Used 4.88 gears

Bought some used 4.88 nitro gears off someone local. According to him everything is all put together but I was wondering if I took all this to a mechanic would it be all I need? I was just a bit weary because I know there should be shims and other things. Thanks in advance!

 

Crap……I would never buy used gears
Is there any wear marks on the ring gear teeth?

 

There isn’t that much wear to be honest, the guy only used them for a little under a year and around 5k miles

 

Problem with used gears is that they have already been broken in. The metal has meshed in a certain way (gear pattern) that probably will not be replicated when you install it on your truck. Some future problems can arise from this. Just a heads up.

 

I agree with the above mentioned about future possible issues, however an experienced driveline guy can set you straight. Just make sure you replace all the bearings and races for it. Don't reuse the bearings. If all the measurements are done like backlash and runout and gear pattern is okay then you should be fine. This is a hunting gear set so it doesn't have to be timed

 

We wouldn’t touch that job in our shop. No way of knowing how the gears were setup previously and they are likely to end up noisy if the new pattern doesn’t match the old wear.

 

The reasons above……bad juju
Get your money back if you can

 

I was wondering if a shop wouldn’t want to install due to a good chance of an unhappy customer and them not knowing if they were setup correctly to begin with.
I’d think the cost of proper install is as much or more than the gears themselves, so I can’t imagine the draw to used.

 

Back when I was building Jeeps, a diff setup was about $500 in labor alone.

 

All of the above. I would never trust/install used gears.

 

I wouldn't be quite so fearful of a used gear set. If it isn't showing any signs of damage, abnormal wear, or spun bearings they'll be just fine once setup to spec.

Buying a gear set all you can expect to get is a ring and pinion. Bearings, hardware, shims, etc. come in an install kit which you will want to purchase.

 

Geez. It’s just a gear set, not the Space Shuttle, find a shop that knows what there are doing, and get their professional advice with the used gears in hand. They are probably fine. Most people don’t abuse their shit then try to sell it to unsuspecting people.

 

The issue here is not that a shop may not know how to set them up correct or that there is something wrong with the gears, it’s that with used gears there is already a certain mesh that has been worn into the gears and any deviation away from that may very well cause noise. Now it would probably live just fine, even my 4.88’s are not quiet and haven’t been since day 1, but when you charge someone potentially multiple thousands of dollars to install parts, even when they provide them, there is a good chance they are going to be upset. That is a risk that is just not worth it to many shops.

 

Correct, it’s not rocket science, but it’s not Legos either.

It’s kind of like reusing a camshaft and lifters. The old-school camshafts, solids and hydraulics,
when broken in, the lifters and the cam lobes mate.

If at some point, a new set of lifters are installed, or the lifter locations were switched, it’s a 50-50 chance on whether the lifters will eat the cam lobes off.

The same situation when installing used gears. If they are able to be set up nearly identical like the first time they were installed, there shouldn’t be a problem. If the gear lash is not set up to that identical previous pattern, gear noise and extreme wear can be a major issue.

 

It depends what you got. Is it just the ring and pinions or is it both 3rd members? If 3rd members, bolt those suckers up and fill them. If just the ring and pinion, you can have a shop install them but will most likely need to buy shims and I would do the ECGS clamshell while you are at it.

 

That’s a great point……but the pinion is sitting in the bottom of a box

 

That's so weird. Pictures didn't show up when I first looked. Yeah, I would pass on that.

 

"All put together".....shows pinion at the bottom of a box.

The mesh is already set into the gear, so you're either hoping to set it up with the exact same pattern (good luck with that), or you're going to have an awfully loud and abnormally wearing set of gears. So yes, the gears themselves may be fine, but assembly of them into the 3rd members to achieve a reliable assembled gearset is not worth the risk.

But hey, save a few hundred but spend thousands on installation and master install kit. Makes sense...

 

It'll fucking work just fine. I say go for it OP. But then again, what the hell do I know.

Carry on

 

Re-read what I wrote. Keywords are “get professional advice”. That ain’t shitposters on TW, no offence.