Labor for putting in 3.73s & trac-loc

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wood_e

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I just got quoted $400 for labor to put in some gears and a trac-loc.

Is that insanely overpriced?
 
Does this mean you just leave the car there and they do it all? If so probably a fair price for a days work. Good time to replace all the bushings, and check the bearings etc.
 
If you drive the car into the shop stock, and drive out with gears installed that is a good price.

I brought just my carrier to the shop that did mine and they charged me $180.
 
Yeah that's what I gathered. I just didn't realize it was such a job. Maybe I'm better off getting an empty pumpkin and going from there - just swap them?
 
If you can pick up a spare pumpkin, and just take that to them, it will save you some money. Only thing about that is that you would have to drop the diff out and swap it yourself once they are done. Also, don't bring an empty one though, get one that is complete so they have all the bearings and everything that they need when they swap in the gears and the trak-lok unit.
 
kustomizingkid said:
Why the hell would you not use new bearing when you swap the new stuff in?
Click to expand...

My thoughts exactly...

It's already out, why not replace the bearings which have likely seen tens of millions of revolutions? Doesn't add much cost...


$400 is reasonable. Setting up a rearend is a pretty exacting process and, depending on many variables... could be rather time consuming. Or... it could take next to no time at all; just depends how it works out.
 
400 sounds reasonable to me also. Cost me 225 a axle on my truck. I took the axles up their and the 225 covered install on new true-tracs, ring and pinions and complete bearings and seals. That was the third rearend i cracked so the whole rear axle was contaminated again and everything needed to be changed out. Plus it only took them a day to do it.
 
I paid around $300 but $300-400 is pretty standard around here.

And I agree with everyone saying to replace the bearings. Your paying the labor already so why wouldn't you?
 
I've done it both ways. Obviously if anything in the diff has failed, you need to put new bearings in or it is very likely you will be doing it again very soon. Also, probably a good idea if the car has a lot of miles on it, just because you are there. However I have done plenty of gear swaps on cars under 100K miles, and as long as there isn't any pitting or discoloration, there's no reason you can't re-use the bearings.
 
I'll post up some pics of the bearings that came out of my carrier which had 140k on it and was grandpa and grandma owned and driven.
 
My car was previously owned by an old man, and the pinion bearing was practically seized when I put the 3.73s in. On the other hand, all the bearings were perfectly fine in my crown vic when I rebuilt the trak-lok in it at about 275K, and I never did anything other than beat the hell out of that car. Like I said, in theory they shouldn't wear out, and it probably has more to do with regular fluid changes than how you drive the car.
 
I dunno... the bearing in my Vic looked mint at 105k of police and my abuse... the bearings in the grandpa carrier were SHOT.
 
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