glad you are happy with yours so far. Now I have to recover from this hit of money so I can buy a tuner.

I am one size above stock. I have 275/65/20 which is .5" taller. I'm getting the same decel noise around 55-60, but nothing more than stock as you mentioned. I had to really listen to determine if it was tires, the MDS, or the gears. Had he not mentioned it, I'd probably never have heard it.

But it isn't bad at al .

 

[Bldrinker]

Link to Facebook video. I have 4:10’s and may swap to 4:88’s

 

[crazy jerry]

Aah great! Someone who has been in there. Why are we hearing conflicting reports of some 4th gen 2500's needing a different carrier & others don't?

make some phone calls if you want to know for sure. heres what i suspect. some of the front gearsets need a spacer if using the factory carrier. there must be another carrier available that eliminates the spacer. your shop either wasnt aware they could of just used a spacer or they simply refused to use a spacer and swapped carriers.

 

[Mountaineer83]

Link to Facebook video. I have 4:10’s and may swap to 4:88’s

https://m.facebook.com/drivelineservice/posts/?ref=page_internal&mt_nav=0

He said it may take a bit for the video to show up, but if I see it il let you know.

If you need any video of the rpms, gear selection, etc. Just let me know!

But even though I haven't been over 3k rpm yet, I can tell. I'm running 45 and it goes to 5th and it likes it, oddly enough, running 75 in 6th seems like the sweet spot as well. It's hard to explain how amazing this truck feels with new gearing.

My 5.0 mustang went 3.08 to 3.73, and wasnt all that different. This truck, whole new beast.