sinneDBTB

wow sarcasm, thanks Fred.

my daily driver is also my road tripper and wheeler. my deepest apologies for wanting to get all i can outta my rig. i'd think most everybody would be getting more highway miles than trail, since you have to get to the trails... i know i do, so why wouldn't i want to get the best of both worlds?
thanks to everyone else for your advice. much appreciated.

how would 5.29's be for highway speeds? and are they as available as it sounds like 4.88's are?

Jay351

They would make you run about 300rpm higher then the 4.88's with 33" tires.

The 5.29's were never available from toyota so they are rare to find. Unless you buy a set new and have them installed.

Or you find a set online used

Matt16

I think 33x10.5s may perform better, especially in winter.

sinneDBTB

i do run narrower winter tires in winter, the 12.5's came with some rims i bought about a month ago. but i have noticed a difference in trail handling and climbing since the upgrade, especially in deep mud and on rutted out logging roads. the extra clearance is nice too.
how big of a job is installing gears? and what is all this talk of lockers? what is there purpose? is it like posi?

Jay351

Google lockers Tons of info out there.

to do a diff swap (not gear install) is quite easy. There are writeups on how to do the rear, which would take a noobie about an hour, hour and a half (with a beer and a smoke break)...

Front will take probibly an hour or two, and an extra set of hands REALLY helps. Normal tools are needed, nothing special. Metric sockets and wrenches from 8-24mm. Impact tools are great

We did mine in a few hours in the driveway.

sinneDBTB

where did you find 4.88's for 350? do you know of a good toyota yard in the vancouver area? thanks for all the advice

Jay351

I got mine from craigslist. I saw a guy parting a 4runner, so I grabbed the gears.

I have a parts guy that I go to regurlarly. He pretty much makes a living from parting 4runners (and trucks when he gets them).

Shoot him an email and see if he has any 4.88's in his posession.

Name is Adrian, email is acsintalan AT hotmail DOT com. Tell him you got his info from Jay

No problem! And Check out alpi's. Its in the richmond area, but they are moving to abbotsford in a month or two. They have 1000's of toyotas, but they charge quite a bit. They have the monopoly around here..

Matt16

Alpis WILL try to rip you off, charging at least twice the market value. Get a quote over the phone, and then go out there. They will ask how much they quoted you over the phone. I always come up with what I think is the high end of a fair price and tell them then instead their quote, and usually, they're alright with that.

mikepr55

wabit is rite i bought 4.88 sierra gears front and rear with install kits for $587.00 bran new in the box but i got lucky and had a buddy install booth for two thirty packs of coors light $42.00 now that is a good deal. and my truck is an 84 4 cyl if that makes any diffrence. and 4.88s are perfect with 33s 5.29 are verry low and will effect your highway speed and rpms not to mention mpg you should be verry happy with 4.88s even towing your boat just keep it in 3rd or 4th gear and you should have no prob