Which gears should I go with?

[Chris4x4Gill2]

Right now I am running 33's on my 99 with the OHC V6. I am trying to decide between the 4.10's or 4.56's for new gears. What would ya'll recommend for me? I don't drive it every day so gas mileage isn't a huge concern. I just want it to have plenty of power off road and be able to easily keep up with traffic on the interstate.

I was planning on getting a powertrax locker since they are so simple to install. If I am doing the gear work anyway, would another locker be better without costing much more?

 

[Alec]

I'd say 4.56, especially if you're planning on going larger later. You said you want offroad power and don't care as much about mileage, so that leads towards the lower gears.

 

[Chris4x4Gill2]

Sounds good to me...Any input on the locker question?

Also where would be the best place to look to buy gears? Any good websites with good prices?

 

[Alec]

Powertrax does look like the easiest to DIY. However, think long and hard about doing gears yourself. If you mess up it can be big $$$.

Randy's Ring and Pinion has good prices and service.

 

[Chris4x4Gill2]

yea I like the ease of installation on the powertrax. A friend of mine has experience with gear work...mainly on mustangs so same rear just about. I am going to ask him/his dad to help. Thanks for the info.

 

[DasFrem]

To be honest, if you're getting it gegeared anyhow, spend the extra $$ for the Detroit full carrier replacement. I would have done that, but instead went in steps, first getting the powertrax and now that my axles are at a shop getting regeared I'm staying with the powertrax 'cause I've already spent the money on it. If I did it again I'd go with a full carrier locker, they're just more robust.

EDIT: PS. I went with 4.56s to accomdate my new 35s.

 

[Chris4x4Gill2]

Thats what I was thinking about doing...spending the money for a better locker and doind it all at once...Now I am leaning more towards doing it in stages, so that would mean the powertrax. There isn't any problem with installing the powertrax with 3.73's and then moving to 4.56's is there? You can still use the same powertrax right?

 

[Gopher]

From what i have read you can install pretty much any ring gear with the powertax. The detroit is a whole nother beast. With the detroit you can only run 4.56 and down. I wanted to run 4.88's, but can't because of the detroit. I have 35's and with 4.56 it equals to running a stock 3.73.

 

[Chris4x4Gill2]

So if I went with the 4.56 with my 33's it would be like a stock 4.10....or fairly close to it. I think I am going to go with the powertrax and the 4.56.

That way I can go ahead and get the locker and install it myself. Then finish saving for the gears. By getting the 4.56 I should be good even if I go up to 35's in the future. Does that sound right ?

 

[Alec]

Yes, 4.56 will be ok with 33s and 35s. You will notice a slight power loss when stepping up the tire size, but it shouldn't be too bad.

 

[DasFrem]

Of course there's also the question of the transmission. Do you have the auto or 5 speed manual? The manual's tended to come with higher gears from the factory I guess since the 1st gear on them is quite low, whereas you're only going to find 4.10s ever came in automatics. I've heard of a few trucks that came with 3.73s and 5 speeds, but they're pretty damn rare.

Also check out www.4lo.com there's a ton of calculators I spend hours working on going through every combination out there. That's how I finally chose my 4.56s. The calculators allow you to see what you have now, and what would happend to speed/rpm/crawl ratio if you change your gears or tires.

 

[Gopher]

Also think about this. When i had my gears installed it was 200 to install gears or 200 to install the locker or 200 to install both. So you might look at the cost involved. Most shops just charge a cost to open up the pumkin and that price includes anything that they are going to do in there. so if you take your truck to a shop to have the gears installed they shouldnt charge you for the install of the locker if you buy it through them. Call around and see what shops can do for you.

 

[Chris4x4Gill2]

Thanks for the suggestions. I am going to start talking with local shops and such to get prices soon.