Ring and Pinion Sets

Ring and Pinion Sets

For Duramax trucks, differential gearing is important for towing, performance, and fuel mileage. Over the years and throughout the different models, gear ratios varied to match the demand of the specific truck they were put in. Merchant Automotive has complete Duramax rear ring and pinion sets to upgrade or replace your factory gears. This is a great way to get your truck performing like it should without causing extensive damage to other components.

How Do You Know If Your Ring & Pinion Is Bad?

The ring and pinion in your truck is located in the rear differential. It is responsible for helping transfer power from the engine to your wheels for proper distribution. While the ring and pinion is not something that commonly fails due to old age, it can fail if you are using your truck for more demanding purposes or adding larger wheels and tires. A bad ring and pinion can cause clunking, whining, howling, or growling. In more extreme cases where the ring and pinion has suffered catastrophic failure, you may not be able to drive your vehicle. If your vehicle starts and runs normally but will not move forward when in gear, this could be a sign that your ring and pinion has failed.

What Causes Ring & Pinion Failure?

Ring & pinion failure is usually the result of high-performance driving or towing more than your truck is built to handle. Ring & pinion failure is not a common occurrence in daily driven, light-duty applications as they are built for this specific function. When truck owners start to add more power, launch their trucks, take them off-road, or tow larger amounts, the factory ring and pinion can fail.

How Long Does It Take To Change Duramax Ring & Pinion?

When it comes to replacing the ring & pinion in your Duramax truck, the install times can vary depending on what needs to be replaced and what shop you take it to. Taking your truck to a general mechanic may yield longer install times when compared to bringing it to Merchant Automotive where we specialize in Duramax trucks. Our mechanics live and breath these trucks and are highly-trained in ring & pinion installs. A ring & pinion install consists of two parts - the direct install and the adjustment. The direct install takes about an hour at most while the adjustment can take a couple of hours to set lash correctly and ensure you have a good pattern so that your gears are perfectly lined up. Gears that have been incorrectly adjusted could fail or whine after install.