anyone ever change their own gears?

[crazypete]

I'm one of those annoying people that does everything the wrong way and comes out without any problems =P

I had some FMS 3.73's sitting around in a box for over half a year, so finally I got tired of looking at them, said screw it, got down under my car, took the rear end apart with hand tools (using a scissor jack pushing up on a 2 ft breaker bar to crack the pinion nut loose) and a mallet to get the pinion out, pounded off the ring gear with a hammer and a punch, cooked it, dropped it, reinstalled everythin using the existing shims and even the old crush sleeve (I figured it was crushed enough the first time around), slapped the whole thing together and it doesnt wine (except for right at 45 mph in 4rth, it hums a bit). Saved myself $500 (which was the going rate in MA, since noone around here is willing to do a decent swap unless I detach the axle and bring it to a machinist)