More than happy to do gear installs. We've had diffs in and out of 200's about a hundred times
Can you setup new gears or do you just swap out pre-assembled 3rd members?
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Can you setup new gears or do you just swap out pre-assembled 3rd members?
Rusted Sun in SLC is he closest thing to North East pizza I've had. It's worth a shot.
+1 on if you accept 3rds. If that's the case I'll pull my 3rds go to Kurt for my gears. I'd much rather have a shop familiar with Land Cruisers and 200s deal with it.
+1 on if you accept 3rds. If that's the case I'll pull my 3rds go to Kurt for my gears. I'd much rather have a shop familiar with Land Cruisers and 200s deal with it.
Both... I don't however have any available cores for the 200 yet.
Can you please comment after nearly six months of driving? Still happy?
My 2013 is stock but I am running 33.2 inch Nokians and Ridge Grapplers and tow a 6000 lb trailer. I am reasonably content with the performance down low but I know that I am going to be pretty unhappy going up a 12% grade in the Colorado Rockies next summer (we are headed to Ouray).
I may add sliders and skids but I doubt that I will ever really load it down with bumpers and rack. Will going to 4.88s be appropriate in my situation? I would love to be able to stay locked in fifth gear at low elevation while towing. Does that hurt the tranny, even with shorter gears?
I used to tow with a 2005 5.9 Cummins and I have to admit that I miss that torque....
Thanks,
John Davies
Spokane WA
I didn't realize how much gears were needed for 35's until I left the flatlands..... Carl had warned me and after a day of driving to NC to get the Kooks headers installed and running light grades, with the tranny hunting for gears..... I was sold.
once broken in it was like I got another 50hp back seemingly..... VERY happy.... the real issue for many of us is that it's tuff to do jsut the gears..... the whole " while I'm in there" thing kicks in and you end up doing / jsutifying lockers and compressor and the budget goes pearshape...
yet all worth it in the long-run..... if I was jsut going to drive in the flatlands on 34-35's and lighlty built or not towing... gears might not be needed.... especailly if you're willing to manually shift... otherwise it's a great investment.
just my thoughts... break-in is painful...however.... 500 very long miles !
E
once broken in it was like I got another 50hp back seemingly..... VERY happy.... the real issue for many of us is that it's tuff to do jsut the gears..... the whole " while I'm in there" thing kicks in and you end up doing / jsutifying lockers and compressor and the budget goes pearshape...
yet all worth it in the long-run..... if I was jsut going to drive in the flatlands on 34-35's and lighlty built or not towing... gears might not be needed.... especailly if you're willing to manually shift... otherwise it's a great investment.
just my thoughts... break-in is painful...however.... 500 very long miles !
E
SQRRRL
SILVER Star
John, did you ever do the re-gear? I’m on 285/65/18’s. With the family and off road trailer I’m thinking of going 4.30’s. While in the Sierra the rig bounces from 6th to 5th to much for my liking .
It's generally not realistic to tow in the highest gear. Many of us that tow, use sport mode to limit gear selection down to S4 or S5 on the 6-speed. If you setup the tranny to tow in 6th gear, you might miss having a higher gear when not towing, so it's a trade.
SQRRRL
SILVER Star
Should I just tow in 5th when the hilly portion of highway?
Yes, definitely want to downshift. To some degree, the engine is less stressed and runs cooler with rpm rather than lugging gears. The transmission as well as it can lockup the torque converter and avoid shifting which reduces heat.
If you have the 6 speed, tow in 4th. If you have the 8 speed, tow in 6th. Those are the 1:1 gears. They generate a LOT LESS heat in the transmission. There's no significant different in MPG between 4th and 5th when towing (I've tried) and even at 75MPH the engine will happily hum along at 3000 RPMs, but the transmission will easily run 10-20F hotter (or more) when in 5th or 6th gear.
I've posted some temp numbers before but in 4th I generally run 196-200F and in 5th the lowest I'll see is 205-210F with temps regularly pushing 225F - and that's in the flat lands of the midwest. Note this has been true both with stock 31" tires as well as larger 34" tires, lift or no lift.
SQRRRL
SILVER Star
Copy that. Thanks for the 411.
Re-gearing is our next mod. Hopefully before EOY.
SQRRRL
SILVER Star
How is your rig set up? 4.88?
SQRRRL
SILVER Star
Copy. What are your build plans to justify 4.88? Must be going big.
I agree with you for larger trailers like the ones we tow.
The right gear probably depends on the size of trailer one tows, and the amount of continuous power the engine and transmission has to put down to the ground. I'm only just able to keep my rig going in 5th gear with the converter locked. Which means it unlocks at the slightest grade, in an attempt to power up just a bit with the extra rpm and torque multiplication that unlocking helps with. So 4th makes sense for me, in addition to the temp benefits you point out.
Interestingly, 4th would probably be over geared with too much RPM for me if I had stock tire size. So the taller tires combined with the stock ratios results in a '4.5' gear ratio if you will. Which seems to work just right for my setup.
I believe someone towing a lighter weight off-road trailer, with less frontal area in the slipstream of the tow vehicle can probably maintain 5th. Subject to other aero impacting mods like taller tires, armor, roof rack, etc.
Not going any bigger than 34'' tires, but on the heavier side. ARB bumper with comeup winch, ARB side rails. white knuckle sliders, alucab RTT & Awning, ARB drawers, OME BP51's w/SPC UCA's. Also will be adding SLEE rear bumper and who knows what else.
Gears can be appreciated even with stock size tires and no added weight. They really make the whole driving experience feel zippier and more aggressive. Of course it is a costly upgrade, but also one you use every time the car is in motion.
Taco2Cruiser
Crazy American Off Road
Very much agree.
When I got my 200, I thought, “5.7L... all the power I could ever want.” First trip with just an ARB bar, 2.5” of lift, and 33s. Terrible, couldn’t maintain 6th locked. Had to drive manually limited to 5th. Regeared to 4.88s, Gained 1.5 mpg, and actually feel like I have a V8. And our 5.7 produces an incredible amount of its power at idle. But at factory gearing, it’s amazing when stock. Kill the aerodynamics with a high clearance winch bar, and the drag is just too much.
The only thing worse is my parents 8 speed (2018). It has proven to struggle a bit pulling the light Kimberly Kamper up through the Smokey’s. Probably because the 8 speed in 8th gear runs 200 RPM lower than the 6 speeds 6th gear. So you just have to go into that with the acceptance that it just isn’t built not to constantly keep trying to find a better gear.
Taco2Cruiser
Crazy American Off Road
Separate of what I just said.
This being a “Nitro gear” thread. I’ve always regeared with Toyota gears in my constant drive axles.
This is the first set of Nitro Gears I’ve had and... umm... if I could do it again, I’d run Toyota 4.88s. These Nitro Gears are giving off far, far more metal than any of my much smaller Toyota 8” gears.
This being a “Nitro gear” thread. I’ve always regeared with Toyota gears in my constant drive axles.
This is the first set of Nitro Gears I’ve had and... umm... if I could do it again, I’d run Toyota 4.88s. These Nitro Gears are giving off far, far more metal than any of my much smaller Toyota 8” gears.
