Any ring and pinions still made in the US??

[regal454]

I am looking for a 3.73:1 ring and pinion for my 12 bolt rear with a 3 series carrier. As far as I can tell, most gear sets are manufactured overseas-Richmond, Yukon, Motive, etc. Is anyone manufacturing gear sets in the good ol' US of A anymore?? I would rather spend a little more if I can find a set made here.

[alocker]

You're right, most are now made overseas. You might be in luck if you want to pay. Try a search on Rock Auto, they have one GM12p373 left at $525.00.

[72BBSwinger]

Motive I believe.

[wayward]

Us gear is made in the us.. Also owned by general dynamics..

Maybe others but I know about GD..

[Ron Sutton]

Yeah ... it's a sad time. Since Midwest Truck And Auto Parts bought Richmond 2 years ago. Service & parts availability for the transmissions have gone out the window.

Midwest is a huge company that makes very few ring & pinion gear sets here ... but most offshore ... and sells a gazillion sets of gears. Richmond was a long time name in motorsports, but a small player in the big market of gears & transmissions. Richmond struggled to survive for the last 15-20 years. Midwest bought them at a fire sale price (to them) and disposed of all of the ancient Richmond gear manufacturing equipment.

Midwest did this basically to get the Richmond brand name ... and to keep any other players in the market from getting the brand. We ran the Richmond T-10 2-speeds in our NASCAR modifieds and had not been able to get parts since the purchase. Same way with their other transmissions. Midwest won't say what their long term plans are for the Richmond transmission line. It is such a small market for Midwest compared to their ring & pinion sales.

As far as Richmond ring & pinion gear sets ... fulfillment is primarily with Midwest "Motive Gear" brand made offshore. They still come in the Richmond box ... cost more than the regular Motive Gears ... but are exactly the same. Talk to any company primarily in the gear business and ask them for a US Made R&P set. After they quite laughing ... then crying ... the reality is very few if any are still made here.

I recently bought a Ford 9" R&P set from "Richmond" in the 4.56 ratio which uses 9 pinion teeth & a 41 tooth ring gear. What shows up in my Richmond box? A Motive Gear 4.57 ratio with 7 pinion teeth & 32 teeth on the ring gear. :here!:

... and I paid more for it ! :hand:

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[72BBSwinger]

Motive makes a premium set the USA made.

[BBPanel]

So roughly what is the timeline here if one seeks a used gear set made in the USA? What time period was the big push to make gears overseas?

[Z06vet]

I have been using ebay to look for used GM gears when I rebuild a rear end. I try to stick with sellers that sell mostly all rear end stuff & have 100% feedback. I like to use a guy named Bruce Ponti to source my parts from. The used GM gears have been near silent where any new gear I have used regardless of brand has a slight bit of noise. The same shop sets them up for me. I'll see if I can find Bruce's contact info & send you a PM if interested.
Scott

[regal454]

Please do Scott. Thank you.

[AmKenpo1]

We carry both the US Gear and Motive gear set lines. US Gear which is now owned by Axle Tech is still made on the southside of Chicago. The quality has changed very little but there is a difference. The Motive Gear AX line, which is made in Italy has been good. Our Set up techs have learned to work with both and work to make sure that our complete assemblies leave with as little noise as possible.
I can say that the one manufacture that has stayed consistent is Spicer, we us only factory Spicer gear sets in our S-60 housings, unless it's a ratio that is not offered. They always set great and little to no noise issues.

On the Richmond Transmission side, I have it on good authority that MidWest/Motive Gear is working to improve and bringing back the T10 and Super T10. The engineer driving the improvements is a total gearhead and says people will like the changes coming. I would say keep an eye out for these soon.
Thought I would share.

[Ron Sutton]

We carry both the US Gear and Motive gear set lines. US Gear which is now owned by Axle Tech is still made on the southside of Chicago. The quality has changed very little but there is a difference. The Motive Gear AX line, which is made in Italy has been good. Our Set up techs have learned to work with both and work to make sure that our complete assemblies leave with as little noise as possible.
I can say that the one manufacture that has stayed consistent is Spicer, we us only factory Spicer gear sets in our S-60 housings, unless it's a ratio that is not offered. They always set great and little to no noise issues.

On the Richmond Transmission side, I have it on good authority that MidWest/Motive Gear is working to improve and bringing back the T10 and Super T10. The engineer driving the improvements is a total gearhead and says people will like the changes coming. I would say keep an eye out for these soon.
Thought I would share.


Thanks for the insight & updates. Any word on their 5-speed?


Also, are you saying all US Gears are made in the US?
In your experience, how do they work out for wear, impact & noise?




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[AmKenpo1]

Thanks for the insight & updates. Any word on their 5-speed?


Also, are you saying all US Gears are made in the US?
In your experience, how do they work out for wear, impact & noise?




.

Sorry to get back to you so late.

We have been using The US Gear line for more than 15 years with great results. They set up well and require very little massaging to be quite.
Strange worked closely with US Gear who was primarily an OEM manufacture that was looking to get into the performance market many moons ago. Several years ago they were aquired by Axle Tech and most of the focus moved back to the OEMs. If you follow drag racing you will find most of the Top Fuel cars are running 12"/12-1/2" US Gear 9310 Pro Gears. The US Gear 8620 street gears will be my choice when I find my project.
As far as we know the line of gear sets we use are all made in the US.

On the Richmond 5 speed I know that improvements are planned but I have no real info.

Wil.

[Ron Sutton]

Hi Wil,

Thanks for the info.

P.S. I was a Strange WD in the 80's for my drag race chassis building company. Love the product.

.