[wilkin250r]

I haven't done three hundred gear setups, but with the experience that I DO have, and knowing how precisely they need to be set, often using shims less than the thickness of a piece of paper, I would never attempt a mis-matched set of gears.

They're simple mechanisms, a couple gears, a couple bearings, a couple shims. But that simplicity is misleading, because they're very difficult to set up correctly, this is not an easy project. It's not uncommon for a novice to have to remove and install that carrier seven or eight times to get the setup correct.

All the power in your vehicle is transferred through those gears. A sudden failure at even low highway speeds is more than inconvenient. Not only can it damage the axle housing or carrier, but perhaps your transmission/transfer case, or even loss of vehicle control and putting your life at risk, literally.

I don't want to be the guy spouting Doomsday Prophesy, but I think a lot of people think differentials are easy, just because there aren't very many components.