Highway

[hutch08]

i've got a 1994 b4000, 4x4, 5spd, rolling on 33x13.5 ltb's with stock gearing... i know swapped gears would be nice right now, but its just not in the budget... just wondering while driving on the highway i find myself always shifting from 4th, 5th, 4th, etc,... is it possible to just not use 5th gear at all??? at around 60mph in 4th the truck operates around 2100-2200 rpms... will this cause any damage to the trans ??? i dont feel like blowing up my trans at the moment... lol

and what about fuel consumption? i burned less gas on the highway today with the truck in 4th on cruise than i normally do when i'm constantly shifting?

 

[metalmacguyver]

I have 3.73s, 4.0 and 32s. I dont use 5th nearly as much as I used to. It wont bother your transmission at all to not use 5th gear.

As far as fuel consumption is concerned, dont drive the truck so that the engine has to work hard. (lower gears are ok)

 

[4x4junkie]

You're probably hurting things more (inc. MPG) by driving it in 5th with what I'll assume is 3.73 gears and 33s. 4th would be much easier on the engine and trans (infact, 4th is a straight-through gear, so there'd be virtually no wear at all on the trans while in 4th).

 

[hutch08]

yeah seems like the truck is "straining" more in 5th, which is never a good thing, i guess i'll be staying out of 5th gear for awhile seeing that its not causing any harm..
thanks for the reassurance mates!

 

[MAKG]

No, there is nothing wrong with staying in 4th on the highway. 3rd may even work as well.

It's a myth that lower revs = lower fuel consumption. In MANY modern vehicles, it's the other way around.