The 4.88 mega thread!!

pretty much exactly the same as a 2nd gen

 

Again,my Jeep experience says buy the gears from the shop installing them.Less issues.

 

I get that. But all the gears come from the same place (direct from the manufacture) whether I purchase from them, I bring my own, etc. it's not like theirs are superior in any way. The only benifit is if ANYthing goes wrong it's 100% on them. For all we know, I could have experienced noise with ones bought from them. Going straight to the gears as a scapegoat is BS.

 

I agree.

 

This sounds like a great option as I need the ECGS bushing. Did you do the swap or have a shop do it for you?

Edit: Never mind I saw your answers. I'm either going this route or making a trip to SDHQ.

 

I wonder if you could send your front clamshell to ECGS and have them reset the gears. At least you could still use the truck in 2 wheel drive. If they open it up and say install was set up wrong at least you have ammo to go back and recover some of your cost from that shop.

 

I had a shop install them. I'm getting up in age and the thought of doing it on Jack stands is a little much. I did the xchange method due to the early reports of problems in the 3rd gens with the bushings and leakage problems. Basically I don't have to worry about the toyota warranty and got a five year warranty through Nitro and the shop that installed them.

 

I feel you dude. I got my gears in 3 days (February 23rd).
Sent them to be REM resurfaced. Got them back March 5th (7 day turnaround)
Took my truck and gears to the shop on March 15th.
March 23rd - 8 days later determined that ECGS sent the wrong front gear.
ECGS overnights a different carrier (20 hours, received on March 27th). Drove that part to the shop that day.
Mechanic says my truck will be ready today (friday March 30th). But in mechanic talk that probably means tomorrow or Monday.

I have been truckless for over two weeks. A fucking fortune in uber fees and sore leg muscles from biking everywhere.

So yeah, I know what it is to wait. Dying to get it back!

Watch - when I get it back, there's going to to be an issue and I'll need to return it to the shop for another week... Did I just jinx myself? Luckily I'm not in the slightest superstitious.

 

Truck drives great with the 4.88's. Smooth through the power band, no noise on braking in 2 or 4 wheel. It's like my Tacoma's balls finally dropped.

 

After driving for 3 days with the 4.88's, I notice them most during highway driving. No more hard downshifts to 4th gear on small inclines and there is definitely a little more umph when passing someone at high speeds (60+). Cruise control is definitely less of a gear circus. I don't really notice them all that much on the get go or anywhere from 0-45. All in all, I give it the thumbs up. Waiting for the OV Tune to become more solid before I bite that bullet. Then upgraded suspension. Then new wheels. Then tent setup. Then I'm broke.

But yeah, 4.88's are a welcome (almost necessary) addition to the 2016+ tacos. If you got the money, do it to it.

 

What size of tires are you currently running?

 

285/75/r16 - basically a 32.5" tire.

 

Ecgs 4.88 gears Vs nitro 4.88 gears


Which one and why?

 

What are you comparing? ECGS uses Nitro gears.

 

I didnt know that. I see people say theyre using ecgs gears so i assumed they also make makes besides nitro

 

Any mods to your truck other than tires? Wondering how the gears do with a stock or close to stock truck. I have sliders, skids, and a little heavier tires but it's not like I'm building an overlanding rig.

 

ECGS offers a swap out service. They send you the complete clamshell and 3rd member with the Nitro gears already installed and setup properly and you just swap them out and send your stock stuff back. Great service if you are mechanically inclined and want to save a bunch of money on installation. Since setting up the gears involves a bit of black magic and sorcery and I don't have any reputable shops around me that practice the dark arts I went with this option. ECGS offers confidence that the gear setup will be done right (the rest of the install is on you and your skills)
Yukon I believe is the other gear manufacturer for 4.88s

 

Great input. Ive heard the same from a shop im going to use. Basically im paying for the labor to remove and install and the gear. Since they reimburse you for your core, what you estimate they charge after you get your reimbursement back? Maybe 7-1000?

 

No, ends up being about $1,500 depending on what you get.
I trust ECGS to set it up correctly though so it's peace of mind for me that it won't have to get taken apart again. Last truck I had needed a locker installed, got charged $500 for labor (me removing and bringing in the 3rd member and new bearings and locker) for just doing the rear. I figure that for front and rear that equates to $1000 labor to just set up gears not including parts and not including removing them from the truck. I figure that going through ECGS the $1,500 breaks down to gears($635), new ECGS bushing ($45 mandatory if you are lifting in my opinion), solid spacer($45) and $775 labor to set it all up. Totally worth it to me cause I have confidence that it's set up right. There are very few shops that set gears on my island and the one I trust the most requires me to bring the 3rd and clamshell in cause they dont want the truck there taking up space while the work is done so I would have to remove them then get a ride to the shop to drop it off then wait for it to get done then get a ride to go pick it back up then go install them. With the swap out service I have it all right there ready to go. Pull out the stock stuff, install the new one then drop the stock stuff back into the box and send it out. 1 day worth of work and you are up and running. Saved myself at least $1,450-$2,000 on labor and a couple days of downtime if I had sent it to the shop

 

Exactly!