My super duty 4x4 has the standard 3:73 gear from the factory.(limited slip).I am going to change to a 4:10 on account I'm getting a much larger travel trailer.My "traditional" thinking on the subject was that on 4x4's,you have to change both front and rear.I was talking to a guy at work about it and he said you don't have to change the front,but didn't know the reason why when I questioned it.I haven't called or asked a pro anywhere,,just thought I would see what you guys say.Thanks Mudbelly
If you ever want to engage your front wheels the front gear ratio has to match the rear end gear ratio. PERIOD.
The step from 3.73 to 4.10 is not that dramatic. The benefit between these two gear ratios may take many many many years of trailer towing to even coming close to off setting the cost of changing the gear sets on both ends...
4.10's are great, (that's what I have) but I would not do what you are suggesting.
as mentioned else where in the thread you MUST change both front and rear ratios for the 4 wheel drive to work.
This is not an easy job. I have change ring and pinion gears and would not want to do it again proper alignment is a must and can be tedious to achieve. On a 2002 truck I would look long and hard for a different solution.
Hell, you gotta have the same size spare, or you'll screw up a diff or axle or driveshaft. If'n ya have oversized tires, ya need the same oversized spare.
: > You absolutely have to change the front if you ever put it into 4x4. You : > can have the front and back drive wheels going at different speeds. : >
: >
: : I think you mean, "you CAN'T have the front and back going at different : speeds." : : -- : David M (dmacchiarolo) :
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I'll step in as a person who has actually driven a 4x4 with different gear ratios for several years before I got the front geared to match the back. Basically I had the back regeared for a cross country haul with a heavily loaded trailer, and that's all I could afford to do at the time. Maybe three years later I changed the front gears to match, but I did plenty of off-roading in those years, so...
It is possible to use different gearsets *if you really have to* and *if your front axle can be completly disengaged in 2WD*. This is because you don't need the front axle unless you're in a low traction situation, and in that situation there's not enough traction to bind up the drivetrain and cause damage. Off road I would lock the hubs and only shift into 4wd only when I needed it, and then back to 2wd when on firmer ground. On the road my front axle doesn't turn at all, so it doesn't matter. However most newer vehicles leave the front axle engaged at all times and absolutely should not run a different ratio gearset.
So all that said, I'll also add that it was a royal pain and I was glad when I got the chance to remedy the situation. I only did it because of my circumstances at the time. In your case a gear splitter sounds like a much better alternative because it gives you the best of both worlds, a higher ratio for towing and the stock ratio for everything else. It's also nice because you can shift it on the fly, allowing you to select gears in-between your stock 4-speed gears (hence the term gear-splitter). It won't cost that much more than regearing, either.
A rancher fiend of mine has a '65 chevy with the original four wheel drive equipment in it because that's how he always used and uses it.
The body has upper surface rust from where the sun cooked off the paint so it looks like crap but it's undamged otherwise and really runs good the engine's been rebuilt a couple times but the four wheel drive equpment is all original.
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