Regear Update (1 Viewer)

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cruiserbent

cruiserbent

Joined
Jul 4, 2006
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Well, the time has come. Rear diff is going out on the 4Runner. 97 model with 230k miles, auto, 3.4, 285/75s. I always said I’d regear it if I had to do a diff. Now I’m not so sure. We pull the SoCal camper from Western Ky to near Asheville NC a couple times a year. Although lately we have used the 04 v8 runner. The 97 only get 4K to 6k miles per year, if even that now. We mainly camp and trail ride with it closer to home, well within a couple hours. Question is , is it really worth it to spend the extra money for the front diff and reheat to 4.88 or just keep the stock 4.10 and fix the rear On a truck that mainly sits in the driveway? Or am I going to be sick that I didn’t go ahead and do it? Obviously the 04 pulls the teardrop better anyway, but I love my 3rd gen. Wife wants to do lift and tires on the 4th, but I’m not sure how she would like that as a dailly driver as it’s not going to ride as well as stock. Decisions, decisions
 
Does your 'wheeling demand lower gearing, or is regearing for bragging rights? I assume your 285s mean that the transmission isn't in overdrive as much as you'd like it to be, right?
 
Mainly for pulling the teardrop. OD is good for the most part. I don’t do any serious wheeling. Just trail riding and mud occasionally. Gearing ain’t going to make any difference for me there. Only place it really matters is on the highway with the trailer. If I’m pulling with the cruise on and it shifts out of OD it may not ever go back unless down hill. If I’m controlling it I can make it go back to OD. And she’s pretty sluggish off the line all the time. I can’t make myself believe I’m going to benefit that much from it. Especially no more than it’s driven. And the extra money for the front I could save or put toward something like new shocks or lift for the 4th gen. They getting pretty weak. And, if we’re going more than a few hours from home we been pulling with the 4th gen anyway and just using the 3rd gen closer to home.
 
Go 4.88's. My buddy did it w/ his 3rd gen and is very happy w/ it. same size w/ an auto. He's also all armored up and said once he did the gears he got better MPGs than he ever got.
 
4.88s due back from East Coast Gear Supply tomorrow. Hope to have them installed by the end of next weekend.
 
Gears in. About 500 rpm higher at 70mph. Much smoother acceleration. So much quieter than the howling rear pinion that was in it.
 
two 70 mile highway runs today to and from work. Had the rear brakes adjusted too tight and fixed that at lunch. Main thing I noticed was with the cruise on at 76mph, 2800 rpm it didn’t have to downshift going up any grades. Granted it’s pretty flat here in western ky it would have to before. Mileage was not better on this tank, but I was varying speed on both trips, and, again i had the brakes too tight this morning. Looking forward to see how it is with the teardrop later this month.
 
So, the more I drive it the better I like it. Driving around in town is much better. I mean, it still ain’t no power house. It’s still kind of a slug, but not near as big a slug. Take off is better with the trailer, but highway for me, is kind of meh. Have to keep it right around 70 so that if it does need to downshift the 3.4 ain’t screaming. Before with the stock gears I’d run 80ish. Yeah, there is no need to drive that fast, but a 3rd gen to me just feels better, seems to be happier closer to 80 than 70. I’m still playing with it when we pull the trailer to find that sweet spot which I feel like may be around 74 -76.
 
I'm giving a re-gear to 4.88s serious thought at this point as well.
Have owned my '01 since new and now have 490,000 miles on the clock. I've done all of my own maintenance over these years and even had Zuk rebuild my third member three years ago.
Why re-gear now? I've run 265/75/16s for at least 18 years but would really like to make a change to 285/75/16s.
The fresh '99 coils & 1" rear spacers I installed 17 years ago are really showing their age, so I'm considering new coils/shocks/mounts. I drove around with a set of 33s for one month and loved the feel/look, but the stock 4.10 gearing was obviously a bit lacking on long grades.

With the stock 4-speed auto, and 285/75/16s, is 4.88 the preferred choice? The re-gear route is an expensive decision, so I'd like to get it right the first time. :)

Andreas
 
aowRS said:
I'm giving a re-gear to 4.88s serious thought at this point as well.
Have owned my '01 since new and now have 490,000 miles on the clock. I've done all of my own maintenance over these years and even had Zuk rebuild my third member three years ago.
Why re-gear now? I've run 265/75/16s for at least 18 years but would really like to make a change to 285/75/16s.
The fresh '99 coils & 1" rear spacers I installed 17 years ago are really showing their age, so I'm considering new coils/shocks/mounts. I drove around with a set of 33s for one month and loved the feel/look, but the stock 4.10 gearing was obviously a bit lacking on long grades.

With the stock 4-speed auto, and 285/75/16s, is 4.88 the preferred choice? The re-gear route is an expensive decision, so I'd like to get it right the first time. :)

Andreas
Click to expand...
This is isn’t my thread, but I’d like to offer my knowledge and experience.
I’ve had 285/75/16s for about two years now. I put on somewhere between 10k and 15k miles every year, as my 4Runner is my only car and I enjoy a lot of road trips. I still have the stock 4.10s and an automatic, and it’s certainly a dog on the passes here in Montana. From my many hours of research, 4.88s are often best for 33s. I’ve read that 4.56 doesn’t offer enough of a change to be worth the money spent on regearing. 5.29s are more popularly paired with 35s, and would be too “deep” (or tall?) for 33s.
With this being said, it really depends what you’re doing with your rig. I’m curious to hear other opinions and experiences!
 
SL0WHUG0 said:
This is isn’t my thread, but I’d like to offer my knowledge and experience.
I’ve had 285/75/16s for about two years now. I put on somewhere between 10k and 15k miles every year, as my 4Runner is my only car and I enjoy a lot of road trips. I still have the stock 4.10s and an automatic, and it’s certainly a dog on the passes here in Montana. From my many hours of research, 4.88s are often best for 33s. I’ve read that 4.56 doesn’t offer enough of a change to be worth the money spent on regearing. 5.29s are more popularly paired with 35s, and would be too “deep” (or tall?) for 33s.
With this being said, it really depends what you’re doing with your rig. I’m curious to hear other opinions and experiences!
Click to expand...
Thank you for your thoughts. I certainly use the truck for a ton of highway driving, but we also take it on the beach (MD & VA), and occasional four wheeling on trails in WV. And everything in between. :)

Andreas
 
Been out of pocket for bit. I do like the 488s even more now. Way more pleasant to drive in town, although still kind of a slug. Highway I usually run around 77-78 mph, right around 2800 rpm. IF I didn’t do any highway driving I think 529 would be great for running around town, but I don’t think I would like them on the highway. 488 to me seems to be a good compromise. I would not however, make the change unless I was already having to replace a diff as I did. In other words I wouldn’t spend the money or the time and effort (the front is a pain) unless I was upgrading due to a failure. To me it wouldn’t be worth it just to change only for the lower gears.
 
I'm slowly assembling bits and pieces to refresh my truck. Since I fully intend to install 33s (on FJ80 wheels), I'm reading as much as I can about re-gearing choices.
And despite that, I'm no closer to deciding between 4.56 & 4.88 gears....
Use will remain daily driver, long highway trips, and occasional over the sand & off-road fun.
For reference, I think I'm at 2,200 RPM at 70 on the highway (265/75/16 tires).

Please keep the replies coming. :)


Andreas

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4.56s ain’t gonna make much difference. In fact I wouldn’t even consider it knowing how the 4.88s are. In town is great. Not the slug it was stop light to stop light, but still a bit of one. Highway I would run close to 80 before. Now about 73-75. 2600-2800 RPM. 5.29 would be awesome in town but I think terrible on the highway. The rear pinion is making a little bit of noise that I’m not too happy about, but have been working with East Coast Gear Supply for warranty. April will be a year, so have to get something done by then. Will says the 4.88s are on back order right now and I don’t want the truck down during the winter months waiting. There are some slight hill/inclines on the interstate between home and where I mountain bike ride and I can set the cruise on 75 now and the trans will not downshift to keep up now. Constantly was before. On the rare occasion I drive it to work 75 miles away, same thing, not constantly shifting any more. All that said, for me and where I do most of my driving, I WOULD NOT, spend the money just to regear. NOW, if you HAD to replace, then, yes I would do it then as an upgrade. And 4.88 not 4.56.
 
^ Thank you for that comprehensive reply.


Andreas
 
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