Best gears for a 3.SLOW

RangerNielsen · Apr 1, 2015

Alright, I have a 94 ranger with the 3pointblow, and it is now sitting on 33x13.50s. With the 32s, it was pretty gutless (still beat Hondas though :icon_rofl:

), and I'm imagining the 1 more inch of tire height is going to be hell.

What would be the best gears to put in it, and still be daily able? I would probably still haul hay with it, so that should be factored in as well. The truck has the factory 3.73s, and I was thinking 4.10s or maybe 4.56s.

The truck has the 5 speed and I know I'll need to gear both differentials if I want 4WD to work.
Opinions?

4x4junkie · Apr 2, 2015

I suggest 4.88:1 on a 3.0L. That should give you good off-the-line power, with little or no MPG penalty.

4.56 is going to be noticeably slower (the 3.0L likes more RPM than say, a 4.0L does).

RangerNielsen · Apr 3, 2015

Interesting. Could I fit 4.88s in my stock 7.5 and D35 housings?

Also, would I still be able to drive at about 70mph? most of my commute is on the highway and I don't want to be redlining it everywhere, at least not when I don't want to.

My brother has a 4pot 4runner on 35s with 5.29s, and he is at 3k at 70 mph, but is gear limited at about 85 mph.

Sasquatch_Ryda · Apr 4, 2015

I had 33's on my 97 3.0L 5spd with 4.56's. It was about perfect for general driving.

4x4junkie · Apr 4, 2015

RangerNielsen said:
Interesting. Could I fit 4.88s in my stock 7.5 and D35 housings?

Also, would I still be able to drive at about 70mph? most of my commute is on the highway and I don't want to be redlining it everywhere, at least not when I don't want to.

My brother has a 4pot 4runner on 35s with 5.29s, and he is at 3k at 70 mph, but is gear limited at about 85 mph.

5.13 & 35s would be a closer equivalent to 4.88 & 33s, so you'd for sure be a bit less RPM than your brother. I run 5.13s and 35s with a 2.9L, and have always found it to be about perfect (I've gone as fast as 85 MPH and still being able to go faster... my SWB BII's handling starts to feel marginal going that fast though, so I don't make a habit of it. 70 all day long is no problem though).

4.88s are available for the D35, but not for a 7.5" (might be good opportunity to swap a 8.8" in).

RangerNielsen · Apr 4, 2015

4x4junkie said:
5.13 & 35s would be a closer equivalent to 4.88 & 33s, so you'd for sure be a bit less RPM than your brother. I run 5.13s and 35s with a 2.9L, and have always found it to be about perfect (I've gone as fast as 85 MPH and still being able to go faster... my SWB BII's handling starts to feel marginal going that fast though, so I don't make a habit of it. 70 all day long is no problem though).

4.88s are available for the D35, but not for a 7.5" (might be good opportunity to swap a 8.8" in).

Good information. If I were to lift it and get 35s on it, would 35s on 4.88s be kinda like my 32s with 3.73s were?

Sounds like I'll be doing a disc brake 8.8 swap soon :yahoo:

at least when I get an engine in it.

Thanks Junkie.

lvwill · Apr 4, 2015

I've got a 2.9 auto with 33's and 4.88 and all I can say is that it's way better than 4.10 and 31's.. even getting way better mileage!!
Don't fear the gear juicy make your motor happy and it will do the same for you!! Lol

4x4junkie · Apr 4, 2015

4.88 & 35s would be better than 32s & 3.73, but probably not by much, especially when factoring in the heavier weight of the tires.

If you also got a 4.0L or 5.0L swap in the works, then 4.88 & 35s would be much more bearable together.

lvwill · Apr 4, 2015

Not sure where juicy came from on the last post. On a not so smart phone!! Lol

RangerNielsen · Apr 4, 2015

4x4junkie said:
4.88 & 35s would be better than 32s & 3.73, but probably not by much, especially when factoring in the heavier weight of the tires.

If you also got a 4.0L or 5.0L swap in the works, then 4.88 & 35s would be much more bearable together.

Sweet, so fifth gear might actually be usable!! :yahoo:

Other than down hill on the free way.

I do plan on going with a bigger powaplant, but they sniff test here... I could have the state patrol rewrite my VIN though.

It also just occurred to me that part of the gutlessness could have been due to the coolant leaking into the cylinder and the rings letting oil into 2 others.

RangerNielsen · Apr 26, 2015

Junkie,

Can I get 4.88s for the exploder 8.8 with disc brakes or does it need to be a ranger axle?

4x4junkie · Apr 27, 2015

8.8" is an 8.8" when it comes to the R&P gears. Put 'em in an Explorer 8.8", a Ranger 8.8". or even a F-150 8.8" if you want.

RangerNielsen · Apr 29, 2015

4x4junkie said:
8.8" is an 8.8" when it comes to the R&P gears. Put 'em in an Explorer 8.8", a Ranger 8.8". or even a F-150 8.8" if you want.

Sweeet. I thought for some reason the exploder had a different spline count from the ranger...

Wait, it's literally only the R&P I'm changing. I'm not locking it, yet.

4x4junkie · May 1, 2015

Yeah if you put a locker in, then that would need to be matched with the axle spline size. R&P gears it doesn't matter though.

RangerNielsen · May 8, 2015

4x4junkie said:
Yeah if you put a locker in, then that would need to be matched with the axle spline size. R&P gears it doesn't matter though.

Sweeet. Talking to a guy about a 95 sploder with a 4.0. hashtag donor truck.

Best gears for a 3.SLOW

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