rmp213

I had 35's on my old truck with 3.55's and I have 34's on my new truck with 3.55's and they both have plenty of *****..I would prefer to have 3.73's but the 3.55's do much better on the highway

jerrybizzle

That would be the least expensive way. The 1600 quoted earlier includes the cost of the gears as well, not just installation, although its still pretty expensive.

BigNick98

Alright well thanks guys I really appriciate it and I'll be looking into that her next week. Do you guys know if there's a difference from the ones with drum breaks to the ones with disk breaks? Mine is a 98 and it has drums and I believe the 99's and up had disks. Would that affect anything? Id rather have disks all the way around

rmp213

You could do it but you'd have to buy a drum-to-disc conversion kit. I don't know where you'd find one or how much they cost but I know its possible and not hard to do

BigNick98

But if I bought a rear end from like an 02 with disks would it bolt up or is that where the kit comes into play your talking about?

rmp213

It would bolt up, but you would need to get whatever fittings or lines that come with that kit to run the brake fluid from where they would go to your drums into the new discs..I've never done one, but I know its possible. Maybe ask someone who has or search a thread on a drum to disc conversion, there may be one in the DIY section.

My advice, if you buy a complete rear end, MAKE SURE it has the same gear ratio as your front end, and take it apart and clean it up with new fluids (and friction modifier if its a limited slip) It would suck to spend money on a used rear end and find out its in no better shape than the one you have

BigNick98

I will do that. Thanks alot man!

BigNick98

Would it be cheaper just to buy new 3.55 gear ring and pinion for the rear instead of buying a whole rear? Would that be worth it? And would it be rebuilding it?

jerrybizzle

Possibly. I was quoted 1500 for front and rear installed. U may be able to find some used 3.55s cheap, from someone who has upgraded gears, and then have a local shop install them for maybe around 2-300. Call local shop for install prices.

zap

I'd take the opportunity to got to a 3.73 still. It will help counter the slightly larger tire on mileage. I really wish there was a wider gear selection available for the 8.8 in the under 4:1 area. 4.10s are a good towing gear and if coupled with the right tire size and engine can be one of most efficient setups around. The tow rig I use has 4.10s on 34" tires. Running 70mph it's running right at 1800 rpm which is nearly full torque for that diesel. To run 70 in my f150 with 31.6" tires on a 3.55 I'm actually running between 2400 rpm and 2800 rpm since I'm constantly having to drop out of OD to maintain speed, don't have the torque to maintain speed.