Well, I said I'd post a little about the tools needed to re-gear. You can add it to your notes for your own re-gear project. There are tons of better write-ups out there on the web, but I like posting in this Jeep thread. It helps keep me motivated to get things done. So here it is.
This is the list from the USA Standard Gear installation instructions:
Dial indicator
Precision calipers or micrometer
Gear-marking compound and a clean brush
Bearing pullers
Bearing press
10- or 12-inch spanner wrench or spanner tool
Misc. hand and air tools including
– Three-foot-long breaker bar or strong impact gun
– Pinion nut socket
– Ring gear bolt socket
– Main cap bolt socket
– 6-point or 12-point cross-pin bolt wrench
– Brake line wrench
– Pry bars for removing the carrier case
– Misc. hammers
– Assorted brass drifts for removing bearing races
– Center punch or number stamp for marking main caps
– Oil drain pan
Torque wrenches
I can find most of the above in Dad's garage. Since his garage is so cluttered, first I have to create some bench space to work. A 2x8 on some cinder blocks and a piece of plywood on some saw horses came in handy:
I don't have a bearing puller like this clam shell type one. I haven't used one either, but they look pretty slick in YouTube videos. I used a small shop press from either Harbor Freight or Northern Tool (one of the cheap tool shops). It's kind of like this model, but built a little different. The one in the link looks nicer, actually. I use it with gear puller plates to get bearings off like the pic below. The Dana 30 shims go inside the bearings. This is why it's a lot easier to either make or buy setup bearings. Having to press bearings on and off every time you want to test a different shim setup would really be a pain in the rear. It also increases the chances of damaging the bearing in the removal process. It is pretty likely I'll bend shims up when removing bearings the way I do. Reaming out the old bearings on the inside so they will fit on by hand will allow them to be used during the setup process.
You also need a press to put the bearing back on. There are probably other ways to get the bearings on, but in my opinion, a press is the right way to do it. If a person was careful they might be able to slowly work the bearings on with a brass drift punch and a hammer, or something flat and a hammer. I would buy one of these cheap presses before I went about it that way.
Dad keeps a coffee can full of old inner bearing races with the outer cage cut off. They are various sizes for shafts and pinions we've used, and have been relieved on the inside to slip over the work pieces. They fit up against the inner race of the new bearings very well, obviously. It keeps the press plates on the bottom from pushing on the outer bearing cage.
Then you need some tools to measure things. I had a selection of torque wrenches. A 1/2" drive that goes 50-250 ft/lb, a 3/8ths drive that does 20 to something, which I used for bearing caps and ring gear bolts. And an in/lb torque wrench for measuring bearing pre-load. It needs to be a beam or dial type, the click type won't work for this measurement. They can be found inexpensively on Amazon, or you can go high end. The one pictured below is pretty old and the indicator bar is bent so it starts 2.5 in/lbs low. The scale is also kind of weird, with the 10's being broken in to 4 graduations (apparently 2.5 in/lb per line). I'm sure it's not super accurate, but it's close enough for my purposes. You'll also need a dial indicator with a magnetic base to measure backlash and calipers to measure shim thickness. Most of what we're using are just cheap stuff from Harbor Freight. I included some links. I would use better stuff if I needed real precision or did it for a living. Just to use every once in awhile, I think the cheap stuff is good enough.
Having an assortment of impact enhancing and directing devices is handy. Some brass drift punches, a dead blow hammer, some rubber and nylon mallets, and a ball peen hammer were all used at some point. After I was done, I collected up what was on the floor and took this picture. A seal driver set helps. A seal puller can be handy, and I used one. But I usually end up using a big screwdriver or something. I find the inner axle seals come out easier if you just knock them out through the axle tube. I used a random piece of conduit I found in the garage to knock them out and a dowel rod against one of the plastic seal driver attachments to put the new ones back. The piece of angle iron in the photo below has a hole drilled in it and a cut out to make clearance for a socket. This is used to hold the pinion yoke when torquing the pinion nut. I've seen other people use a large pipe wrench on the yoke and it seems to work well. An impact wrench and air ratchet will make the whole thing go a bit faster. I used a medium-sized crow bar to pry the carrier out the first time as well.
That was about it aside from standard wrenches and ratchets, and appropriate sized sockets. Two small jack stands to hold the axles up and random blocks of wood to support the pinion at various times. I lost some of this post in the editing because I did something stupid.
When are you going to start on yours, lovemachine? Some low gears and selectable lockers front and rear would make your Jeep really sexy.
I think I may wait a bit. I keep thinking it would be stupid to NOT put lockers in. And I need more $$$$ for that, which I do not have.