Posted: 5/16/2026 9:33:52 AM EDT
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Looking at swapping the factory 3.23's out of my 2017 Silverado for 4.10. I've never done this, not sure of what brand is worth a damn, etc. Did a lot of top end work to the truck last year, plus the slightly larger/heavier tires I run this seems like a logical upgrade. The truck is 4wd so gotta do both front and back. I got an estimate for Motive Gears but I don't know if that's a good brand or one to avoid. Appreciate any feedback/insight! |
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OP, I've done every mod to a car or truck you can imagine, or helped a friend do theirs. The one thing I HATE is setting up axles. Too much of an art. Find a good shop with a lot of experience. Jeep specialists tend to do a lot of them. And BTW, you are absolutely right to make the change with bigger aftermarket wheels and tires. Not re-gearing after such a swap is a leading cause of transmission and u-joint failure. |
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If you know what size gears you need and have a decent pull-a-part around, you may be able to find a set of OEM gears for dirt cheap. And maybe get lucky and they'll be on a decent limited slip carrier. I've had good luck with yukon's gears and their rebuild/install kit off summit. |
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Cheaper gear sets tend to be noisy. Swapping gears and /or differential carriers is part art and part vodoo. You need some specialized tools and some technical knowledge, or a good Coach. If you make a rookie mistake, typically every thing gets ruined and you start over with new parts. Find a local 4x4 shop with a good reputation. If they supply the parts they will guarantee everything. |
| I'd like to tackle this myself but lack of a lift/no desire to do it on my back in the driveway...along with knowing full well if I screw something up even slightly it's an almost guaranteed catastrophic failure...I'm subbing this one out. I did an afm delete/cam/headers last year so I'm pretty optimistic about how this will compliment the power gains. |
| I would do some research and see if there are some decent axle shops around you. They could give you more info and a better idea of what's involved. |
BikerNut:
Normal people like motorcycles. Real people like motorcycles.
People who don't like motorcycles are just... weird.
Normal people like motorcycles. Real people like motorcycles.
People who don't like motorcycles are just... weird.
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Originally Posted By Gator96: Just 33's from stock 31's. Nothing wild. 3.43s would be the same relative ratio with that tire size. As far as manufacture. Yukon gears seem to be the high end parts. As a professional mechanic of 20 years. Pay someone else to set the gears up. I be done two mud trucks for friends. I won’t do a street car. It’s too much trial and error to get them right. |
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Originally Posted By VVinci: OP, I've done every mod to a car or truck you can imagine, or helped a friend do theirs. The one thing I HATE is setting up axles. Too much of an art. It's really not though. Establish pinion depth and then set backlash. I have never had a come back. But I also have the tools to properly select pinion shim thickness. Even if you have to make dummy bearings from scratch gear set up is only intimidating because people make it so. |
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Doing gears is something for someone with experience, AND the correct tools. Get it wrong and youll have gear noise/whine and premature wear or catastrophic failure. Far as quality brand gears....do your research or ask a professional shop that does this regularly. Ive talked to a few gear guys and what they describe is quite the process to get it right. Im a damn good shade tree mechanic, but wouldnt try this without taking the time for a deep dive; hours of youtube instructional vids, shop manuals, talking to professionals and buying the proper tools. Another option is to just buy a crate axle. |
The Bob Ross of excitement and motivation
| I ordered the Motive set yesterday. Going to have a performance shop I've used for some stuff before do it. I'd like to do it myself but there's too many variables and specialized tools that I'm afraid of fucking it up. Looking forward to seeing what it does for the driveability/torque gains. |
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Originally Posted By whiskerz: As others said it is a little skill and a little luck. As someone who has set up 100's of differentials. Parts quality is the biggest causer of gear noise. Or gross incompetence if you run a pattern and it sucks and you ship it, that's on you. It's really not that hard. Even if you have to make your own setup bearings you can shade tree this easily. |