I now know that I have 4.56 gears. Would it be worth it to move to the 4.88's? I know that 5.29 would really give me low end, but I would like good highway speed as well (~70 - 80 mph). I don't do much hard core wheeling. I just want to get through mild trails and back country to bike and climb. I have 33" x 12.5" w/ 4" suspension lift running an auto tranny and 3.0 engine. I would appreciate any advice. 4.88? 5.29? or stock? Thanks.

 

Seems to me that it isnt worth the $$$ to just go to 4.88's. If it were me I would go 5.29's...kinda more bang for the buck... It would also put you back closer to where you were stock..

 

Go here, scroll down a bit and read about auto trannies and gearing:
http://www.brian894x4.com/Gearratiosanddiffs.html

 

I would be interested in your old gears as long as they are in good shape when you get them out. I have been waiting for someone to have some 4.56 gears for sale. If you are even interested in selling your stock gears. I'm gonna start doing some research just in case you are ... I would like to be the first to know ... Thanks.

 

i run that setup right now 4.88s and 33x12.5R15 and to me there was very little difference in going from the 31s w/ 4.88s. The truck still feels powerful.. althought i havent really been on away real trails yet just flexing on hills and stuff!

here is a pic and all i used was 4H, hy head was in the middle of the driver door (im 6,2)

 

With 33" tires and the 3.0 engine the recommended gearing from guys that have done/had both is and always will be: 4.88's for a 5spd and 5.29's for an auto.

 

Go at least to 5.29s, 5.71s are even better for the 3.slo and auto tranny with 33s. I ran my DD with the 5.71s with 33 BFG mud-t for 40,000 miles and it was great.

 

Ok, so if going to 4.88's is a waste, then 5.29's would be the ticket. Can anyone tell me about the highway/ interstate performance of/ between 4.88's and 5.29's?

 

Scroll to the bottom of this page to see A340x tranny / transfer case gearing:

http://www.off-road.com/toyota/tech/other/4_dts.html

Here's a neat calculator to determine highway speed w/ given ratios and final drives.

http://www.4lo.com/calc/gearratio.htm

The first page notes that Overdrive on the auto tranny is about 30% overdriven, so put in POINT 7 (.7) in the transmission section of the gear calculator. Put in 1 if you are not locked into 4Low in the transfer case.

Mike in AR

 

Yes highway performace is really what I was refering to. With 4.88s your tranny will drop out of OD with the slightest hill or headwind. With 5.29s its better, but still not great. With 5.71s you can use OD for most smaller hills even with headwinds and still hold 75-80mph and be under 4000rpms.

Note: this is with a true 33" tire. If your not sure of your tire size measure them first. Also if you are the type that runs a set of tires until they are bald, keep in mind that a 33" Mud-t will turn into a 32" tire before it goes bald.

 

5.29's are the best gear, and if your going to do a swap dont just go partially. When I did my swap 5 years ago I went from 4.10 to 4.88's, but was only running 32's. Now I run a 33 in the winter and 35 in the summer, I would rather have the 5.29's, but the difference isnt enough to warrent, so I will do xcase gears and have more trail performance....

Toyota engines dont really mind a bit higher R's on the fwy.... go for the 5.29's....

 

I went from 4.56 to 4.88 and DEFINITELY notice the difference and it was worth every penny. The people who say it isn't worth it most likely have the MUCH more powerful 3.4...Mine is manual tranny.

How do you have 4.56 and auto? Don't they usually come with 4.88's?

For auto tranny, I would REALLY consider 5.71. The overdrive is so damn tall that you'll have a hard time holding it as mentioned above.

The lower gears you put in, the more critical the installation is. For 5.71, you need to find a real expert, like ZUK on here

 

Here is a spreadsheet I made a few years back, I spent the last hour cleaning it up for public display. It will tell you more RPM's than most calcs. I also have it setup for a side-by-side comparison. I was just playing with it and realized that with 4.88's and 35's I am only 3% off from the stock setting.... Not bad... So enjoy, and let me know if it works for you..


I also put lower xcase gears in for the 5speed side. I didnt do dual cases simply becase I dont plan on ever doing that, but then agian I never planned on 35's :pat:

 

would stock 4.56 gears that someone is trading out be worth putting my my truck ? Assuming and the person making sure that they are in good condition. I guess I might want to check and see what gears are in my truck first.

 

They won't save you as much money as you think, as you would still have the R&R costs, which is the expensive part of having gears done. Now if you can find junk-yark 3rd F&R, that would be decent

 

what do you mean R&R ? If he has a 3.0L and I have a 3.0L all I have to do is switch out the gears - right?

 

Are you absolutely sure your truck has 4.56 gears???? I thought the 3.0/auto/31" tire option came with 4.88's stock and the 3.0/5spd/31" tire option came with 4.56's???

 

My truck has 4.10 gears stock

 

Yes, but when someone changes gears they usually keep the same carrier.. so you will be installing the used gears as if they were new. Gears are only about 100 ea, so on a 1500 dollar job you would save 200.....

 

My 92 3.0 A340H auto tranny 4Runner has 4.56 gears. They are apparently factory stock, according to the B-pillar sticker. It came with P225 tires, stock. Running 31's didn't hurt acceleration that much,, but I could tell it lowered mileage about 1-2 mpg.

Mike in AR