I just ordered from 4wheel parts 5.29 gears, detroit locker for rear and truetrac L.S. for front and install kits. I was torn between 4.88 and 5.29's. I'm currently running 32's and I might go 33's at the most. I have an 88 4runner with 4cyl and man. tranny. Now I hope I didn't go too low. Its not a daily driver but I would have to drive it to and from whereever I wheel.

 

5.29's will be low, but if it is not a DD I don't think it would be unbearable, You might be a little more limited on the highway but you could definitely do the speed limit no problem, plus they will give you a better crawl ratio. I say stick with them since it isn't a DD, maybe move up to 34's when you buy tires next.

 

that makes me feel better about my choice.

 

You did good. 5.29's in a rig that see occasional street is managable. The tradeoff from onroad to off is WORTH every revolution.

 

Per our conversation tonight at the dealership...read my sig.

 

Yeah yeah Its just good to hear it over and over so I can feel better about the LARGE amount of money I just spent.

 

Get 33's

 

Well my parts came in. I dropped it off at the shop today. Stayed with 5.29's and looking forward to getting it back.

 

That didn't take long.

 

I appreciate Waskilly agreeing that if they are indeed too low, he will cover the cost of replacing them with 4.88's.

 

Shoot me an email...got a ??? for ya.

 

5.29's are def. a good choice with the vehicle not being a DD.

One question though...what brand of gears did you get? Hopefully not those that start with a G...but if I'm not mistaken that's all 4wheelparts carries. Maybe they'll be fine since it's not a DD.

Best of luck to ya!

 

You are only talking about 217 rpm difference at 60 mph (2811rpm with the 5.29's vs. 2594 with the 4.88's) and you could still run 35's if the time came that you wanted to go bigger.
Here is a link to a cool little calculator:
http://www.4lo.com/calc/gearratio.htm

I think you will love the new gearing!

 

thanks for all the feedback. It is genuine gears by the way.

 

I had 5.29 gears in my '93 V6. Every two years I had to replace them. I wasn't hard on them, but it was a daily driver with 35" BFG's. Randy's R&P explained to me that with the low pinion tooth count ( 9 teeth I think) failure was common among these low ratios. The guy said too much load was put on each individual tooth. I assume my failures were likely due to heat build up from this. So, I agree, awesome ratio for a non daily driver. Just my .02

 

I have 5.29 for a DD, its not bad at all, I'm running 36" super swampers and it moves the tire well, but what shawn said does worry me a bit.

sage

 

You were fed a line. I bought my (now sold) 85 4Runner from a good friend w 10-year old 5.29's. Add another 8 years on top of that w/ NO PROBLEMS. If they are wearing out after two years, it's one of 3 things; 1 - bad setup. 2 - water contamination 3- lack of lube.

EDIT: I've gone through 4 sets of 4.88's. My ex-wife took three pinion teeth and 10 ring teeth off of a set of 4.88's in her DD 94 4Runner. Had another go bad after 50 miles due to bad setup. Two others had bad ring-gear bolt threads (Richmond gears).

 

X2
A friend of mine has had the same set of 5.71's on his '90 PU for almost 10 yrs now (and about 100K miles.) It is a daily driver on 35's and he tows a little trailer a lot-- works construction. Set-up is the key.

 

Not to hijack, but anyone happen to know of a good shop to set up an ARB locker in New England?

 

Well, got it back from the shop today. Its not bad at all. I'm only running 265/75/16's right now(close to a 32) but I'm planning on going a little bigger anyway. I'm not sure about 33's since I don't really want a body lift. I have the torsion bars turned some and I've already put an aal because of the normal sag. I may stick with the newer 16" wheels and go with 285's or maybe 255/85/16s. Or I may get some 15 black steel wheels and go with true 32's. If I thought I could go 33's without a body lift , I might would go for it. I don't know! Anyway, the gearing isn't as bad as I thought and I can't wait to see what it will do. I'll keep you posted!