just another new guy...
 

wow, this is such an informative palace... (yes i have searched around) however, i do have a couple of questions, that i would like answered, (Im a newbie so keep it simple haha), I have a 1993 pre-taco 4x4, it already has 31x10.5 BFG-AT's, i am going to be honest... i drive this thing to school and on the street a lot, i only really see some bumpy dirt roads... even though i dont go hardcore off-road, is it wrong for me to want my truck to be higher? (i just like the lifted look)? All i can think about is a lil' lift and 33x12.5's, however, that would require my stock 22re truck to be regeared to 4.88's anyways my questions are...
1) Should i get lockers even if i dont plan on driving trails?
2)How much would it cost for parts and labor to regear?
3)Is there anything else i should consider? (I know it sounds dorky or w/e, but i just think it would be cool if my truck was a little bigger and more capable)

Don't worry, I think most guys in their teens, and especially before they read A LOT on this site, want a larger truck with big tires. I did. I'm glad I didn't though. I'm happy with my 31's :D.
Do some more searching and reading and you will find what you are asking. Yes, its a good idea to regear to 4.88 for 33" tires, but it also goes more than that, especially for wider tires. Look into idler arm and pitman arm braces. Heavier duty steering will do you some good, as far as I have read. Just do some more searching :D If you do mainly street driving, look into an ARB air locker, but thats expensive, and people will argue that an auto is fine. It is. What kind of offroading DO you do? a locker will be helpful just about everywhere. Also, look at the Newbie Tech Section.
Welcome to YotaTech :D:grouphug:

i looked around for pitman and idler arm braces... however, i just found that big diesel truck owners are fans of them... however downey off road does have an idler arm gusset, which looks like what you might be talking about... are just idler arms gussets better than nothing? to be honest, i havent done much off-roading, i just got the 4x4, i haven't really explored that side of things yet... i just want to enhance my truck a little, that's all.. i am just trying to decide where to start spending some dough every now and then...

Ya, idler arm gusset. Thats what I meant. brace..gusset, pretty much the same thing. I guess you dont need a pitman arm gusset.
What you should do is just go over the vehicle and look for anything that needs to be repaired or replaced. its better to have a fully functioning stock vehicle than a broken modded one :D

i totally agree... my rear bumper has some rust on it, i haven't been to the junkyard yet, do you think a marlin crawler bumper is worth it? i also found the Total Chaos idler arm, but i don't need that, i think the gusset will probably improve my steering enough!, the truck is in pretty good shape... only has around 125K miles...

Every thing I have read about the MC rear bumper has been positive. I think its worth it. Once I get some more money, I'm planning on getting one, unless I make friends with a welder before the summer :hillbill: The idler arm gusset just helps prevent the idler arm from being bent due to extra stress from larger tires, more specifically wider ones. Its not a necessity, but its a nice accessory. Might let you sleep better at night :laugh:

First off, if you want to lift your truck, then do it. If you have the sufficient funds and feel that a lift and big tires is what you want to spend your hard earned dollars on, then by all means knock yourself out. That's what I did. I've already spent more than what I payed for my truck (4200) on my lift and tires, and theres plenty more coming. Regearing to 4.88s or 5.29s would make the truck a lot peppier, but 33s on stock gearing is completely manageable. You will find yourself growing a beard in the time it takes to get to 60, if you can get to 60 at all, and stalling out on hill starts. But to me, the advantages of having a tire with a bigger footprint and taller profile outweighs the slowness and thirstiness of my stock gearing. And unless youre gonna be rock crawling, stock steerings gonna be fine with 33s. As for lockers, I'm waiting for aussie to come out with their 8" v6 locker. I will probably do gears at the same time. However, if you really are spending the majority of your time on road, I wouldnt bother getting a locker.

yeah the marlin bumper is a good price.. cheaper than buying a new oem.. and it looks cool.. witha small body lift you could fit 33s now...i run 32s on a 5spd stock and its fine.. disnt regear..
if you regearing i would put a aussie or lockright on the rear only.. and your truck will be almost unstopabble
must truck with a locked rear goes more places than i should take it without getting body damage lol

Oh, and I'm getting a MC bumper for mine come inspection time. Seems like a really strong bumper, and looks totally badass!

Plus there is always the "Lift it, Fat chicks can't jump" philosophy :jk:

Aw man, if I was at home, I would post the pic!

"Jack em' Up High, Fat Chicks Can't Jump"

wow, now that is funny! man... what a great reason to lift it! lol, well i didnt know that it would cost me $4200, that's a chunk... would a body lift and re-gearing cost that much? flashkl, 10mpg sounds bad to me! hopefully a 22re with that set up might be a lil better... well the MC bumper sounds like a good goal, so does some idler arm gussets, since they're sorta inexpensive...

Sorry, it didnt take me 4200 for the lift, more like 2 grand. Exaggerated a bit, but I'm sure I've spent that one way or another on other stuff. A body lift can be had for around 250 bucks, if you want bigger tires on a budget, do up to a 2in BL and you will be happy. Regearing with prebuilt 3rds will cost you probably around 2400 or so, and if theres a good shop near you, you can probably have it done for like 500 labor (?).

Welcome to Yotatech.

:guitar:

thanks for all the help guys!, i don't really know where to shop around for gears and all that... where are some good places? also, do i have to buy a GPS when my speedo goes outta wack from regearing?

Gears you can get from places like marlin, downey etc. Yukon gears are supposedly pretty good, but I'm no expert. Regearing is compensating for the added tire circumference, so your speedo should be spot on. If you get the 33s without regearing, your speedo will be about 3mph slower than you are going, if you remember that you will be fine.

oh ok, btw, i saw some gear sets that were less than 200 bucks, what does "prebuilt 3rds" mean? i cant find any info on regearing that uses figures near $2400, or does that mean +another 200 for the front, and another couple hundred for the installation kits?

http://www.wabfab.org/products/diffe...ferentials.htm

Prebuilt 3rds are the whole differential with gears and/or lockers.

Regearing a diff shouldn't be more than about $200 per diff

You need gears and master install kits.

:guitar:

oh... ok, so that sounds a lot more convenient... so i would need 2 of these?
3rd, 4.88 Detroit, High Pinion - $1,299
and two master install kits? i gotta go for a while, but i appreciate all the help!

If there is a shop near you that has a reputation for gear installs, defiantely get them to do it rather than buying new 3rds. It will definitely be cheaper. Even buying a junkyard set of 3rds and sending them off to Zuk would be cheaper I think than $2400. And the high pinion diff is for the front I think, and for the rear you want either a 2 pinion for a 4 cyl or a 4 pinion for a v6