Looking for gearing and locker suggestions!

[textbookonewk]

I think it is time to regear the waggy. This is not a daiy driver, but I do have to drive it on the highway to get it to the trails. I have the 360 with a 727 and 208, with 35 inch tires. I am mainly concerned with off road performance, but I do not want to torture my engine too badly on the drive to the trail. My next set of tires will likely be a 37's or 39's. I was thinking about 4.88's which would yield about 3217 RPM's at 65 mph for 35's, and about 2887 RPM's at 65 mph for 39's.

Does this sound okay? Any suggestions?

I am also going to look into lockers. Any suggestions for the fron? A selectable is a little out of budget, but I was think a limited slip, or possibly an automatic locker. What are my options?

Finally, any suggestions on where to order everything?

[Stuka]

What axles are you running? If your gona put 37-39 inch tires on D44's they wont last...period. The front may, but the rear will NOT. 35's are scetchy on D44's as it is. So I would think about that before dumping that kind of money into the D44's.

EDIT: ahh i see you have a D44/M20, I would switch those out.

[ September 19, 2003, 04:30 PM: Message edited by: Stuka ]

[dnixon]

GET RID OF THOSE TWIG AXLES. and 3200 rpms sounds kind of high. I almost NEVER go over 3000 I try to keep my high way RPM's at around 2800. Gears are expensive to get installed if you don't just do it yourself. So make sure you are set on the axle you plan on using. Just my opinion though...

[textbookonewk]

Well I do have a 14FF, but I need to find a front ford D60. Anyone got any leads? I was thinking I could regear what I've got and at least be able to wheel for a while.

[Stuka]

if money isno object then goo ahead and regear, most of us here are kind semi tight budgets though ;)

[Merc69]

I have been looking for the elusive Ford Dana 60 for almost 6 months now. There have been sightings and rumors of their presence but I have yet to actually see one :D Good hunting

[robselina]

I say swap the 14 bolt in. What gear ratio does it have? 4.10s? That would be where I think you need to be, and where I'm going to be soon. That's about the right range for your rig with 35-37" tires. You could regear the front and go 8-lug for the time being until you get the D60 if you're willing to spend the cash. This will save you at least $400 I figure, not regearing the rear.

[jeepsr4ever]

around 3000 at 65mph is just about perfect! you can run those tires on 44's.........but you cant wheel hard..we have bounced this topic around and around, but the bottom line is that when yuor climbing a rock or a stump/tree are you going to trust your rear or front not to break? if you dont wheel much and are going for looks ive seen tractor tires on dana 44's, but if your hardcore like alot of us, you may think about upgrading those axles

[netbear]

A nice setup for a tight budget is to swap
in a J20 front D44 8 lug axle (Bolts in
easy and are cheap) and a 14 bolt rear.
If you shop around, you should be able to
find both axles with 4.10s in them already
which would save you a lot of money.
The rear 14 bolt accepts a low priced
detroit locker that you can install yourself
without needing to set up the gears as
it goes inside the factory gear carrier.

Along with the extra beef comes bigger
brakes which you should have if you are
running large diameter tires to keep
the rig safe for highway use.

[textbookonewk]

My 14 bolt is geared 3.54, but I may be able to swap it for a 4.10 14 bolt. Is the J20 D44 any stronger than my current D44?

[netbear]

The J20 3/4 ton front D44 is stronger except
for the 30/19 spline axles which are the same.
The bearings, hubs, tubes, etc are stronger.
The larger disk brakes are also a bonus.