PNWTreeOctopus
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- #841
Updates:
All right @cruiseroutfit wins the day for a great shop. They actually picked up the phone. I spoke with Jason, and he was really helpful and walked me through my beginner questions. I'm excited to do business with them when I get the logistics figured out....which requires torfab to call me back...those guys are apparently very very busy. I used their contact form a couple of weeks ago, but haven't had a response yet.
So as of 2/22/22, gears remain a hot commodity and stock fluctuates very very rapidly. At this point im not going to be particular about various brands or gears, but rather vendors who sell them, (There is a fascinating thread about Nitro Gears in the vendor section called Nitro Gear and Axle Group buy. Lots to read there) as I want to deal with folks who know customer service. This is worth more to than the most rock bottom prices at this moment in time.
Jason was kind enough to explain his thoughts on the Eaton E-lockers vs. ARB air lockers. Cost is pretty similar when you factor the compressor into the equation. I think I could be happy with either. One critical thing for me to consider is if my chosen installer will work with ARB lockers. Not everyone is apparently willing (Zuk is a good example of this) to deal with fitting them due to the brass air line. I know I said I'm leaning towards the ARB's, but I think I could be happy with either. I'm eager to see what torfab has to say.
As for DVS, I called and their message says "due to unprecedented call volumes please email us, we cant guarantee a call back" so I have an e-mail into those folks too.
additionally, I have a gear shop up here: Driveline Service of Bellingham. The owner Rich put in a new front pinion seal for me and was really nice to work with. Ive talked with him about re-gearing in the past, but not installing lockers. He won't warranty gears for me unless I buy them from him. No idea what he sells, but I'll try and give him a ring again today.
Finally, It looks like a 3-4 week wait on lockers from cruiser outfitters, they don't have a complete set of either Eaton or ARB's for an 80 right now. So under the best of circumstances it is a stretch to have this project completed by the first week of April, which was my goal. I was hoping to have this thing geared for battle as we are planning a trip to southeast UT with the kids. They've never been, and its been a long time since we've explored the backcountry there. We are also considering a move from town to a spot south of bellingham this spring, and that might complicate a trip to UT.
So I may be heading to UT unlocked and with 315's running stock gears, or I might be moving.
PS-My front seals and my cooling system all appear to be not leaking. This is great news. The idle is sitting around 600rpm, but I haven't driven very much since I last had the battery ground disconnected. I'll monitor this, but it is vastly better than the previous idle of 450rpm. So I'm feeling pretty happy there. I think that the truck feels a bit better under acceleration, possibly more powerful now that the injectors are clean, but this is what I want to feel and very very subjective.
All right @cruiseroutfit wins the day for a great shop. They actually picked up the phone. I spoke with Jason, and he was really helpful and walked me through my beginner questions. I'm excited to do business with them when I get the logistics figured out....which requires torfab to call me back...those guys are apparently very very busy. I used their contact form a couple of weeks ago, but haven't had a response yet.
So as of 2/22/22, gears remain a hot commodity and stock fluctuates very very rapidly. At this point im not going to be particular about various brands or gears, but rather vendors who sell them, (There is a fascinating thread about Nitro Gears in the vendor section called Nitro Gear and Axle Group buy. Lots to read there) as I want to deal with folks who know customer service. This is worth more to than the most rock bottom prices at this moment in time.
Jason was kind enough to explain his thoughts on the Eaton E-lockers vs. ARB air lockers. Cost is pretty similar when you factor the compressor into the equation. I think I could be happy with either. One critical thing for me to consider is if my chosen installer will work with ARB lockers. Not everyone is apparently willing (Zuk is a good example of this) to deal with fitting them due to the brass air line. I know I said I'm leaning towards the ARB's, but I think I could be happy with either. I'm eager to see what torfab has to say.
As for DVS, I called and their message says "due to unprecedented call volumes please email us, we cant guarantee a call back" so I have an e-mail into those folks too.
additionally, I have a gear shop up here: Driveline Service of Bellingham. The owner Rich put in a new front pinion seal for me and was really nice to work with. Ive talked with him about re-gearing in the past, but not installing lockers. He won't warranty gears for me unless I buy them from him. No idea what he sells, but I'll try and give him a ring again today.
Finally, It looks like a 3-4 week wait on lockers from cruiser outfitters, they don't have a complete set of either Eaton or ARB's for an 80 right now. So under the best of circumstances it is a stretch to have this project completed by the first week of April, which was my goal. I was hoping to have this thing geared for battle as we are planning a trip to southeast UT with the kids. They've never been, and its been a long time since we've explored the backcountry there. We are also considering a move from town to a spot south of bellingham this spring, and that might complicate a trip to UT.
So I may be heading to UT unlocked and with 315's running stock gears, or I might be moving.
PS-My front seals and my cooling system all appear to be not leaking. This is great news. The idle is sitting around 600rpm, but I haven't driven very much since I last had the battery ground disconnected. I'll monitor this, but it is vastly better than the previous idle of 450rpm. So I'm feeling pretty happy there. I think that the truck feels a bit better under acceleration, possibly more powerful now that the injectors are clean, but this is what I want to feel and very very subjective.
