Absolute minimum gear break in Toy 8"?

RusM · Jun 9, 2012

What is the absolute minimum amount of heat/cool cycles you would feel comfortable with before running your new gears on the trail? I can still drive on the street and it's looking like I'll have about 5-7 days to try to get them broke in before heading over to Naches for a week. What say you internet?

jprcrpr94 · Jun 9, 2012

The internet says you should just get rid of those puny toy axles and build rockwells, duh.

You asked!:fawkdancesmiley:

TrikeKid · Jun 9, 2012

However warm they get between the trailer/shop and the first trail? Honestly the whole gear breakin deal is a bunch of hokum if you ask me. We do axles where I work, they get run around the block by the tech doing the install, then 10 miles for QC by another tech and then turned back to the customer just like any engine or tranny job we do.

Boonie Buster · Jun 9, 2012

TrikeKid said:
However warm they get between the trailer/shop and the first trail? Honestly the whole gear breakin deal is a bunch of hokum if you ask me. We do axles where I work, they get run around the block by the tech doing the install, then 10 miles for QC by another tech and then turned back to the customer just like any engine or tranny job we do.

Do you feel comfortable with this process? If its good enough for the place you work and you trust them, and feel like gear break in time is hokum....drive on!:awesomework:

crash2 · Jun 9, 2012

If I am wheeling it--never break them in. if its on the street---one heat cycle.... I have done dozens and never a failure with a short drive/cool down and gone...

"S"-box · Jun 9, 2012

just don't let the second or third heat cycle be the trip over the pass.....done that before

, don't think it f'ed em up(still runnin @15yrs) but it scared me. got so hot I couldn't touch it. what i think saved me was really good fluids. and immediately changeing fluids after said incident.

TrikeKid · Jun 9, 2012

Boonie Buster said:
Do you feel comfortable with this process? If its good enough for the place you work and you trust them, and feel like gear break in time is hokum....drive on!:awesomework:

Haven't seen a single one come back for gear problems, including big tired 1 ton pickups and hot-rodded diesels.

I've never broken in a set of gears in any of my rigs and been just fine, and even in a street rig, I'm less than easy on parts.

Avanteone · Jun 13, 2012

ABSOLUTE minimum? If it were mine, I'd get two 10-15 mile trips on it, cooling in between, and call it good. Change fluid after a couple hundred miles and drive it like 'ya stole it!

zukkev · Jun 13, 2012

I'm with John....a couple heat/cool cycles...only I drop the break-in oil immediately after the second heat/cool cycle.

nowires · Jun 14, 2012

Avanteone said:
ABSOLUTE minimum? If it were mine, I'd get two 10-15 mile trips on it, cooling in between, and call it good. Change fluid after a couple hundred miles and drive it like 'ya stole it!

zukkev said:
I'm with John....a couple heat/cool cycles...only I drop the break-in oil immediately after the second heat/cool cycle.

I call BS on this. you really do on all gears

I have done a few over the years. From no proper set up and just dropping the gears in to doing it by the book. Beat the living crap out of them. from 900 hp on a drag car to wheelers that are streetable. I have never lost one yet. But then agian I must be blessed with all of the luck. But i am also going to say, if you don't know what to look for then might want to take a few more steps than I have in the past

Avanteone · Jun 14, 2012

nowires said:
I call BS on this. you really do on all gears

All gear setups we do, I personally do one heat cycle on the gears. I advise the customer on the recommended break-in procedure (as per the instructions on the back of all invoices from Randy's R&P) and advise them that if the gears fail due to heat and improper break-in that they void their warranty.

edit: This is for my customers, 99% of these are street driven rigs, so I would say it's much more crucial than trail-only rigs. My personal stuff generally gets run on the shop hoist for a couple minutes to circulate oil good, and then trailered to the trail and beat on.