Can 35" tires on the stock tranny cause problems?

[Jessie James]

I'm checking out a K5 for sale and it has 35" tires on the stock transmission. Can that cause any problems? If I buy this thing, I'll be removing the tires and going back to the stock size, but I am concerned he damaged the transmission somehow so that's why he is selling ...

 

[EIB8400]

It really depends on what gears he was running and how he drove and took care of it.. It will be a coin toss on if it was abused or not.

 

[Jessie James]

I suspect he left the gears stock, and has been driving it hard. He added headers and drilled out holes in the air filter assembly, added a 3" exhaust too. He's had it for 8 months and is selling it now?

Assuming the worst, can it damage the tranny, bearings, or differentials? Or something else?

 

[EIB8400]

You give me anything and I can find a way to damage it in less than 1 min.

 

[driney]

If it has a 700R4 transmission, and the gears are too high, it might not lock the torque converter up, generating quite a bit of heat. It also won't stay in OD, causing some hunting back and forth between OD and 3rd. I would think the damage, if any, would be confined to the transmission.

 

[howdiy]

I really don't think adding 35 is nearly as detrimental as you think

 

[Jessie James]

Thanks for the good info - both good and bad. I'll be sure to pay attention to the transmission on the test drive.

 

[owenst7]

I really don't think adding 35 is nearly as detrimental as you think

Ya, I would be way more concerned about the frame at the steering box, engine crossmember, rear shock mounts...I don't think I'd remember to worry about the accelerated wear on the tranny due to wheeling because I'd be spending so much time with a fine tooth comb on everything else that is of concern. If an auto shifts fine and the fluid is fine, that's about all you can reasonably do.

 

[Greg Ducato]

When I bought my 89 model, the previous owner had been running a 4 inch lift and 35's for years on stock 3.08 gears and 700R4, and had shown this rig no mercy. The steering box area of the frame was broken up, but the trans was still in good shape when I pulled it down for a build up. Someone had put a shift kit in it somehwere along the way which may have helped, but it still had some life left in the band and 3-4 clutches which are the weak links for this tire/gear combo.

 

[ryoken]

IMO, if there was EVER a trans that likes the right gear, it's a 700...

 

[Greg Ducato]

I ended up putting 4.56's in mine with the 35's and 700R4 and it seems to be a very good combination for what I do with it.