Chevy & GMC Vans

The axles do need to come out...

Not the rear axle housing.

Jim

Cool, the axles come out so easy; don't even have to remove the wheels. Thanks for the insight.

And you only really need to pull them far enough out to clear the carrier.

Good Luck, Jim

Been getting quotes to have the axle re-geared. So expensive!
I just got a $900 quote, but with used gears, only $700. He says $150 just in bearings alone.

Here I had my idea it was going to cost me $200 parts and $250 in labor. I can't find anyone near this price. So frustrating!

Yup...expensive! I just bought a master install kit on E-bay for $141 and change. A shop is getting through their jobber for more money. You are also paying a LOT for the expertise to do the job...good thing you don't have AWD as the price is more than double.

Wow, I found a guy that will do it for $150 labor, plus parts (gears, bearings, etc) which he says will be about $300. More than I wanted to spend, but a real deal from all the quotes I've received.

$150 is cheap enough for labor. Just be careful that he does it right or you'll be out another $500. Is he warrantying his work or will he stand behind it? Do you have some references you can call?

Well, my $150 contact fell through.
I bought 3.73 gears from GEARSRUS.COM and an install kit (bolts, all bearings, seals, RTV, etc) from Autozone, all for $270 and found a local shop to put it in today for $350 labor. I hope it's correct when they are finished. This is going to make such a difference, remember, I'm running 2.24s right now! 3.73 will be a all together different van! I'll report back.

Looking forward to the pics with the new tires.

Don't forget to reprogram for the gear change and yes, you'll definitely feel the difference. My van pulls so much better now with the 4.10's. It doesn't downshift on every hill like before and it takes off from stops so much easier.

I actually went against your advice and did 3.73. The few calculators I used showed this would take it back to stock, for maximum mpg. It is fantastic, all is right again with the world. I do still have to adjust my Jet2000 speedo calibration device. I haven't a GPS to match the speed, maybe I can download a free app.

I saw where you went to 3.73's and it makes sense where you are. If it was real hilly and you were running an AWD which is heavier, then it would have made more sense to go 4.10's. Just glad you went to a better gear overall...your tranny will be happier.

LaGrasta wrote:I'm running 2.24s right now!

Is this a typo? If not, how in the heck did your van end up with this ratio?

That was a typo. He was running 3.23's.

The Van drove awesome, I really like the new power delivery with the 3.73 gearing. The new taller tires rolled smooth and quite, very impressive at speed with the cruise control engaged. The trans temps never got crazy, 220 max when really in the hills. The outside temps were really cool so that helped too I'm sure.

Now the trans needs swapped! Yeah, I knew it was coming, now with 176k and really putting stress on it with the 3.23 gears all those years, it took it's toll. It's now slipping pretty bad and in fact I'm suspicious it hurt my MPG during my trip due to a slipping converter, and I was in 3rd gear, not OD most of the time. I averaged 14.5 mpg. Does that make sense?

My 4L60e quotes thus far have ranged anywhere from $600 to $1200. Hmmm. I'll be doing the install myself.