syhnthetik

I just bought my second 4runner. This one is a 1987 with 6" of lift and running 35's. The seller said that aboslutely nothing has been done to the gearing, which was painfully obvious on the drive from Norfolk, VA where I bought it to Jacksonville, FL where I live. So anyway, I have been doing alot of research about regearing, but I still have a few questions. I checked out the axle code on the firewall, and it has 4.10 gears right now. I found a calculator that you could put in the stock tire size and the new tire size and the current gearing, and it told you what gears you would have to run to be stock again, and that said about a 5.10 or something like that. This is mainly a daily driver and sees almost 120 miles of highway driving a day. So my question is.....since you can't really get a 5.10 gear set, should I go with 4.88's or 5.29's? I am mainly interested in my highway speed and mpg's more than I am with the offroad ability since truthfully it will see alot more time on road than off road. Don't get me wrong, it will see it's fair share of offroading, but I am sure it will do great offroad no matter which gear set I choose. Thanks in advance for your opinions. oh, btw, it is a 4cyl 5spd.

1989toy4wd

No they dont make a 5.10 gear set, so I would go with the 5.29s for all around better performance! Better gas mileage too!

syhnthetik

thanks for the quick reply, that's pretty much what I figured, but I wasn't sure which would be better since I will be doing mostly highway driving.

ovrrdrive

Yep, do the 5.29's. You'll be glad you did.

Jay351

If you are going to be doing alot of hwy driving it might be better to get 34" tires and 4.88 gears.

35" and 5.29 would put your hwy cruising rpm's higher then 34"s and 4.88

Or 36" tires and 5.29 gears..

syhnthetik

I don't really want to buy new tires since the ones I bought it with are still almost brand new. I think I will definately go with the 5.29's though. Thanks.

1styota4X4

where are the pics??

MudHippy

For highway speed and/or mpg you should go with 4.88 or higher, not lower (5.29 etc). 4.56 might get you even better mpg, but your 4cyl might have to be runnin' good an' strong to move your rig in a speedy fashion.

How it works:

The lower (higher numerically) you go gearing wise you trade mpg and MAX top speed (in mph), for quicker acceleration and more torque. This is only of benefit off-road if you think about it.

Oh, by the way I run 35x12.5 with 4.30 and the V6. I get by just fine. Good mpg 17-20. Ands I uses the 4Low for wheelin'.

Sonofmayhem

I have the 5.29s and 37s, i think its geared a little low. i.e. i shift a lot. but i don't mind being able to accelerate up hills

1stgenrnrdude

i have a similar question to the one being asked, i am planning on putting different gears in my 88 4runner once i lift it more and throw some bigger tires on it..now for my questions-
1. will i be able to fit 35's on an 88 4runner with a 2in body lift and an OME suspension lift?(im already runnin 32's on the 2in body lift)
2. i was planning on putting 5.29's in while im doing this, which is the best brand to buy, and where is a reputable place to buy them?
thanks you guys, i was hoping to answer some of syhnthetik's questions in this as well-thanks

myyota

I have 5.29s and 37'' MTRs on my 85 truck and really like it, i also have duel cases and that helps alot to. I know its not a 4 Runner but its the same idea. also remember that a 4Runner is a bit heaver than a truck so the 5.29s would probably work real well for you.

tc

5.29's, certainly not any higher than that!

Gas mileage is more related to throttle position than RPM's. You need to be taching 3000 RPM to make any power with these motors, which allows you to be very light on the throttle and get good gas mileage. These engines like to be revved and hate to be lugged - keep the RPM's up!

Stomis

Hmmm TC I thought I read if your cruising over 3000 rpms on the highway your eating gas. Idk I ordered 4.88's for my truck and it will be running a 3.0 with 36's. I was drawn between the 5.29's and 4.88's for a while. My deciding factors were that 4.88's are stronger gears, I would be cruising 65-70 at the same 2600-2800 rpms I already was now, and I've had no problem with 4.56's and 33x12.5's.

Sonofmayhem

I doubt you will be breaking gears, unless you have longs, and his hub gears. So strength really isn't that bad.


1stgenrnrdude:
Yukon gears are proven and everyone loves them.
You will have to trim to fit 35s and your cvs will be emo...

olharleyman

I run 35 x 12.5s with 5.29s in my dd 90 3.0 4runner and do 85 miles a day to and from work I set my cruise at 60 mph about 2750-2800 rpm and get between 240 and 280 miles to a tank depending on the traffic. I would also have to admit it is nice to have throttle responce in 5th gear and at 300-3100 rpm i'm rolling along at about 70 best mod ever done on my truck.

syhnthetik

Thanks for the replies everyone. I think I am going to go with the 5.29's since it is the closest to stock I am going to get and almost everyone seems to agree that those would be best. I will try to get some pics up this weekend, but I am on dialup so it is a real pain in the arse.

MudHippy

You'll be able to use 5th gear that way. That's always a good thing.

chopitrakeit

I am running 35-1250 MTRs with the 4.10's now. Plan is to go to 4.88.
5.29 is a little low for daily driving

syhnthetik

OK, so I called around today to get a price on the labor for replacing the ring and pinion, and one shop that I called told me that if I go to 5.29's I will have get a new carrier? Does that sound correct? I thought that these gears would bolt right in with no mods. I am considering just buying a setup third with the gears and lockers already installed cause this is quickly adding up to the same price that I would spend on buying something that is ready to bolt in.

MudHippy

That's BS about the carrier. I'm not aware of any clearencing issues with those, maybe, but that wouldn't mean a new carrier. Just grinding out some extra space for the ring if you had to.

If you think it'll save money buying a setup third, deffinetly do so.