Jt regear differences over jk

[gearhead22]

I’ve been considering regearing my gladiator for some time. I thought I had heard via a video that the jl and jt axles are different than the prior jk’s and there’s a different process while performing the gear change. I know they have the FAD but I thought there’s something different that makes setting them up trickier? Idk, am I even remotely close here? lol

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[Svenable]

The axles are different from the JK. My JT is a Rubicon and has Dana 44 front, (M210), and rear, (M220). The most significant difference are the part availability and cost. The Advantek axle differential bearings are more expensive and harder to find. The carriers use the same bearings between the 2 axles except for the pinion tail bearings. The carrier bearings are different sizes side to side. The large carrier bearing is a Dana 60 bearing, on the ring gear side, and the smaller bearing is comparable to the JK D44 carrier bearings. If you use Spicer OEM gears, Red Box, they are two cut gears and set with tighter tolerances, just follow the specs of the gear manufacturer.

The front axle seals are different because the FAD has the Passenger oil seal at the FAD and not in the differential case. I did not change my FAD side seal, only the drivers side differential seal.

My opinion is the Advantek axles are a bit "stronger" than the JK axles only because the pinion shaft and bearings are larger.

Get high quantity install kits and gears. This is no place to be cheap. I used Spicer gears and install kits. I believe Revolution would be a good candidate too. I'm sure there are others with their perspective on this too.

I went to 5.13's running 37"s and a Spicer FAD delete and Spicer larger u-joint front axle shafts in the front. I did not replace the intermediate shaft but it is quite large.