both are correct, with a 373 and 35s youll get about a 308, with 410 and 35s youll get about a 355, 355 was stock in many truck, and so was 308. so either way. if you get a 35" tire, you have the 300, so go with AT LEAST 410s. maybe 456 if you dont do a lot of hwy driving. gotta go, talk to ya al later!

Idio

 

Problem is, is I do have a lot of everyday highway/gravel road driving unless I find a secondary truck, so I wanted to keep it about the same since I'm already gettin 11 to 12 mpg. I was planning on 4.10's, but 3.73's would be great for me on the highway since I'd be hitting the peak horsepower rpm at about 65, but if this were a offroad truck only it would diffently have 4.56's with both axles locked. I'm thinking of puttin a locker in the back, but I wonder when I make a fast turn if it will shove me in the ditch since I'll just be buying something like a $200 EZ-lock or Lock-Right. That will also be sucking more power out of it and it would be better to have lower gears (these are the things I think about sitting through church on sunday), anyway what would you do?

 

One word -----------------------> "BIGFOOT"
http://www.bigfoot4x4.com

 

Well as little as that helped, man I'd love that 79, that is one nice looking truck.

 

i hunt with hounds. 4x4 comes in real handy. i would like to build a real offroad truck though. to many times i have found myself in places jeeps fear to go.

 

Redneck,

If you want to keep your gears in the stock range with the larger tires, stick with the 3.73's I think. Here is a program that will calculate what your gearing would be with your changes. Check it out.

http://www.intercotire.com/html/tire-change.htm

Regarding lockers. There is a trade off here. If you want a posi that is very streetable and smooth, then you'll have to go with either a planetary gear style L/S or a clutch style L/S. A good planetary gear l/s would be a Zexel Torsen. There are others, you can check all of them out here. Don't go with a clutch style as they wear out quickly and you'll just be wasting your money. My Auburn wore out in 3 months.
http://www.reiderracing.com/zexeltorsen.htm

If you want a true locker, get either the powertrax NO-Slip or the Detroit locker. They both act as open diffs until engaged, and then act as a spool. And yes, if you do a uturn and punch it, you'll either chew tires or pop one of the front wheels off the ground. Or if its wet out, you'll spin the rear around. But they are fantastic off road and the Detroit locker is indestructable.

I'm having the detroit tossed in in about a month or so to replace my junked Auburn. The people I spoke with said that the only time you really have to worry about the detroit locker is when punching it doing a sharp uturn. They said that you should turn the truck first and then punch it. Other than that they said it's pretty streetable. But at 589.00, it's NOT cheap. But it will be that last locker you'll ever buy.

Tom

 

well when i was growing up every kid in town bought a 4x4 for there first truck they were all lifted. not to mention i was brought up in a rusted c30 with 33's and on quads and bikes me and one of my best buddies always said we would own big trucks and we now we do.

 

Well Personally, i have a different story. I was not raised in the four wheeling or muscle car type. my dad said his car got him from point a to point b. So at the age of 8 he handed me the keys to his 86 ford ranger 4cyl. 2wd. Beater of a truck. It was a stick, and he showed me the basics, but then let me out on my own. I figure this was the best technique, because now i can drive about anything. So after learning how to drive in the fields i started becoming more daring, driving through plowed gardens and off on trails. Then when i started to get stuck i realized i needed it to be bigger. So here i am now. In fact my first words were truck and tractor.

 

The E-Z locker will disengage to let me turn and it's cheap, but for some reason it's only for 87 and up 8.8's. I have an 86. What's the difference?

 

First, it's cheaper because it installs inside your existing carrier. So, the locker is cheaper, but installation will be more expensive. In addition, it is a true locker, not an L/S. All true lockers are going to work similar in U-Turn situations. It just so happens that on this particular model, they mention that it's a streetable locker. They all are now. The older locker used to be very harsh on the road, but the newly designed lockers are more street friendly. You will find that they all work similar. In fact, the EZ lock is made by the same company that makes the Detroit locker. It's the same locker, but the Detroit locker comes in its own carrier, which is why it's more expensive.

You'll have to call them and ask about the 87 vs 86 model year. There must be some difference.

Tom

 

Maybe I'll ditch the 8.8 and go with a 9in. and do the straight front axle swap at the same time. There seem to be more of a variety of lockers and LS's for 9's. How much stronger are the 9's then the 8.8's?

 

I see just as many or more 8.8's than 9's. I don't know the difference.

 

Well I don't know what to do then, I gotta be lifted up and running muddin 35's by early August for the mud drag so I can have a chance in the 6cyl. class, wether I keep the TTB or not, but I'd really like some sort of cheap traction help other then welding, cuz there is no way that'll last drivin it everday. I have a 9in. rearend avalible to me and I thought of welding that up and sticking it under there for a day then going back to the 8.8, but I'll have to spend money to match the gear ratio in the 9 to my front, which seems like a waste, I think the 9 has a 3.55, but I'm just guessing, it's out f a 73 F-150 4x4.

 

GO WITH THE 9"........I can't give you like exact oh its 25.59er76 percent stronger stuff......but i assure you its well worth the money.. (Oh and if I sound like smartBUTT i apologize........I just woke up haha....gotta love college)

 

Cowboy.

http://www.reiderracing.com/noslipapp.htm

This is your best bet. They make this locker for your vehicle in an 8.8 1986 and earlier. This fits inside your stock open diff and is considered one of the best on the market. Price is about 350.00 or so and will last you forever The other one you were looking at costs about 275.00. Here is a write-up on the differences between the two. Check it out, you'll definately learn something and may solve your problem quick.

http://www.rockcrawler.com/techreports/powertrax_tj/

Since you seem to be concerned with streetability, I'd pay the extra 100 bucks and get the No-Slip model instead of the Lock-Right, as it's better on the road.

Check the rockcrawler site out and let me know what you think.

As for Purdue, Do they have english or grammer classes at your college????? (just busting on you).

Tom