I hate to ask such a dumb question...

[Svashtar]

I suppose I should know this automatically, but don't. I am finally having my 4:10 gears put in by a shop in town here Friday. I was going to go ahead and install my MMX driveshaft bought from Dennis several months ago prior to the gear change to save $, but the guy tells me he has to completely remove the driveshaft to install the gears anyway so I might as well pay him to put the new one in.

Duh, I guess. I felt like an idiot but honestly did not know this. I thought the differential housing could be removed and the gears installed without unshipping the driveshaft, no??

I also asked him to replace the standard cover when done with the TA stud & girdle kit I bought, and he acted like it was a problem to do so. (The guy in San Leandro Warren went to said he would put it on no charge after the gear change; I'd go there but I'd prefer to be in town so I can get around in a cab while the car is tied up. I thought the install of this was fairly simple also?)

Anyway, live and learn, and it's not the first time I didn't know something obvious to everyone else! Thanks as always for your expert help.

Norm

[Mike Poore]

I also asked him to replace the standard cover when done with the TA stud & girdle kit I bought, and he acted like it was a problem to do so. Norm
Norm, my guy charged something extra to install the Shiney Hiney, because there was a little more labor involved in installing the studs, and adjusting/torquing things. The cost seemed trivial ...considering.:)

[RF Overlord]

Norm: Your guy is right, the D/S has to come out to replace the pinion gear, seal, and bearing, but he really shouldn't charge you extra to install the new one...after all, he has to do the same labour whether he puts in the new one or re-installs the old one...it should be all part of the job.

As regards the stud kit and girdle, maybe he's never done them and doesn't want to learn on your car...but they're really very simple and you could do them both yourself with only simple hand tools. The most complicated tool you need is a torque wrench...

[FordNut]

Norm: Your guy is right, the D/S has to come out to replace the pinion gear, seal, and bearing, but he really shouldn't charge you extra to install the new one...after all, he has to do the same labour whether he puts in the new one or re-installs the old one...it should be all part of the job.
...
That may be true. But with mine, which has a custom x-pipe, the exhaust has to be dropped to get the driveshaft out. Band clamps at the mufflers and flanges behind the cats and the center section of the exhaust is out so it's not a lot of extra work. I suppose the other exhaust systems do not have this issue, just pointing out that generalities are sometimes not accurate.

I learned about this when installing the driveshaft loop. Solution in this case was to disconnect the rear flange, slide the rear of the shaft up and over the rearend housing to remove the front yoke, then slip on the driveshaft loop and re-assemble.

[stevengerard]

Yep, drive shaft comes off anyway, and I had new cover too, it is a little more work, not sure if they even charged me for it.

[SergntMac]

The way I read it, you're installing a new gearset, correct? The drive shaft has to come out for that, and charging you anything extra for that is bogus. I'd be shy about using this wrench again.

Upgrading to the FRP stud kit and girdle does require additional set up time, that's okay, as long as it's reasonable, i.e. no more than one additional hour on the flat rate schedule...IMHO.

[Svashtar]

Thanks very much to all who responded. Got the official 411 today. No charge to install the replacement MMX shaft as long as he has the old one out, and only a nominal charge to install the TA stud & girdle kit.

Talked to the owner and head mechanic as opposed to the front office help and got the straight skinny, plus he says he has done a ton of them for various Fords and has it down. Flat 4 hours of labor should cover everything.

Thanks again for filling me in!

Regards,

Norm