Drivetrain Shop Recommendation (SoCal)

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LanceL

LanceL

Joined
Jan 18, 2022
Threads
7
Messages
59
Location
Southern California
I'm planning on re-gearing my 2014 200. I can really feel the effect of the larger tires, and when combined with extra drag from the lift and roof rack on the highway, 6th gear is downright useless. Definitely feel the long lower gears when towing my camper as well. Does anyone have a recommendation for a top notch drivetrain shop in/near San Diego? I've had MIT in El Cajon do work for me before, but the last couple times I've been less than pleased with their quality of work. The truck is my daily as well, so I really want to make sure its set up right. Thanks in advance!
 
RET2 said:
Try Pro Gear on Ronson Rd. in San Diego, I used them for my rear locker.
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I second this. I found local off-roading shops will subcontract to Pro Gear. That's their specialty.

They did a great job on my rear axle bearings for a fair price.
 
TeCKis300 said:
I second this. I found local off-roading shops will subcontract to Pro Gear. That's their specialty.

They did a great job on my rear axle bearings for a fair price.
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Good to know, thanks! Now I just need to make up my mind on what gears to go with........I've read every thread on here about them, and still can't make up my mind!
 
LanceL said:
Good to know, thanks! Now I just need to make up my mind on what gears to go with........I've read every thread on here about them, and still can't make up my mind!
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What tire size?

I have 4.88s on my 2013 with 35s. If you’re 35” or larger and towing I’d recommend this route. If you’re in 33s then I wouldn’t go higher than 4.30. 6th gear @75 runs about 2200 rpms for me. When towing I have to spend a lot of time manually shifting between 4th and 5th as the TC will unlock on any incline. Sometimes I wish I had 4.30s and could just drive in 4th which pretty much always stays locked.
 
linuxgod said:
What tire size?

I have 4.88s on my 2013 with 35s. If you’re 35” or larger and towing I’d recommend this route. If you’re in 33s then I wouldn’t go higher than 4.30. 6th gear @75 runs about 2200 rpms for me. When towing I have to spend a lot of time manually shifting between 4th and 5th as the TC will unlock on any incline. Sometimes I wish I had 4.30s and could just drive in 4th which pretty much always stays locked.
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I have 33.2's right now (275/70/18) and planned to eventually put on 33.7's (285/70/18), no bigger than that. I might have to do some math to figure out where the lower gears are going to be with either ratio, beacuse the towing part is a concern. We only camp a handful of times a year, so it's not towing very often, but I hate having to drop into third up a long grade and just roast the torque converter, so hence my lean towards 4.88's, but I also defintely don't want to compromise it's regular highway manners (since that's most of it's job) or find myself in a bad rpm/gear combo at certain speeds (like you mentioned). Are your 4.88's Nitro or Revolution? Did you have any gear whine/high wear issues? I've read about Nitro's having those issues a number of places, an I think they're the only makers of 4.3's (unless I figure out how to source the OEM parts).
 
LanceL said:
I have 33.2's right now (275/70/18) and planned to eventually put on 33.7's (285/70/18), no bigger than that. I might have to do some math to figure out where the lower gears are going to be with either ratio, beacuse the towing part is a concern. We only camp a handful of times a year, so it's not towing very often, but I hate having to drop into third up a long grade and just roast the torque converter, so hence my lean towards 4.88's, but I also defintely don't want to compromise it's regular highway manners (since that's most of it's job) or find myself in a bad rpm/gear combo at certain speeds (like you mentioned). Are your 4.88's Nitro or Revolution? Did you have any gear whine/high wear issues? I've read about Nitro's having those issues a number of places, an I think they're the only makers of 4.3's (unless I figure out how to source the OEM parts).
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The 4.88 are Nitros. I have a tiny bit of gear whine when very very light on the throttle cruising from 45-75 coming from the front. There's no other noise from them. It's probably a combination of gear setup and the really high ratio

If you're staying on 33s I'd serious consider 4.30 gears. Bonus is that you might be able to find Toyota ones
 
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