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Gear break-in consists of controlled heat cycling of the gear set in a way that properly seasons or hardens the gear’s contact surfaces. It is a series of test drives. These critical first few miles of drive time can be the difference between a gear-melting headache and years of carefree driving. Failure to properly break-in your gear set can result in damaged, failing gears and a complete re-do.
Once the wrenches have been laid down and the gears have been properly installed with backlash and preload correctly set there’s still more to do. The gear set must be broken in on urban roads and the freeway because different vehicle speed ranges produce different heat cycling. Towing is a whole other ball game. If you tow you’ll need an additional round of break-in because the physics of towing puts additional pressure on the pinion and slightly changes its position on the ring gear teeth… it’s like you’re hardening a new spot on the gear teeth.
Check out the accompanying video for more specifics about proper gear break-in procedures.
