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different front and rear gear ratios

7

79 blazer

1/2 ton status
Joined
Dec 29, 2003
Posts
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Location
FORT COLLINS,CO
last weekend i was wheeling at kelly flats in two wheel drive bcause i was on a camping trip and have 4.10 in the rear and 3.73 gears in the front. i wasnt having much trouble so i went for heart attack hill.it was interesting and i made it pretty far rather easily i however could not make the whole thing, and rather than have my blazer stuck on the mountian i risked using four wheel and finished the trail. alot of wheelers i talked to up there said it was ok for offroad use.I even met a guy with a ford who runs that set up buy choice. i was always thought this was the worst thing you could do resulting in transfer case explosion so is this ok for just off-road use? i plan on getting 4.10 in the front once i get the funds. id just like too know if i can still four wheel for now.
 
i wouild not recomend it for annything but real lose dit/sand and only if you have to. The diffferent ratio will kill somthin in your driveline, sooner or later!! Some mudders run it to give the front tires a little more grab, to pull the truck through, but i dont know of annybody who would willfully wheel with it.
 
For emergency use only!

I tried mine with 3.42's in front and 4.88's in the back in sand!!!!! /forums/images/graemlins/eek.gif /forums/images/graemlins/woot.gif
 
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I even met a guy with a ford who runs that set up buy choice.

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A) he drives a Ford, its obvious he makes bad choices
B) what is his version of choice? He chose a say dana 60 rear and 44 front, doesn't mean he went looking for those gear ratios. he probably got what he got and said, oh I can make this work, who needs the same ratio.
C) he drive a Ford, COME ON
 
The only way it would really work is to run different sized tires. My friend was going to 8 lug, had 4.10 14bff in rear and 3.42 10b in front. It was close having 31's up front, and taller in rear, but STILL had some binding. +/- 5 percent is about the max I've read, I don't trust that , I say all same size tires and gears, and within a few psi of pressure on all 4 ( aired up or down ) for longevity . /forums/images/graemlins/k5.gif
 
I've seen rigs with different tire sizes and different ratios but I see no point.
 
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I even met a guy with a ford who runs that set up buy choice.

[/ QUOTE ]

A) he drives a Ford, its obvious he makes bad choices
B) what is his version of choice? He chose a say dana 60 rear and 44 front, doesn't mean he went looking for those gear ratios. he probably got what he got and said, oh I can make this work, who needs the same ratio.
C) he drive a Ford, COME ON

[/ QUOTE ] /forums/images/graemlins/histerical.gif /forums/images/graemlins/histerical.gif /forums/images/graemlins/histerical.gif /forums/images/graemlins/histerical.gif /forums/images/graemlins/histerical.gif
 
I bought a 1971 K5 CST sight unseen years ago,mostly because I knew it had a factory tach--anyway,I soon learned it had 3.73 gears in front and 3.08 gears in the rear.Since it was summertime I wasnt too concerned so I drove it all summer in 2 wheel drive.I located another 3.73 rear end,but I was offered much more than I paid for it,so I sold it with the replacement rear axle.The guy never installed it--his father called me nearly a year later to tell me if I wanted to come get the axle it was still in his yard!.Seems the new owner dicovered if he put bigger tires in front,it was close enough that it didnt bind or lock up,he wheeled it a little around here,then moved to texas,where he said he'd probably never have to use 4 wheel drive.So I guess if its not that much of a mismatch,you can juggle the tire size to help even out the ratio's--easier than installing the right axle,at least in his case!. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
 
If you are in a situation that the rear tires are spinning, or you are stuck, then there is absolutely no problem with using 4wd with mismatched gear ratio. However I would recommend shifting back into 2wd once on a harder surface.

The only people I have heard about using mismatched ratios front to rear have been mudracers who want the front tires to spin slightly faster than the rear. For typical trail use I don't see any advantage to this at all.
 
thanks for all the help i plan on getting the same ratios soon anyway. i just was curious after all the things id herd last weekend /forums/images/graemlins/k5.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
The only way it would really work is to run different sized tires. My friend was going to 8 lug, had 4.10 14bff in rear and 3.42 10b in front. It was close having 31's up front, and taller in rear, but STILL had some binding. +/- 5 percent is about the max I've read, I don't trust that , I say all same size tires and gears, and within a few psi of pressure on all 4 ( aired up or down ) for longevity . /forums/images/graemlins/k5.gif

[/ QUOTE ]


Check that !! that was 3.42 in the front and 3.73's in the back, but the back tires were slightly larger than the fronts, it would still try to bind alittle on hard packed surfaces though, but on the loose dirt, i never even noticed a difference.

Just get the gears to match, takes the worry out of it by 110%
 
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