Can it be done......

gary.h

gary.h

Active Member
Joined
Nov 4, 2013
Location
Colfax
About 5k miles ago I regeared my jku and installed a grizzly locker in the rear axle. My driving for work has increased significantly and I would prefer to go back to my old LSD and save up for a selectable locker. Can I simply swap out carriers and use the same exact shims since the ring and pinion are the same matched pair and have such little mileage? Can I reuse the ring gear bolts?
 
Bolts, maybe but probably not recommended. Thickness of shim pack will change for sure.
 
Will I have to mess with pinion depth as well? If that's the case, I'll just leave it as is.
 
I don't know enough to comment about that. I changed a carrier once (took an open out and put in a tru-trac) and did not mess with pinion depth. I changed/moved shims until I felt like I had an appropriate amount of backlash and moved on. Maybe I got lucky, but it worked for me and I wouldn't be scared to try again.
 
You will not need to touch the pinion at all. You only need to get the backlash and bearing pre-load correct on the carrier. Get new ring gear bolts and use red thread locker. If you have a dial indicator and can measure the backlash as-is you need to match it when you install the original carrier.
 
I'm not sure how many JK regears I've done but it's north of 20. Most of them will setup with the factory carrier shims. I've had to add a little pinion shim on a few and on a couple had to add carrier shims to get the backlash correct but it was only a few. I'd say there is an 8 out of 10 chance it will be fine. Try and have someone that has done it before to come verify it once you get it back together. I'd also replace the bolts and use Red lock-tite.
 
Back
Top