Regearing the front differential - possible solution

[Ronin8002]

Well after driving around on the new gears for about a week now it looks like there is a nice mileage gain to be had from regearing with larger tires.

I'll be the first to say that 1 week is not necessarily the ideal length of time to confirm mileage mods, but the initial results look promising.

Previously driving the same, mostly highway, 50 mile round trip to and from work every day, I was averaging about 17.8 MPG each week with 265/75/16 tires and 3.55 gears

With the new 4.10 gears and the same tires I'm now getting about 19.5 MPG driving the same route over the same period.

 

[lynchy wa]

Marvelous mate, massive gain there. Good stuff

 

[gamecocks]

Swwwwweeeeeeeeeeetttttttttt

 

[Jwigs7]

I was awaiting these results to see if it would be worth it and it definately is!! I cant wait til I get back from Afghanistan so I can get started back up with my mods!

 

[Ronin8002]

Yes you will not be disappointed Stay safe and let me know if you have any questions.

 

[Jwigs7]

Emailed a couple of shops around my zip and the cheapest quote I got was $1650 for parts and labor..I think I may do it around Christmas..

 

[Ronin8002]

That sounds about right assuming you are bringing them the truck and have them go through the whole process to include removing the axles and dropping the diffs.

 

[Jwigs7]

Yea unfortunately living in an apartment I am limited on space so Im just gonna have them do everything rather than me try to remove the diff myself. I keep telling myself the money will be well spent tho haha.

 

[Jwigs7]

hey Ronin, how are the gears running now that you've had 'em on there a little while?

 

[Ronin8002]

No issues. Did my diff fluid change after the 500 break in and there was the normal amount of fine metal dust on the fill plug which is magnetic. Wiped that off and refilled both diffs with Amsoil Severe Gear oil. Everything has been good since

 

[bamnq6]

I'm seeing some data that says the Dana Super 30 in the front of our trucks has a carrier break at 3:55/3:73. I plan on going from 3:55's to 4:10's, do I need to replace the front carrier???

 

[Ronin8002]

Good catch...I think neglected to mention in the first post that the diffs I had regeared to 4.10 were originally 3.73 (salvage yard parts). I swapped out my 3.55 diffs for those.

So yes, you will need to the 3.73 carriers.

 

[Wills05xlt4x4]

Good catch...I think neglected to mention in the first post that the diffs I had regeared to 4.10 were originally 3.73 (salvage yard parts). I swapped out my 3.55 diffs for those.

So yes, you will need to the 3.73 carriers.

But I would be good to swap? (tow pkg with 3.73ls)

 

[Ronin8002]

But I would be good to swap? (tow pkg with 3.73ls)

Yes you'll be good to swap.

 

[Kazer]

is there any possibilities or benefits to having a limited slip front end along with a limited slip rear? i'm asking for people who want added traction, but dont want to have an arb/elocker/ or lunchbox in the front diff.

also, how do lunchbox lockers handle vs limited slip and traditional open in the snow?

 

[The Electrician]

Kazer if you are looking for better traction on-road and off-road including snow then I suggest Helical LSD (geard)

They are available form TORSEN and EATON TrueTrac

Check the following threed:

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=317166

 

[Elessar65]

I would not recommend any automatic locker for the front of a vehicle that sees significant street time. In the rear they are fine and easily controllable, but in the front its a no-no IMO. Especially in something that you can't unlock the hubs.

Having the front locked (or welded in my case) makes steering extremely difficult, I usually leave 1 hub unlocked in the front, even off road, just because of this. If it gets hairy enough I can just get out and lock it in.

An automatic locker will lock up when the throttle is applied, so if you are on the street and decide to put it in 4wd because of some snow and ice, you will go pretty much straight ahead regardless of where your wheels are pointed as long as you are on the gas. This is obviously not good, especially on the street. Also they can have a tendency to lock and unlock on uneven terrain, because of wheel speed differences, even if you are just cruising and not heavily on the gas. That can get downright scary at times, especially when its slippery out.

A gear type LSD is the way to go for the front of something that sees a lot of street time. They are pretty good off road too, only lacking behind a mechanically locking differential in situations where 1 wheel is bound up or lifted off the ground.

For anything you can do in an IFS/IRS rig its plenty.

 

[Jwigs7]

No issues. Did my diff fluid change after the 500 break in and there was the normal amount of fine metal dust on the fill plug which is magnetic. Wiped that off and refilled both diffs with Amsoil Severe Gear oil. Everything has been good since

James, sorry to keep bugging you about the gears, but just wondering since you've had several months to get good mpg readings, what are you averaging with the gear change?

 

[Ronin8002]

I'm seeing 19-20 on the highway. Surface streets I see 15-16. Mixed driving I am around averaging about 17. So not bad at all.

 

[Jwigs7]

Sounds good man, thanks for the update.