Help me decide on what to regear

corbinwelter · 07-05-09, 09:13 AM

i am sick of my gearing in my combo, currently running chevy 350, h42 4 speed, and stock 4 speed trans case, and i belive 3.70 stock diff gearing.

Currently the chevy lugs when taking off with the current gearing on 37s. and i am sick of it. but i cannot decide on what to change out that will give me the better gearing and of course the cheapest mod.

I have a sm465 that has been waiting to swap but that will consist of all new bellhousing and rear adapter, and probably new shafts.

Options are

Sm465- lots of mods and lots of money
H41- Direct swap, but not as good as sm465
regear diffs to 4.88
what the hell- swap in a sm465, orion, toybox and 4.88s

dgangle · 07-05-09, 09:23 AM

most important info which you have failed to provide is how you plan to use it and how much money you have to spend. Without both of this info you are going to get suggestions all across the spectrum.

corbinwelter · 07-05-09, 09:30 AM

Sorry forgot.

it is only a weekend driver currently, will be used at a daily driver once it has been regeared and project completely finished. Will be used offroad just about everyweekend, i stay away from mud, and like steep hills and rocks. so the lower gearing the better.

i am pretty open to the money part, the more money required the longer it will take to complete though.
trying to stay around 1-1.5k

if the 4.88s are going to make a noticable diffrence, i can get a set of gears cheap and install my self. that might be the best start

allan man · 07-05-09, 09:47 AM

H41/Orion......it appears from the veterans....is a favorite combo....
your budget of $1500 will get you a orion TC ....do the H41 later...
I just installed my H41 yesterday and its quite a difference,i couldnt imagine mated with a orion,probably over kill for what im doin.

corbinwelter · 07-05-09, 09:58 AM

that is what i am thinking would be best, h41, orion..

i would like to keep a yota tranny, dont like the dump truck feel.
but i need a low gear in 2wd high for driving.

So in order of $$$ and install difficulty:
4.88s
H41
Orion

would leave me with about 24:1 2wd high ratio
and about 96:1 low ratio

Degnol · 07-05-09, 10:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by allan man

H41/Orion......it appears from the veterans....is a favorite combo....
your budget of $1500 will get you a orion TC ....do the H41 later...
I just installed my H41 yesterday and its quite a difference,i couldnt imagine mated with a orion,probably over kill for what im doin.

X2....you get low gearing for trails and keep your road gears, too. What size tires are you running?

EDIT: D'Oh........just read your sig line.

Lil'John · 07-05-09, 10:41 AM

You will be in worse straights with ANY tranny with a granny gear. The granny gear is basically useless onroad. In essence, you get a 3 speed tranny out of the deal and will only make the matter more pronounced. Offroad, it will kickass.

For onroad issues, you need to regear the axles. In my FJ55 with 35s, I regeared to 4.88s. I chose 4.88s because I've got an NV4500 and 35s were a "in the middle tire" as far as gearing went. 4.56s were a bit high and 4.88s were a bit low.

FWIW, I ran a 5.0l TBI, SM465, 4.11 gears, and 35s with no bogging issues on road.

On the SM465, I had no issues with the way it shifted. Mine shifted smooth as butter. It sure didn't shift quick like a sports car but then again, suprise: a cruiser is NOT a racer

Cruiserdrew · 07-05-09, 10:51 AM

You need to very carefully decide what you plan to do with this truck.

If offroading is your focus, there is no better tranny than an SM465 (or 420). That swap is well worked out and is great low gear bang for buck. It's not so great on the street, but it isn't terrible either.

If street driving is what you are after, the first gear syncro of an H42 or H41 is more suitable.

If it were me, I would start at the logical place-the tires. Be serious about your needs. You live on the East Coast. Explain why you "need" 37 inch tires. I don't remember Florida as having much in the way of offroading, and the highest hill is 300 feet. 35 inch tires will simplify your gearing needs and 33s even more so. 37 inch tires and 3.70 gearing is just going to suck, no matter what transmission is in front of it.

If you are determined to run 37's, then the next logical place to look is your diffs. 4.88s will be a good match for 37s. It won't give you crawling gears, but it will make the current driving you do much more enjoyable with less stress on the clutch and other driveline components.

Continuing to work backwards after the tire diameter and gearing are a good match, you have basically 2 choices. Low gearing in the transfer case is all good. You get to preserve the good street manners of your current tranny and you get great crawling gears and a much stronger transfer case (Orion). It isn't a cheap option, but it's a very good one. The second choice is a stock transfer and a low geared transmission, like the SM420 or 465 you mentioned.

No matter what, assuming you want to stay with 37s, re-gearing the diffs is the first move to make. After that, check your bank account for further options. In my view the best of all worlds would be an 4.88s/H41/Orion. That covers all your bases, keeps mostly Toyota parts.

A $1500 budget isn't going to get you much, so you need some honesty with your self and your intended uses. Do the 4.88s first. If they are as cheap as you say, you may have enough left to do the next cheapest thing, which would be an SM420/465. That would be a decent offroad set-up.

In this discussion I didn't see anything mentioned about lockers? If you are serious enough about offroading to need 37s, you also need lockers. If not, buy some 31-33 inch tires and all of your gearing problems begin to disappear.

Just remember that none of your options are cheap, and if you cut corners you will end up with less than you started with, not more. If you really want to do things correctly, you need triple your $1500 budget. I'm not kidding.

Just to regear diffs:
(approx)
4.88s $400
Bearing kits $250
Professional set-up $300 (this assumes you pull the 3rds)

orangefj45 · 07-05-09, 11:27 AM

yup, 488s first then go from there........

corbinwelter · 07-05-09, 11:50 AM

the 37s are not necessary, but sure give you a couple inches over a 35. after years of wheeling 35s i figured i would try some 37s on this new project.

already have a pair of aussie lockers waiting to be swapped in when i figure out what gears to go with.

im at $500 right now for gears and install kit front and rear.

that leaves me with enough for a h41, or almost there for an orion.

my throw out bearing is about to go, thats why i purchased a sm465 to rebuild and swap while i am in there, so the logical thing seems to go for the h41 and hold off on the orion until i can afford it.