I'm thinking about biting the bullet and swapping to 4.56's in my 86 4runner with 31 x 10.50's. I live/work at a decently high elevation and would like more power on the highway and keep from getting bogged in deep snow.

Will swapping help or hurt my MPG (get anywhere from 17.5ish-23mpg now)?

Is the increase in "power" worth the cost?

Any special tools if swapping 3rds?

would prefer to hear from people that have gone to 4.56 personally......

 

MPG - it could hurt or help it, depending on how you drive

power vs cost - whats the cost?

tools - socket wrenches

preference - I dont have 4.56s but i've done research.

 

I never did a swap or anything. But my truck is stock with 4.56 gears. I like them. Seem to be good on and off road. Although i only get about 16 MPG city. Havent checked highway.

 

95BlackToy..you're also V6 and he is 22RE 4cyl. lol

i believe you MIGHT see a DECREASE in mileage and an increase in power...atleast that's what the statistics say.

since when you switch to 4.56's..you'll be turning more RPMs then you were before with 4.10's and 31's.

 

Check with the RB4R-PR...I believe he has a post called 4.10's out, 4.56's in! Tons of good stuff on here from people who've done the switch. Wish I could tell you from experience, but mine are in the garage collecting dust along with my 4.88's!

Good luck!

 

My truck:
22re, 5 speed, xtracab pickup.
I was running 31's on 4.10's for a bit. Slow off the line, slow all around.
I installed the 4.56's on my own. The rear takes 2-3 hours on your own (first time).
The difference was amazing. My city MPG went up and my highway MPG went down. I could get about 25 to 40km more per fill and about that less on the highway.
The power increase was great. It would pull up long hills better, less downshifting (as you are in the power band more often), I liked it. Not so hard on the clutch.
I felt like the truck actually had zip.
Your speedometer will be off by about 7km/h.
I say do it. The rear is easy, the front takes a while if you've never done it.
If you take out the front, pound out the axle studs before you take out the 3 big bolts, that way you don't ruin your CV's when you drop it down.

 

I had a different experience then Stu.
I did the same swap and it helped but not a huge difference. It feels like it did with the stock tires again but the 31's didn't kill it to bad I thought.
But I did it with some scrap gears from another truck I had for other parts. If you are going to shell out money for new ones and setup I would get 4:88. Not worth the money to go from 4:10 to 4:56. IMO.

4:88 gives you options to run lots of different sizes.

 

If you want to run 31's or maybe 33's, 4.56 is great. 4.88 and 33's are a great combo. 4.88 and 31's and you will be hating the interstate.

 

I be the RB4R-PR.

4.56's, 31's and a PICKUP..... Probably not too much difference.

4.56's, 31's and a 4Runner, thats where you will see a difference. It's the difference in weight that you will be able to notice the swap more.
And actually, My speedo is off. I will be switching to 265/75/16's (32's) as money allows. Ran a set of em for a month and speedometer was dead on.

My MPG's are down, but thats bc I have heavy goodyear MTR's weighing close to 60 pounds a piece. I am going back to an a/t somewhere around 45 pounds a piece. I figure to get back to around 23 MPG highway. Not sure how heavy those grabber's are that you have without going to look...... ***Ok, I looked. Assuming you are running 31x10.50x15's, they are 42 pounds and will do juuuuuust fine.

Hill climbing, passing, and overall drive-ability is better. And they are correct about the highway, you will be about 2800-3000 rpms at highway speeds. But you also need less throttle. I had to downshift, hammer down, and wait about a half mile to get to passing speeds. Now, I ease the throttle and hit the blinker.

Here's the kicker. How much are the gears gonna cost you? $250? DEAL! $500? Meh. But its your rig, I don't know if you are gonna want to go to 33's eventually or not. And its not my decision.

Mine, everything included, ended up being about $250. Best $250 I have spent on my 4Runner. I wouldn't have paid more then $500 for it though, UNLESS you could get it with an e-locker.

Check the gears link in my sig, the threads included about how to swap has the tool list needed. Its not hard. If I can do it by myself in about 6 hours, And I like to cruise around, have a beer, etc. Then anyone can do it. Follow the links, that's all I did.

 

^^^Listen to the gear guru^^^

Someday mine will go in and I'll be able to join the club...in the meantime that sticky has helped me a ton!

 

hehehe. Thanks. And btw, I am almost done fixing my house. I will be starting on that buildup thread soon. :great.

I just try to inform people about it, not try to ever talk people into or out of it. Its their rig, I am trying to share my honest opinion. Too often people try to convince others to build their rig the way THEY did it. Million ways to skin a cat. And pretty much everyone's rig is different. It's the beauty of this site. Everyone tries different things, posts em up, and others can decide, based on what they use their yota for, which mods and fixes will work for them. Hell, I never expected to take mine wheeling, Just wanted a DD that ran correctly. Well, its still a DD, but its evolved into something I can still take out on the weekends, but can cruise the freeways with the top down with the best of em, too.

 

Congrats on the house, I've lurked on other threads and it sounds like a beast! Looking forward to seeing that build up thread, one day I may be able to start one myself instead of just accumulating parts. Can't imagine what else you have left to do to your rig other than the door swap thing?

Hopefully, the OP has found some useful in this thread. Check this one out:

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...4-56-s-199067/

 

Yeah thanks. When I bought the place the cedar siding was marginal, I painted and hoped for 5 years out of it. Well, 5 years later, I stripped it to studs since the plywood sheeting was bad and redid the whole thing. Now its prep for paint and hopefully, if the weather holds out, I will have it painted Saturday. Current forecast shows rain, though.

Pretty much, I am gonna shoot for new tires, door panel swap, BBP's pod speakers, and a set of sliders.

But of course, the wish list always grows......

 

Hope the weather holds off! Cedar again or did you go vinyl? And new tires already? Going with the treadwrights agains?

 

I hung up Hardie plank. 50 year warranty stuff.

Not going treadwrights. Great tires, just too heavy for DD. Might get another set of rims and keep these for wheeling. They do awesome off road.

I am still trying to figure out what tire to go with. Kumho 61's, wrangler duratrac's, the list goes on. I want C rated, 265/75/16 at 45 pounds or under. there is a small list that qualifies.

 

I swapped 4.56 gears into my 81 from the factory 3.90 and am glad I did and I have run all the way from 235s-37 w/4.56 and love them they really help with accelleration and 4wheeling

 

would 4.88's work with my 35s?

 

Not if they are sitting on your garage floor........

 

bite me level 6


aaaaaaaaaaand 235...

 

Level 6 ??? Now, that's love.......