Hi guys,
I've got a 4wd 90' pickup that I bought last year. It was in pretty good condition and been happy with it. I had the clutch replaced as it died on me rather quickly after I got (I knew it was in bad shape) and it's been running good since then.

I replaced the tires right away (they were pretty worn) and installed some mud BFG 33x10.5R15. It may have a little too big but had a good deal on them and figured I'd probably re-gear at some point.

And that's pretty much where I'm at. It still drives fine but I think it's time to think about re-gearing.

Based on my VIN my friend was able to find out it's got 4.56. What would you recommend I should get, considering tires/how old the truck is?

Neither my friend or I have replaced gears before, but I know there is a place I can send the diff's to and they will be change it for me. I don't remember the exact name of the company. Anyway which route would you recommend me to go? I'm in socal btw.

thanks
steve

 

I need to ask if it drives fine why change the gears??

If it can`t get out of it`s own way or you get passed by kids on there Big wheels . Then regear

Is this your daily driver ??

A Trail Truck ??

I think your money would be better spent else where.

Bottom line It is your Truck have at it.

 

Thanks.

No it is not a daily driver. Mainly a trail truck and occasionally use it to carry material from the home improvement store. I do live at 6000 ft and I get a fair share of steep roads/trails. The main street leading to my home is fairly steep and I can get away in second gear all the way. However the street where my house is I have to get into first for a hundred yards or so.

Driving on larger highways Same story dropping to 4th or 3rd in order to maintain constant speed.

I am not sure what to expect that's why I'm asking. Not sure how much it'd cost me total.

Or maybe it's just engine that is getting old. It's never been rebuilt as far as I know.

 

I looked into regearing a while ago and decided against it due to cost and complexity of setting them up myself. I priced it out as ~$850 for Yukon gears/setup kits for front and rear diffs. $750 for USA Standard gears, $710 for Motive. Maybe you could get by without the full rebuild kits but just the gears will run you $160-$250 per diff depending on what brand you go with. If you're willing to pay someone to set them up, go with Zuk for sure. His website has detailed documentation of him setting up people's diffs and he is very thorough. I used his tutorials to install my Aussie in January and it was easy.

 

thank you. I guess my biggest question is whether or not I'll gain anything from this. Since I've never used this truck when it had less miles I am not sure how it drove.

Does anyone have any experience with a 3.0V6 with similar tires? I basically didn't drive it with the stock tires so that's another point of comparison I don't have.

 

From what I've read 4.88s with 33s will return the truck to feeling stock (or really close). I have 31s and the stock 4.56s are apparently a little slow and 4.88s would be better, but like you I never drove the truck stock so I can't really compare. Unless you're unhappy with how it drives I think Wyoming is right - your money would be better spent elsewhere. Automatic lockers are cheap and effective. I drive in Atlanta occasionally with my Aussie and didn't have any issues adjusting to its little quirks. On the trail it's a huge upgrade over an open diff.

 

I have 33x10.50 BFG's on my 4runner with 4.56 gears. I noticed a bit of difference from the stock 31's, but not enough to make me want to spend the money on regearing.

If you think about it, all regearing does is fine-tune your transmission shift points. A Toyota 5-speed has a ratio between upper gears of about 1.6:1 (2nd to 3rd, 3rd to 4th) or about 1.2:1 (4th to 5th). Going from 4.56 gears to 4.88's is ratio of about 1.07:1, so it moves all of your shift points to about half-way in between where they are now. Some people like that better, but for any situation you can find where the new shift points are better, you can find another combination of load and speed where the old ones would be better. It's really a matter of driving preference and use model. Re-gearing certainly won't add raw horsepower.

The way I look at it, as long as I don't run out of gears on the low end, I really have all of the gear ratios I need with my current setup to get where I want to go. It's just a matter of relearning and readjusting shift points and driving habits, and pretty soon you don't think twice about it.

For what it's worth, 4.56 to 4.88 is a 7% change. Going from 31's to 33's is a 6.5% change in the other direction, so it's almost a perfect compensation. And, 31's and 4.56 gears with 3.0 and a 5-speed is a stock configuration, so 33's and 4.88's would essentially drive like stock as well.

 

thanks for all the input guys.
Yeah the way it feels, it's more like a lack of HP than anything. Which translates into shifting into lower gear. So I'll stick with this setup for now.

If I may ask another question (I could make another thread) - one thing that may be issue is my truck is some weird smell - like it smells "hot". I originally thought it was my clutch which was slipping a lot before I got it replaced. But the smells is still there roughly a 1000 miles later. It usually smells like that after pushing the truck hard, like pulling on my driveway (it's fairly steep) with the bed fully loaded, or a couple weeks while hauling a boulder. But since the clutch is new I am thinking it's something else.

I have a tiny leak on the radiator (leak is facing up) and was wondering if it could be the coolant (Red/pink 50/50 premixed) on a hot surface. I bought a new rad and will be replacing it this week-end. The engine temperature gauge is where it should be but since my oil gauge doesn't work, I wouldn't trust it much. Pump is circulating too.

Any idea what that smell could be?

 

I have a 91 4 runner and put BFG 33's on it. Couldn't pull a hill empty with a stiff wind behind me. There were 4.56 gears in it. They were in the optional 31" tire package with a 5 speed. I went to the pick and pull and bought the front axle and rear 3rd member for a little over $200. They are found in the automatic version with the 31" tire option. Now I am not familiar with the trucks and I am not sure what your options are but it worked for me. I can actually hold 70 on the highway. Axles are getting harder to find. Getting new gears was cost prohibitive.

 

Oh and the gearing is now 4.88.

 

I have an 89 with 33 12.50's on it and I don't have any problems with maintaining speed...Sure I have to downshift to 4th to go up steeper hills but that is to be expected for the 3.slow I have factory gearing in mine and don't have any problems...maybe you should look at something else for loss of power rather than re-gearing?

 

thanks guys,

ott47> what are you thinking it could be?
did all the maintenance when I got it (oil, fluids, belted, etc). I have the plugs but didn't have a tool/extension to get them replaced. their access is nasty on that V6

 

it's an old truck, what if someone changed out the third.

mark the tire, and mark the driveshaft at the third, and count tire revolutions vs. driveshaft revolutions, to make sure what you got.

 

It didn't have many miles on it and only had one owner before according to whom everything was still stock. But I can check over the week-end.

 

Have you done a compression test on it? it could be a burnt valve or something rather than gearing

 

not something I have done, no. Gotta look that up.

 

You got a 5spd or Automatic?
I had a 90 pickup 3.0, 5spd, 4.51 gears with 33x12.5s and it was fine

 

It's manual. it may just be how it's supposed to run - hard to say with little experience with this generation truck/engine.

 

General rule of thumb on 2nd gen 4runners/pickups -- if it seems only somewhat underpowered, everything is probably A-OK. And, as I've said here before, don't be afraid to run at higher rpms. The sweet spot on the 3.0 is between 3000 and 4000 rpm - no harm in shifting down and running at 4K for extended periods to get up a long hill.

 

Get an aftermarket tach though and don't just play it by ear... never understood why you could buy a manual vehicle and not have a tach to go with it...