nfrantz007

97 4runner v6
265/75's

I have stock 4.10's and recently acquired a 4.30 e-locker (entire axle) for the rear. With the 75's, switching out the front with a 4.30 will get me back to stock but I would like to go 4.56 F and R (I think...) and now would be the time since the new axle isn't on the truck.

Curious if anyone is running 4.56's on a v6 with 75's and how they like it? Also curious if it's worth the trouble to go up to 4.56 when the 4.30 in the rear will get me back to stock and I'll only have to find a new front diff (much cheaper / less work).

Last question... Any recommendations for diff setup's in the NOVA area if I decide to re-gear?. I have no issues with swapping diff's but I have never messed with the internals.

I drive 90% city/highway so 4.88 and up is out of the question.

crolison

are you going to stay with 32's a while?

if your thinking of going 4.56's, go 4.56's...... try and find a stock front diff with 4.56's in it, they are out there If you can't find a stock front 4.56, i'd just go with a 4.30 diff and wait to regear later to a deeper gear.

I'd say 4.88's, but yet I am crazy and run 5.29's and 33's. And it is my DD and i run city/highway most of the time

nfrantz007

I see you have the 4 cyl so I'm not sure we can completely compare notes...

I think if I can find a 4.30 front I'll just swap em out and call it a day. I'm just curious if anyone else has gone 4.56 and seen a major difference as a DD. If not, it's not worth the headache or $$$ for me.

I plan on keeping the 32"s for good. I'm very happy with my suspension and tire setup.

Yota Yeti

I am in the same boat. I checked my axle code on the door and according to that I should have 4.30's front and rear from factory. So i picked up a 4.30 rear with elocker and swapped out only to find that my front is a 4.10 and so is my old rear. No 4 wheel drive for now. I just finished the swap the other day.

sl0annuggets

I am guessing I have 4.10s with 32's now. My mileage has gone to awfulness like 12 on the highway. But its because of my cat being beat. How do you do on the highway crolison? I want/need to be able to get to 80mph and hopefully be around 18-20 again. I was at 23mpg with 255 70 16s before the exhaust problems.

crolison

With 4.56's with 265/75/16 and got average 21-22mpg on the highway, some tanks close to 24mpg. This was all stock, except for sliders.

With both 4.88's and 5.29's my highway mileage is around the same 17-18.5 mpg. If i take it easy and go around 60 I can hit up to 20mpg, but you have to remember from stock to now I am less aerodynamic, and weigh A LOT MORE.

I've always been able to hit 80 with my setups. I've done 120 with 5.29's.

If your ever going to go to 33's go 5.29's, 4.88's might technically match closer to stock, but you have to remember your truck isn't getting any lighter, and plus 4lo is very very nice

86toyz28

ive got an 86 4runner with a 6" lift on 32's. would getting the 4.56 improve my freeway'ability and milage? my trucks really sluggish on the freeway n i dont get super milage. any other recommendations?

RockyMtRunner

nfrantz, I run a 2000 4Runner V6-manual 5 spd with 265/75/16 BFG KO's on easy/moderate Colorado trails as well as a lot of city/highway use. I recently re-geared from 4.10 to 4.56's, and I have found the the 4.56/32" match to be the perfect combination for multiple uses. Here are a few things I have noticed with the 4.56's:

--Quicker acceleration, though shifts come sooner and at lower speeds.

--Clutch doesn't labor as much.

--Power up hills is GREATLY enhanced, with plenty of reserve power to keep up speed while carrying heavy loads uphill into wind. (Just did this yesterday when horrible wind in CO brought dust all the way up to us from New Mexico/Arizona. This reserve pulling power is a very significant improvement over stock performance. Worth the cost of admission by itself.

--City mileage = 14-16 mpg.

--Interstate mileage (flat, no wind) = 17-20 mpg at 65-70 miles per hour. Actual RPM's at 70 miles per hour in 5th gear = 2850 rpm; at 75 miles per hour = 3100 rpm. (My mileage figures are for 5,000+ ft. in CO; I don't know about lower altitudes. And remember that I have a manual, so if you are AT, your figures will be different.)

--Wheeling mileage (1st, 2nd/4lo with 200 lb. of gear) = 12-15 mpg.

--Wheeling performance: in 1st/4lo much easier to keep slow, steady crawling speed into and over obstacles without stalling the engine. I also use 2nd gear/4lo more often now; before the 4.56's, 2nd/4lo required unwanted speed to keep from stalling out when climbing steeply.

--Lastly, going with the 4.56's instead of 4.88's is a compromise that may keep my tire options open. This ratio works perfectly with BFG-KO 32's for DD, winter/4X4 chains, and most wheeling that I do, but the 4.56's will also work reasonably well with 33's, if I ever decide I want to go there. My calculations show the 4.56's with 33's to be very close in power to stock set-up of 4.10's with 31's (better power than your current 4.10's with 32's). So if I ever decide to run 255/85/16 BFG KM2's during the summer wheeling season, I can still do it with fairly good results, while still running the KO 32's in winter with 4X4 chains. The 4.88's would suit me ONLY for the 33's.

I wish I could help you more with the 4.3's, but I don't know anyone who has gone that route. Many seem to think re-gearing to 4.3 would not be worth the expense, but you already have the rear diff, and the elocker is priceless if you wheel much, so who knows? Good luck.

crolison

Just wondering what type of wheeling you doing to get 12-15, like are you trail riding around?

Yeah, but it will be less power than stock, gotta take into account of the weight of the 33 compared to stock.

Until the elocker breaks......

sl0annuggets

So 4.56 it is... Anybody have em? lol

RockyMtRunner

i will lol right along with you if one wants to run 33's exclusively. It seems most wheelers agree that 4.88's (at least) are needed for 33's, and I would agree from everything I've been able to dig up about tire size and re-gearing.

But Nfranz wants to stay with 32's, and 32's are what I wanted to stay with (my BFG KO's are 31.7" new), so I chose 4.56's after doing as much research as I could and getting as many opinions as I could. So now I have part of the personal experience that Nfranz was requesting, so that's what I tried to offer in my post. Yes, I am very happy with the 4.56/32" combination.

If I ever run 33's with the 4.56's, i know I won't be as happy as someone with 4.88's. My 4.56's are a compromise to be able to run two different tire sizes and still have decent gearing for highway cruising with the 32's.

I suppose the reason that there are not many wheelers running 4.56's (lol) is that very few want to go to the expense of re-gearing without stepping up to 33's. I sure don't want to mislead anyone who wants to run 33's exclusively. Go with 4.88's at least, that's what I would have done. Thanks for making me clarify my statements.

RockyMtRunner

Hi, crolison. I recognize your name. Your posts over the years have been interesting and helpful. To answer your question:

--My 4lo wheeling so far with the 4.56's and 12-15 mpg has been easy "trail riding around" on class 1-4 trails on the traildamage.com scale with some snow and mud. The 12 mpg was mostly 4lo, while the 15 mpg was a short wheeling trip--combination of 2hi, 4hi (to and from the trailhead}, and 4lo on the trail. My mileage with the 4.56's seems to be about 1-2 mpg less overall than my old 4.1 diffs with the same 32" tire.

brian2sun

nfrantz007, I think 4.56s and 265/75s is a great combo, especially if you have an auto. Someone may correct me, but I think some 3rd gens came with 4.56s and 265/70s from the factory, so 4.56 and 75s will not be a problem at all. I would expect your rpms at freeway speed to be ~ 300-350 higher than they are now between about 50 and 75 mph.

4.30s will make a marginally small difference in power and rpms will probably only get ~ 150 higher at those same speeds. However, 4.30s will push a 32 just fine IMO. If I was in your boat and already had the 4.30 rear, I would not spend that much $$ to go to 4.56s unless I was setting it up to tow a tent trailer or some jet skis or something.

RockyMtRunner

I have been thinking again about your question and what I would do if I were you. I hope my enthusiasm for my new 4.56's in a previous post doesn't sway your decision too much, because if you can find a 4.3 front diff, getting back to stock with 4.3 diffs and 32's is probably not a bad $$$ choice, especially for 90% DD and already having the 4.3 rear diff/axle. But what I like MOST is that your 4.3 rear axle has the elocker. For that 10% wheeling, as I said before, you will love that locker, and factory rear diff elockers don't have a history of breaking often. So, unless your DD routine includes pulling a trailer or hauling heavy cargo up sustained highway ascents like I-70 up Vail Pass, you probably don't need 4.56's, in my opinion. LIke someone else posted, if you get into wheeling later on and have some funds, that would be the time to step up to 33's, re-gear to 4.88's (or lower) AND install ARB air lockers fore and aft. And then there is the crawler box . . . dream on!

nfrantz007

All good info guys!

I guess to add to the discussion I do tow quite a bit (~1200 lb trailer) so I guess 4.56's can't be ruled out that easily.

Based on the comments I think I will try to find a front 4.56 front and re-gear the locked rear. Really this will just be a good excuse to tear down the rear end and inspect everything. The axle seals are shot so if I have to replace the seals I may as well re-gear (not sure if I even follow that logic... ). I think with the added weight of the tires and aerodynamics of the larger tires the 4.56's will most likely get me closer to the stock "feel" than the 4.3's which is roughly the stock final gear ratio. <--- I could be wrong here...

If I can't easily find a 4.56 front then I'll just suck it up and run a 4.30 front. On to the classifieds!