I'm about to running 36 or 37's, locked front and rear. I'd like some opinions, experience, etc. I know that the lower you go the weaker it is. I'm leaning toward the 5.29s. What do ya'll think.

 

definately 5.29s

 

if you got the 3.0, get the 5.29s.

if you got the 22re, DEFINITELY GET the 5.29s.

 

I've got 4.88's with 33's and it's OK. Bigger meats would REQUIRE 5.29's.

 

If you put a second T-case in with 4:1 gears in it you can run 4.10's! and still have a killer crawl ratio of ~135:1 !! And you'll definately not blow up yer ring and pinion!!

 

Ive got 35s & I am going to run 5.29s with only a rear quicklock.

Blue

 

My 3.0 with 5.29's runs 33's at 72 mph turning at 2750 rpm's

If it sees pavement, get 5.29's.

 

From what I've seen, as soon as you go over 35's on a Toy front axle, things start to break unless you spend a bunch of money. I guess it depends on what kind of wheelin' your gonna do-

trailer rig w/ no to very limited pavement use:

Full on rock crawlin' breaks 5.29's, 4.88's, even 4.56'sstock inners, detroits, and stock birf's. The AZ hard core crew have all gone back to 4.10's, dual t'cases w/ the rear case stuffed w/ 4+ to 1 gear sets, 4340 chromo inners, long's or a similar birf, and either a welded diff, full spool or ARB setup. They also have either full hydro or hydro assist steering. Even then, they break stuff all the time. I expect to see them all going to Dana 60's eventually. JackA has converted to 60's, and his rig is only 3" wider than it was before by using offset rims.

hard core drive to the trail weekend warrior:

The pinion on 4.88's and 5.29's both have the same # of teeth, but, obviously, the 4.88's are slightly stronger. Once again, with dual t'cases, you can use any ratio from 4.10's to 4.88's w/ no problems, and still get around OK on the pavement. With 4.88's and lower gears, 5th gear will be pretty much useless except on flat ground.

daily driven trail rig:

5.29's will get ya down the road the best, but realize they break things w/ a locked truck on pavement. When Kong's Offroad was open, they saw lot's of broken r/p's after the 37" MT/R's became available.

If I had the $$$ to redo both axles, I'd probably run stock gears ( 4.37's or 4.56's if I could find them) and welded spiders in the rear axle use the money saved for 4.7:1 gears in the back t'case and an ARB for the front diff. 4.10's and dual t'cases w/ 4.7's gives you a great crawl ratio of 173:1, more than sufficient for hard core wheelin'.

later

 

that's an interesting idea. i'm sure my truck would be even more gutless with the stock 4.37s and 35s, but it's that much more of a strength improvement?

i'm planning on running 35" tsls on the trail...starting to lean toward turning the toy into a "fun only" rig and buying something else for a DD, since it seems to be cheaper that way

then again, i think we don't have all the dry rocks here in washington that you've got in arizona. mostly dirt and mud it seems...

 

Depends on the weight of your rig and your HP. I'm 8k+ and 325+hp... I break 5.29's on a regular basis. (ok, so not as much as I keep breaking Newfields, but that's another matter)

I just switched to 4.88's to not worry about pinions... I've got a 4.7-1 gearset in the t-case too, so I'm not too worried about my crawl.

If you're under 5000lbs, I'd say 5.29's... over, and I'd say 4.88's.
My .02

J

 

i think i'm gonna try to keep the truck as light as possible. right now in it's stock form, it only weighs about 3300lbs

 

Wolfpack, how did you end up with a 8k rig?

Mine is hefty at 5k being a 95, but it looks like you are first generation.

 

Well I ordered my 5.29s & Detroit EZ Locker for the rear today. I cant wait til they get here. Blue

 

LC's are tanks...

 

Mike said it all Flyg....

LC's are " well endowed "...They're 6600 lbs STOCK...

First generation? Huh?

 

Your avatar looked to me like an 85-89 4-Runner, no a Cruiser. I thought you were driving around with 5 big Bertha's.

 

Ta da!