I am going to change from 3.73 to 4.88. I have 170,000 miles and I was curious if you guys think I should change all the bearings including the carrier or if I should do a simple gear swap? I am not sure how long those bearings are good for. Also does anyone know any kind of price range from what I see I am looking at somewheres around 2k if I have randys ring and pinion do it does this sound rite? That was with a master overhaul kit new gears front and rear with their recommended oil. Is there anything else I should be thinking about?

Thanks again

P.S. when are they going to come out with a hunting smilie?

 

Just swap the gears, the rear end bearings are good for over 600K miles easy as long as YOU don't ruin them somehow.

 

Agree with Snowseeker, unless the bearings are bad there's no reason to change them. By the way the title is a bit misleading; you are asking about bearings, not ring and pinion gears.

 

2k for just parts alone? That's very high and even then if that includes labor that's still pricey. I ordered my gears from him but if you email him he can cut you a deal on the gears, just ask him what's the best price he can give you.

I paid just under $700 for 5.13 gears + master install kits for both front and rear axles. I ordered my master install kits from 4wheelonline.com because they had the cheapest price on install kits and you might be able to find the gears from them cheaper also I didn't because I needed Dana 50 gears and 4wheelonline didn't carry them. Also I would say if your going to do new gears you might as well do master install kits while you have it all apart. The cheapest I found for a shop to do my gears was $600 for both axles, I supply the parts and gear oil. Just call around locally and see what they can do, I started with a labor price of $1500 so you definitely can find cheaper.

 

Usually you always replace all the bearings in the rear end...The one's on the carrier are usually toast at 100k...They will work but they take a beating...Front diff should be fine.
I would do all the bearing in the rear esp with a gear change.

 

You definitely want new carrier and pinion bearings. That's just part of the deal, and it'll come with the master overhaul kit. Since the axle shafts are coming out anyway, though, now would be a good time to at least examine everything else at the ends of the axle, including the outer bearings and seals. I would plan to replace them and be pleasantly surprised if it turned out everything was still perfect. At 170k miles, they could be great or they could be worn, just depends. Then again, if I don't anticipate ever tearing the rear axle apart again but do want to keep the truck for another 100k or more miles, then I'd probably just replace them anyway. Won't be much more in parts or labor, and you can have a little peace of mind.

As far as price, $1k per axle sounds about right for parts and labor for what amounts to rebuilding the axle. Overhaul kits cost money, often more than twice what the actual gears themselves cost, and it's not something you want to do yourself, so a reputable shop will typically charge you for their time and expertise (and standing behind it if it turns out they screwed something up). Typically you're looking at around $150 for R&P, $450 for master overhaul kits, and let's say $50 for new gear oil and shop supplies (or more), which leaves only about $350 for labor, about 3.5 to 4 hours worth of labor at most shop rates (wild rip-off rates not included), which is pretty good. Even if they leave the axle under the truck, which they probably will, there's still a lot of work involved in gutting the axle (tires come off, ends are undone, shafts pulled out, driveshaft disconnected, pinion nut removed, yoke removed, carrier caps and shims removed, carrier removed, pinion gear removed, and some stuff I'm sure I'm forgetting), getting the old bearings off, cleaning everything up (brake cleaner works wonders), putting new bearings on, new seals in, new pinion gear with new pinion bearings being slid into place with yoke and either a shim stack to experiment with or crush sleeve to deal with (god help them if they don't have at least a 3/4" impact for that crush sleeve or if they end up crushing it too far and having to grab a new one), carrier with new ring gear added back in and capped with shims and begin the experimentation with instrumentation until backlash is set correctly, and on and on. At least that's how it is on lighter 4x4 axles, not sure about the Sterling 10.5. It's not terribly challenging or exciting a job for those who know how and have done it a million times already, but it is time consuming and must be done correctly.