lifted97

I really want to regear the blue turd to 4.56 but dont want to pay the big money to have someone else install it... Is this a No No or is this something I can handle?

lifted98_f150

yeah dude its not that hard at all...first off you will need new pinion bearings and races just make sure you do the bearing preload correctly and if you go to far you have to replace the crush sleeve and re do it... they are not reuseable once they have been crushed too much... what i have done in the past is since i was using the same axle housing and just swappin gears i use the same side bearing and pinion shims by doing this my pattern and my backlash has been close to perfect... just be sure you use a dial indicator and check all of the measurements.

Robd

It's very easy. Did mine about a month ago for the first time. Go to Youtube do a search. There are a ton of them on there showing how to do it. Take your time ,make sure backlash is in specs and you will be fine.

thepuma

pay for it cause if you do it wrong you can blow up your axle pretty much it will destroy the carrier

racin4ds

iTrader: (1)

This is very true, I have had great luck myself as long as you use a QUALITY gear set! 95% of the time I have been able to reuse the same pinion shims and carrier shims and my settings come out perfect. The trick is definitely getting the preload on the pinion bearing and crushing the crush sleeve, those things take some serious torque!!! We usually use a 4ft breaker bar and that still takes some force!

JCP281

Its not as bad as people try to make it sound. Its very doable. Just do your research and like RobD said...YOUTUBE. As long as you get your measurements within spec it will be good to go.

good luck with it, let us know how it goes.

pickupsrule

Just remember the saying " it's not the mechanic, it's the tools".
Tools man, use the right tools. Beg, borrow, steal. For the love of all that is sacred and holy, use the right tools. Other than that, I would bet you can do it.

ama828

I've done gears in a 8", 9", and 8.8"

It is not easy by any means, but its very doable.

XtributeX

I put in a Limited Slip Diff myself.

http://www.motorz.tv/blog/2668/ford-f150-gear-swap/

JCP281

Words from a wise man. I remember when i started as a tech it took quite a while for me to do somethings...until me and the tool guy had a chat and i got into the right stuff. makes jobs SOOOOOO much easier.