Gearing?

[JIMMY76]

I Have A 76 Jimmy With The 44 Up Front And The 12 Bolt In The Back I Have 35's In It Right Now I Want To Go Up To 37's (36.5" Actual) But I Still Have The Factory 3.73 Gears Will That Be Ok. Now With The 35's I Still Have Plenty Of Power And The Fastest I Ever Go Is Maybe 60 But Mostly Just 35 Or 40 Around Town. I Was Told (i Dont Know How Reliable The Source Was) But If I Do Go With A Bigger Gear Being 3.73 I Just Cant Change The Gears Not Enough Clearance Is This True?

Thank You
Jeff

 

[boz42]

I Have A 76 Jimmy With The 44 Up Front And The 12 Bolt In The Back I Have 35's In It Right Now I Want To Go Up To 37's (36.5" Actual) But I Still Have The Factory 3.73 Gears Will That Be Ok. Now With The 35's I Still Have Plenty Of Power And The Fastest I Ever Go Is Maybe 60 But Mostly Just 35 Or 40 Around Town. I Was Told (i Dont Know How Reliable The Source Was) But If I Do Go With A Bigger Gear Being 3.73 I Just Cant Change The Gears Not Enough Clearance Is This True?

i am gonna assume u got a t-350 or 465 for a tranny seeing u got a 76 model. i would say u could run a 37" w/out re-gearing if u feel u have plenty of power w/ the 35's. i don't think it would be an ideal gearing for that size tire, but since u say u have plenty of power know i don't think 2 more inches of tire would kill u. it will hurt your performance & fuel econemy a little more, but prolly not as bad as the orginal loss from factory to when u went to 35"s

if u have a 700r4 i say u deffently need to regear or o.d. will be very weak. & running high gear ratios imo, really kills those tranny's

u can run lower gears in your axles it just requires a carrier change

 

[JIMMY76]

Oh Yeah I Have A Gm 350 Crate Motor W/ Th350 And A 203.. Off The Line Without Using Breaks I Can Spin The Rear Wheels With Bfg Tires

 

[mechted]

you can easily get deeper gears into a 44 and 12 bolt, however, at 37s, you will probably break stuff (rear end, front shafts) very easily and very quickly..
as far as gears, you will probably want to step up to 4.56 or 4.88s or maybe even 5.13s... depends on what you want to do with the truck.

may want to look at a 14 bolt full floater swap in the rear (and 8 lug conversion on the 44) A 14 bolt, with the gears you want, can be had for easily for less than $300 (probably spent another $100 bringing the brakes and seals up to par) and the front conversion will be probably also be about $300 when all is said and done, then you would only need 1 new set of gears for the truck, and not have to worry about breaking anything the rear.

 

[paulmoon]

may want to look at a 14 bolt full floater swap in the rear (and 8 lug conversion on the 44) A 14 bolt, with the gears you want, can be had for easily for less than $300 (probably spent another $100 bringing the brakes and seals up to par) and the front conversion will be probably also be about $300 when all is said and done, then you would only need 1 new set of gears for the truck, and not have to worry about breaking anything the rear.

Not in the Sacramento area! My 14bff cost $600.00 and the conversion for the 44 was $450. Then came the doo dads to fix them up. However I'm sure with more time to look around (and another part of the country) they must be cheaper. My 14b came out of a 93 GMC I believe. But none the less, it's a great mod to undertake. And easily will handle stiffer gears, etc.

 

[78blazaer]

I used to run a GM 12bolts/Dana 44 front with 3:73 gears on a set of 38.5 tires. I have to tell you, it wasn't long before I ended up with an upgrade to GM 14 bolts 4:10 ratio and Dana 60 front. Running 38.5 on a 3:73 was a DOG. No power on a climb at all. I ended up shifting down all the time. Don't do it. The GM 12 bolt rear end is weak to what you want to do. Go with GM 14 bolt FF. You can find a GM 14 bolts with 4:56 gears. Then hunt for a Dana 60 with the same gear ratio. They are out there, you just have to be resourceful. I bought my 14 bolts FF from a local junkyard. Cost me $275 plus new bearings shoes, etc..Dana 60 I found on ebay. Paid $960.00. Again these are 4:10 ratio and I am running 38.5. Better than my stock 12 bolt with 3:73 but still not enough power going uphill. I am now contemplating regearing to 4:88, detriot rear and ARB front.

 

[JIMMY76]

thank you everyone i think im going to stay with 35's for now thanks

 

[jekquistk5]

I hate my 35's with 3.73s. then again its prety much a bone stock 350

 

[mechted]

i've actually had good luck with the local PicknPulls in Fairfield and Sacramento... the 14bff we got was ~$100 out the door (half-off day) so about $150 normally