Dreaded "D" in my AMC 20

[wm69]

Ok, so I don't really know a whole lot about gearing on Jeeps. I do know that I have the 2.72 open diff in my newest aquisition. T176 transmission so not running too bad on the highway, but a little hard into the headwinds at highway speeds. Question is this... I have heard that there are different "carriers" that you have to use if going to lower gears. I've thought of going to 3.54's or even 3.73's (I'm only running 31's). What exactly is the "carrier"? I kinda assumed it was the housing for the gears, but apparently not since I just read in another post that a new carrier was 50-something bucks 5 years ago. What all would I have to do to go to lower gears?

 

[far_right]

the carrier break is 2.73 and then everythign else i THINK, im not positive so double check

 

[redrooster]

Wheels?

The carrier is what the ring gear is bolted to and has bearings on opposite sides. The splines on the axle shafts slip into the carrier at either side.
A friend of mine has the same setup as you. I recommeded that he not worry with changing the axle gears because they are crappy axles (arguable of course) and not worth sinking the money into. I talked him into getting the 4:1 Dana 300 transfer case kit. That way he can keep his street gearing and have the extra low range in the woods. The Dana 300 is something that he will have a long time. The axles may be upgraded in the future. JB Conversions has a new 4:1 kit for $500. That's cheaper than re-gearing.

 

[far_right]

JB Conversions has a new 4:1 kit for $500.

where have you seen this at. if i ever get my jeep running again, im all over that!!

 

[wm69]

The carrier is what the ring gear is bolted to and has bearings on opposite sides. The splines on the axle shafts slip into the carrier at either side.

Thanks, that explains it. I've heard that you can use the same carrier UNLESS you have the 2.73 (T176( in which case you have to change the carrier too (like far right said). Don't know if this is something I'll do in the near future (or even if this is the jeep I want to do it to). My trail rig has 3.31's and a T5 (so that's not a whole lot better, but can't really justify regearing unless I go to 4.10's (lot of expense for little bit of difference if I were to go any less) and that's pretty low with only 31's. Don't really know want I want to do right now, but the wife's not letting me spend any money so I'm basically doing a "what if" for when I can spend again. Thanks for the answers..... Maybe I'll just keep an eye out for some used axles.......

 

[redrooster]

where have you seen this at. if i ever get my jeep running again, im all over that!!

JB Conversions web site. www.jbconversions.com
The LOMax 4:1 kit is $500 for the Dana 300. They are backordered on them right now but expect to get 300 more sets in the next two months.
They are building me a Dana 300 with a 32 spline input gear, 4:1 gearset, 32 spline front and rear outputs, HD aluminum tailhousing with disc parking brake mount, clocking ring and twin sticks. It's their answer to the Atlas but for half the price.

 

[Bucky]

wm69, welcome to the club! LOL, when I scraped off all of the gunk off the axle boss and saw that "D", my heart sank! Looking to go to 3.54's (I plan on runnin' 32" tires max), but these things don't come cheap. Good luck. You will need a new carrier, looking at about $150 for that alone.

 

[Sully]

The carrier is what the ring gear is bolted to and has bearings on opposite sides. The splines on the axle shafts slip into the carrier at either side.

Thanks, that explains it. I've heard that you can use the same carrier UNLESS you have the 2.73 (T176( in which case you have to change the carrier too (like far right said). Don't know if this is something I'll do in the near future (or even if this is the jeep I want to do it to). My trail rig has 3.31's and a T5 (so that's not a whole lot better, but can't really justify regearing unless I go to 4.10's (lot of expense for little bit of difference if I were to go any less) and that's pretty low with only 31's. Don't really know want I want to do right now, but the wife's not letting me spend any money so I'm basically doing a "what if" for when I can spend again. Thanks for the answers..... Maybe I'll just keep an eye out for some used axles.......

4.10's on 31's is really low.Expect to run 2600 + on the highway with 4.10's.

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

how old is everyone

Here's the carrier break for the CJ:
AMC20 2.73 & down / 3.07 & up
D30 3.54 & down / 3.73 & up

The AMC20 is a decent, fairly strong axle once you install 1-piece axleshafts.