blew another rear end

[4speedburb]

well, the burb has done it again, i shucked a rear end the other day, and i have no teeth left on my gears, oops =\ what would you guys recommend for rear gears on it? as im buying aftermarket ring and pinion, truck is on 31s, and i do a lot of highway driving. and the occasional offroad.

 

[skysurfer]

Offroad? Is it a 4x4? If so, you have to stick with the existing ratio to match the front end.

If it's 2wd you have to decide if you were satisfied with the ratio it had. How did the rpm's feel on the highway? Offroad, could you lug it down without stalling? Do you plan to keep 31's or go bigger. How about towing?

There are a lot of variables involved and we can't help you decide without more information.

 

[4speedburb]

i wanna change gears, its 4wd, but rear comes first, and front will be next, i just need to get it movin again, and idk how it felt on highway, its been a long time since its been on the highway, but at 55 rpms were prlly like 2500-3000 id assume, and offroad, i could lug it in 2nd gear and keep er there all day long and eventually plan on lifting 4-6inches, and running 33s-35s and towing, i pull a small 4-wheelers trailer, and on occasion ill pull bigger stuff

 

[HotRodPC]

You still running the 10 bolt? If you're having problems eating up rear ends, might be time to convert to a 14 bolt, Semi or Full Float, then convert your front axle to 8 lug.

Or do a 14b Semi Float, and get axles, brake backing plate are brakes off of a GMT400 4x4 6 lug axle. Be sure it's 4x4 rearend or the axles will be to short to fit the squarebody rear end. According to the guru's that's what works. I'd love to do it to one of mine so I can keep my wheels and 15in tires.

 

[towjoe]

3:73 3/4 ton axles is what I'd use in a daily driver. Easy to find and fairly durable. Also keeps your rpm down so your engine should run in its power band for fuel mileage.

 

[Chaz]

I think u need one of these,,,,,,,I just picked this one up today 4.10 gears,,,,

 

[skysurfer]

If there's a possibilty of running 35's + some light towing I'd go with 4:10's. I have them and never feel like I should be running something else, whether it's running solo or pulling the boat. The variable is I have a Th400 trans, not a stick, and I don't know what the difference is between the final drive ratios. Another factor is I cruise the highways at 65 max. Mine gets bad enough mpg as it is without tryng to drive 75.

Do you know what gears were in there?

 

[4speedburb]

i do not know what gears it has in it at the moment, i would assume 3.73, but im not sure, i this is only 2nd rear end ill be puttin in truck, and actually, itll be first one, first time around it was just carrier bearings, race and all the fun stuff, but original ring and pinion and yes it is still the 10 bolt, im tight on cash at this moment so 3/4 ton swap is out of question for the time being, in the future i would love to lol

 

[HotRodPC]

And how much do you think a set of gears and setting it up costs??? Look hard enough and with some patience, you can find a 14 either in SF or FF for $150-$200 drum to drum in working condition. I just bought a 14B FF 4.10 for $100 drum to drum last week. Granted, that don't happen often, but $150-$200 happens often. Where the hell is Waukee??? Is that Milwaukee, WI? To far if so. I've got 2 14b SF's I'd let go for $150ea, 1 is a 4.10 and 1 is a 3.73. Both drum to drum and working fine.

 

[bucket]

Blow up one 10 bolt, shame on GM. Blow up a second 10 bolt, shame on you for not upgrading

 

[skysurfer]

im tight on cash at this moment...

And just how long will this moment last? If you change the rear end ratio without the money to do the front end you'll end up with a non-functioning 4x4.

 

[4speedburb]

hotrod, waukee is in iowa next to des moines, and i found a set of rear gears brand new 144, and prlly a month is as long as ill be tight on cash, just did house payment, and this happened, ifbi changed the gears, id only drive it to gas station, and back prlly, not very far at all, its sittig in he friends yard at the moment and needin to get it home lol,

 

[Chaz]

Skysurfer,,,what kind of mileage do u get with the th400 and 4.10,,,,,I have 4.56 in my burb with th400 and its like im drivin with a hole in my gas tank,,,,not funny at all,,,,was strongly considering a tranny swap,,,,was gonna try a 700r4 cuz it seems easiest,,,,but found out my rear was bad,,,so i picked up the 4.10 14bolt ff,,,I could have went with 3.73,s but was afraid to go that far from 4.56,s,,,,,,dont want to drive a total pig,,,,,I hope the 4.10 will allow me to keep my th400 and run halfway decent on the fwy,,,

 

[HotRodPC]

Skysurfer,,,what kind of mileage do u get with the th400 and 4.10,,,,,I have 4.56 in my burb with th400 and its like im drivin with a hole in my gas tank,,,,not funny at all,,,,was strongly considering a tranny swap,,,,was gonna try a 700r4 cuz it seems easiest,,,,but found out my rear was bad,,,so i picked up the 4.10 14bolt ff,,,I could have went with 3.73,s but was afraid to go that far from 4.56,s,,,,,,dont want to drive a total pig,,,,,I hope the 4.10 will allow me to keep my th400 and run halfway decent on the fwy,,,

Back when the speed limit was 55, 4.56, Th400 with a 31-35in tires wasn't so bad. But yeah, you'd benefit from a 4L80-E trans conversion, or even a manual trans with OD.

 

[skysurfer]

Skysurfer,,,what kind of mileage do u get with the th400 and 4.10?

I haven't checked the mpg's in a long time because it depresses me, but in completely stock trim on skinny tires I measured 16 mpg at 60+ mph on a 200 mile round trip. After the 4" lift, 35" tires, and added roof rack, my mpg dropped to around 11.5-12. That was enough change for me to limit the burb to local trips and buy a 4-banger dd for extend trips.

If something falls in your lap that will give you better mileage, then go for it. Problem is, most people don't consider the payback time when they spend around a $1000 to get another 2 mpg. You pretty much have to drive all the time to see a return on the investment. I ran the numbers once when I was drooling over the Gear Vendors o.d. units. The investment would have paid for itself in 30 years. But by buying an economy car that gets 3 times the mileage of the burb, I was able to break even after just 30,000 miles, or in my case, about three years.