Ok Im a noob to the 4x4 stuff..Pretty much own old chevy camaros and 5.0 Mustangs and even a few civics. Work in the automotive trade. Ok now to my questions.

I have been driving my dads 94 shortbed? regular cab truck for a while now. I plan on purchasing it in a year or so. The truck is super clean inside and nice on the outside for what it is. Has 130k on it. It has 31's on it and everything else is stock. I noticed that with the 31's it seems as if it has no "go" in 5th gear on the freeway unless the roads pretty much level or down hill lol. Is this normal for a 22re 5 speed? It runs really good but has no power in 5th.

My goals for this truck are just to have a clean nice daily driven work truck that I can use for fishing,hunting,camping and light off roading,mudding.

I was all about a 4" lift with some 33's but Id have to re gear it and I guess with those bracket kits I wouldnt benifit much so I started thinking for my needs would a regear and lockers be my best option and keep 31's on it? Or just get stock size tires again and just do lockers minus regear?

 

i would regear, and put lockers in it. You don't wanna pay for set up twice if you decide to regear later.

 

lol.. yup!! sounds like a 22re to me.. dont feel bad.. i have a 3vze and its not any better.. well maybe a tad.. nothing to brag about thats for sure..

 

yea the 22re is pretty weak, you can try bj spacers (under $100) 33' muds and re gear 4.88

 

So I could just get BJ spacers? Do I need to crank the torsion bars with the BJ spacers? What about lifting the rear?

 

No to the torsion bars and yes to the rear. Depending on how far you go block/shackles would be sufficient. Don't over do your front driveline angles tho.

 

What is it that you're after: Lift or off road performance? Lift is cheap. Off road performance isn't cheap - especially with IFS trucks.

 

I dont really care to lift it if stock height and 31's will be fine? Id rather re gear it and put lockers in it(rear at least) so I get better traction..Id assume lockers and gears will give me better performance over just a 4" lift?

I have 31's on it now but it just feels too slow in 5th..like no pull unless the speedo reads 60mph...most of the time im in 4th on the freeway unless theres not traffic. I just wanna hit some light mud and be able to get around better when im campin,hunting etc..right now the trucks still too nice to beat on

 

I'd get the lockers & re-gear. Then decide on tire sizes by playing around with used tires in 32" & 33" until you decide what's right for you. If you go with a more narrow tire you might not need to do any lifting to clear 33"'s just some hammering.

 

Has the timing chain ever been changed? I had a 22RE with about the same mileage, and while I had the head off I installed a new timing chain. The old one had stretched. There was a noticable improvement afterward. At the very least you should check your timing with a timing light and adjust as necessary. The 22RE is not a powerhouse, especially if you're used to 5.0 performance... I actually made the same change about 10 years ago.

You'll be surprised how much you can get across with stock height and 31s with some good driving & spotting. A lift will have some negative results for on road driveability. My personal opinion is similar to Brenjen, except I would say wheel what you got first and then figure out what you need and go that route. Nobody on the internet can tell you what is "right" for your situation.

 

The timing chain idea is solid. What I said was assuming the engine is not the problem (I don't own a 4 banger) & I know how much lockers help off road. Sounds to me like 111db has experience with this very thing. Working in the automotive trade I recon you've changed the fuel filter & have a good set of plugs, wires, dist. cap & rotor too so you can rule that out as the power robber?

I always figured the power was about the same as the 3.0 in a 4runner, a friend of mine had a 22r something 4x4 truck back in the 80's & it seemed to have enough get up & go. Of course my memory is fuzzy on the issue.

 

Yeh its had a "tune up" plugs wires,rotor,fuel filter etc. It runs fine just slow as sloth in 5th. In town its not so bad..I just got give it some good amount of gas pedal to move..Im probably not used to it after driving "faster" vehicles..+ I know the 31's with stock gears are a problem as well. I think Im just gonna get around and to lockers at least rear and re gear front and rear. Id probably get a front locker since I hate to tear it down twice. I think that will get my "off road" fix for a while...then if the truck is beat up enough by then Ill go nuts with it