4.77 installed.. :*(
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Joined: Jun 2003
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From: Home of LSU TIGERS
4.77 installed.. :*(
I finally got my 4.77's on today. Just to give a little background info first for those who enjoy this stuff 
Purchased them from another boardmember glagola1 a few weeks ago. He had numerous problems with the installation and decided to stay stock.
http://forums.s2ki.com/forums/showthread.p...threadid=180352
http://forums.s2ki.com/forums/showthread.p...threadid=178342
He had all the necessary install parts and even the yellow box so I figured I'd jump on it for a good deal. I did all the research I could on the gears and loved the reviews. I knew it was the best performance mod I could do for the money at this moment in time. But I admit after reading the problems he had, and how others had some problems... I was beginning to get VERY skeptical. Living in Louisiana, we aren't exactly blessed with having a wide variety of knowledgable mechanics to do GOOD work. So this made me feel even more uneasy.
For example.. http://forums.s2ki.com/forums/showthread.p...threadid=187652
News constantly pops up about how the settings are off and it is pretty much a guessing game when it comes to putting in the different ring and pinion sets. I was also worried about having the whirring/whistling sounds that many people complain about after putting in the gears. I wouldn't know if it really is from an improper install or if it is suppose to do that at first. I'd lose sleep sometimes thinking about what the outcome would be... yea yea laugh it off..
So I finally bring my car to this mechanic near where I live that I have the most trust in since he has done some SERIOUS work on rebuilding all sorts of cars. His main interest is imports so I was a little more confident in his work. He said it wouldn't be a problem at all. He warned me of the drawbacks and everything before actually doing the swap. When he confirmed I was ready to do it, we set a date to do the install.
Install day.. TODAY March 12. I bring the car in at 8AM and drop it off. He begins work immediately and I stay and watch for a couple of hours to watch him drop the pumpkin. I never realized there were so many bolts hanging onto the diff! While he was working I was still a little worried that the install wouldn't go right. I absolutely didn't want to have any noise so I could be assured it was installed right. I constantly kept asking questions... I must have bugged the hell out of him!
I have my gf pick me up around 11 to go eat so I could just let the guy go to work. He told me he was definitely going to take his time and do the work and not make any mistakes. I trusted his words and left with ease. I went back to his shop around 6pm to get the car. He had lots of work on the sides to take care of so that is what caused some delay. But when I pulled up he was just finishing up. I asked him about the settings and everything and he explained to me the stock settings were still idea. He went on to explain the consequences of the settings being too tight or too loose. I then asked if I should hear any noise when driving and he assured me there would not be any unusual noises. I was pretty relieved when I heard that, but still not certain since I didn't take the car out yet. When he lowered the car I paid him for the install... $155 for everything. Did I get a deal or what? 
Original price was $255 for the entire job (which I was totally cool with), but one of his helpers accidentally put a really small dent near my trunk when trying to check for a suspension noise I complained to him about. He then offered to pay for the dent repair and lower the gear install by 100 bucks. You can bet I had no problems with that...
So I back the car out of the garage and I'm on my way. What do I hear? Other than my exhaust... NOTHING! Not a single whirring/whisting that is occuring. I immediately noticed the different driving behavior of the car. So much more responsive and definitely a quicker pickup no matter what gear I am in. So far I haven't gone past 4K rpms to just allow the gears to break-in and settle. The mechanic said it isn't totally necessary for the break-in since how the gears are set will be it and no further seating or anything should take place. But I figured it couldn't hurt to just let the gears warm up a bit
On the highway the car still drives wonderfully. The higher rpms really don't bother me at all. My exhaust naturally already isn't that loud, so the added rpms don't really affect it.
I will be going back to him on Monday to get my yellow box put on. He did tell me a quick way of installing the yellow box is directly from the wiring near the speed sensor on the transmission, but he said it would be a bit messy bringing the wires into the car and everything. He wants to insure a proper installation regardless of how much more difficult and time consuming it may be. This dude totally rocks.. and I am more than happy getting the gears done by him. Maybe some of you guys can ship them to him! I'll update after I break in the gears for awhile and let you all know my impressions on 4K rpm and above! Also a lot easier to get the car moving from a dead stop! I know others have touched on that.. I just thought I'd add that in.
I want to thank tenblade2001 and gernby for answering all my questions and offering their full support. I hope this helps for those considering the 4.77's!
-Justin
Purchased them from another boardmember glagola1 a few weeks ago. He had numerous problems with the installation and decided to stay stock.
http://forums.s2ki.com/forums/showthread.p...threadid=180352
http://forums.s2ki.com/forums/showthread.p...threadid=178342
He had all the necessary install parts and even the yellow box so I figured I'd jump on it for a good deal. I did all the research I could on the gears and loved the reviews. I knew it was the best performance mod I could do for the money at this moment in time. But I admit after reading the problems he had, and how others had some problems... I was beginning to get VERY skeptical. Living in Louisiana, we aren't exactly blessed with having a wide variety of knowledgable mechanics to do GOOD work. So this made me feel even more uneasy.
For example.. http://forums.s2ki.com/forums/showthread.p...threadid=187652
News constantly pops up about how the settings are off and it is pretty much a guessing game when it comes to putting in the different ring and pinion sets. I was also worried about having the whirring/whistling sounds that many people complain about after putting in the gears. I wouldn't know if it really is from an improper install or if it is suppose to do that at first. I'd lose sleep sometimes thinking about what the outcome would be... yea yea laugh it off..
So I finally bring my car to this mechanic near where I live that I have the most trust in since he has done some SERIOUS work on rebuilding all sorts of cars. His main interest is imports so I was a little more confident in his work. He said it wouldn't be a problem at all. He warned me of the drawbacks and everything before actually doing the swap. When he confirmed I was ready to do it, we set a date to do the install.
Install day.. TODAY March 12. I bring the car in at 8AM and drop it off. He begins work immediately and I stay and watch for a couple of hours to watch him drop the pumpkin. I never realized there were so many bolts hanging onto the diff! While he was working I was still a little worried that the install wouldn't go right. I absolutely didn't want to have any noise so I could be assured it was installed right. I constantly kept asking questions... I must have bugged the hell out of him!
I have my gf pick me up around 11 to go eat so I could just let the guy go to work. He told me he was definitely going to take his time and do the work and not make any mistakes. I trusted his words and left with ease. I went back to his shop around 6pm to get the car. He had lots of work on the sides to take care of so that is what caused some delay. But when I pulled up he was just finishing up. I asked him about the settings and everything and he explained to me the stock settings were still idea. He went on to explain the consequences of the settings being too tight or too loose. I then asked if I should hear any noise when driving and he assured me there would not be any unusual noises. I was pretty relieved when I heard that, but still not certain since I didn't take the car out yet. When he lowered the car I paid him for the install... $155 for everything. Did I get a deal or what? Original price was $255 for the entire job (which I was totally cool with), but one of his helpers accidentally put a really small dent near my trunk when trying to check for a suspension noise I complained to him about. He then offered to pay for the dent repair and lower the gear install by 100 bucks. You can bet I had no problems with that... So I back the car out of the garage and I'm on my way. What do I hear? Other than my exhaust... NOTHING! Not a single whirring/whisting that is occuring. I immediately noticed the different driving behavior of the car. So much more responsive and definitely a quicker pickup no matter what gear I am in. So far I haven't gone past 4K rpms to just allow the gears to break-in and settle. The mechanic said it isn't totally necessary for the break-in since how the gears are set will be it and no further seating or anything should take place. But I figured it couldn't hurt to just let the gears warm up a bit
On the highway the car still drives wonderfully. The higher rpms really don't bother me at all. My exhaust naturally already isn't that loud, so the added rpms don't really affect it.
I will be going back to him on Monday to get my yellow box put on. He did tell me a quick way of installing the yellow box is directly from the wiring near the speed sensor on the transmission, but he said it would be a bit messy bringing the wires into the car and everything. He wants to insure a proper installation regardless of how much more difficult and time consuming it may be. This dude totally rocks.. and I am more than happy getting the gears done by him. Maybe some of you guys can ship them to him!
I'll update after I break in the gears for awhile and let you all know my impressions on 4K rpm and above! Also a lot easier to get the car moving from a dead stop! I know others have touched on that.. I just thought I'd add that in. I want to thank tenblade2001 and gernby for answering all my questions and offering their full support. I hope this helps for those considering the 4.77's!
-Justin
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 191
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From: Northern California
Just a word from the wise:
Do not bother or watch over your mechanic when he is working.
This is offensive and from his position, ANNOYING.
Leaving him alone to do the work in peace and not have to deal with questions and overlooking eyes allows him to put forth full concentration towards the job at hand.
There is nothing that mechanics hate more than a high-maintenance customer. They're labeled as whiners and the mechanic is more likely to itemize and charge higher - in addition to being less enthusiastic about doing work for you.
Do not bother or watch over your mechanic when he is working.
This is offensive and from his position, ANNOYING.
Leaving him alone to do the work in peace and not have to deal with questions and overlooking eyes allows him to put forth full concentration towards the job at hand.
There is nothing that mechanics hate more than a high-maintenance customer. They're labeled as whiners and the mechanic is more likely to itemize and charge higher - in addition to being less enthusiastic about doing work for you.
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Joined: Jun 2003
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From: Home of LSU TIGERS
Well he offered for me to watch... he wanted to show me how everything was done. I know this would annoy the AVERAGE mechanic.
I meant to make it seem like a horror story at first... sorry
I meant to make it seem like a horror story at first...
sorry
Former Moderator
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 3,826
Likes: 5
From: Denver CO
The following thread details two ways of installing the yellow box. I used Modifry's method with my 4.57's as you can see by my couple of posts near the end clarifying which wires to use:
http://forums.s2ki.com/forums/showthread.p...ight=yellow+box
This method works great and should only take your mechanic a few minutes to do.
http://forums.s2ki.com/forums/showthread.p...ight=yellow+box
This method works great and should only take your mechanic a few minutes to do.
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Joined: May 2002
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From: -
Just wait til you really rev those 4.77 up to redline it is awesome. Be careful in first gear it reaches redline real real fast and is easy to hit the fuel cut off! My favorite gear with the 4.77 is third gear it pulls real hard. Have Fun!
Registered User
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 7,584
Likes: 1
From: Baton Rouge, LA
Justin...
dude, that smilie and your start definitely had me worried! i'm glad to hear it came out right, and i can't wait to take a ride...
imo - if my mechanic won't let me watch what he's doing... i don't want him touching my car... if you're cool w/ the dude, politely request to watch, and just let him know that his work is respected, i've found most mechanics take extra pride in showing off their skills. those who don't generally are uncomfortable, and i would be suspicious that they have something to hide.
dude, that smilie and your start definitely had me worried! i'm glad to hear it came out right, and i can't wait to take a ride...
Originally posted by clayne
Just a word from the wise:
Do not bother or watch over your mechanic when he is working.
This is offensive and from his position, ANNOYING.
Leaving him alone to do the work in peace and not have to deal with questions and overlooking eyes allows him to put forth full concentration towards the job at hand.
There is nothing that mechanics hate more than a high-maintenance customer. They're labeled as whiners and the mechanic is more likely to itemize and charge higher - in addition to being less enthusiastic about doing work for you.
Just a word from the wise:
Do not bother or watch over your mechanic when he is working.
This is offensive and from his position, ANNOYING.
Leaving him alone to do the work in peace and not have to deal with questions and overlooking eyes allows him to put forth full concentration towards the job at hand.
There is nothing that mechanics hate more than a high-maintenance customer. They're labeled as whiners and the mechanic is more likely to itemize and charge higher - in addition to being less enthusiastic about doing work for you.