damn this sucks lol, I cant really decide what I want...the GV unit is something that I know I can install myself, but its like 300% more expensive, and the rack and pinion....I haven't a damn clue how that gets installed, but its like 300$. Go figure eh?

 

another option if your not married to your auto is to find a parts truck/ or just the trans, and install a ZF 5 speed..... i'm a stick guy myself.....OR if you had 3.08's, a much cheaper and stronger trans would be a borg warner t-18, i have one with a 300 in front of it, on a 87 f150 4x4 with 31's, and i towed a car hauler with it EVERYDAY last winter with no issues..... also a bed full o crap.... and that trailer with the car was around 5000-6000, depending on the size of the car, and the truck with a bunch of tools/boards/jacks/ramps was another 5000-6000.... and that 1st gear is a 6.32:1 ratio.... just if you were wondering....

 

There is one other thing that could be worth looking into.......

The Dana 60 and 70 rear axles were avalable with 3.07 ratio. They're not very comon, but can be found. A good wrecker will be able to run a parts search for you and see what is avalable in their network.

In theory, you can swap the whole axle assembly and not have to worry about proper setup of the gears.

The catch is that swapping an axle is not very fun, and after 20 years of road salt, a cuting torch is often needed to "negotiate" with rusted bolts. Brake lines will also be disturbed in the process.

Overall, I still say the ring & pinion swap is best.

 

if you want to do the gear swap, you can just order a new ring and pinion for probly round 200-300...add the locker..... lol....

in all honesty i would MUCH rather swap out an entire axle than do a gear swap, ESPECIALLY while its in the truck. sorry, but 8 nuts on the u bolts, if there that froze that heat or nothing else will get them off (in which case i would make DAMN sure that frame was in good shape, more importantly, make sure your shacles haven't faded into the dusts of time, lol.) you can always cut the U-bolts with a grinder and go buy new ones, they ain't expensive by ANY means., if the brake lines are that rusty that you can't get em off, they should be replaced anyway, sorry, but on a truck, especially a one ton diesel, that may have something behind it, i want to KNOW my brakes are gonna work when i press on that pedal, and brake lines are cheap, and if you HATE bending them and bleeding them, shops do it for cheap (it was winter and i didn't have a garage, not to mention it was -15, and for the total bill of $125 (lines, labor, and a flat repair) i couldn't argue with that considering i had him do EVERY single line on that truck, the only ones he didn't do were the ones going from the master to the proportioning valve, cause they were perfect, and he was the one who said he could do them but it REALLY didn't pay. and that was bled 2. but any way. also remember you are gonna want to throw on new shoes/hardware/ cut the drums/ new wheel bearings.... BUT if there that rare of an axle, you may just want to do the gear swap, but i would still drop your rear end to do it, that way you can leave the truck on jackstands, take the axle into your garage, get it up on a bench, and work at it from NORMAL angles. lol

 

Ya kinda dont have a garage nor the tools to take the damn thing apart, and as of right now, my truck is my only source of transportation, so I'm not gonna tinker with something that I've never tinkered with before. So if I was to buy the ring and pinion, bring my truck to a driveline shop and say "here, change it", would that be a better idea?

 

nope. they could do that for ya easy. just remember, if your gonna go that route, i would really consider that 4 speed, i guarantee you won't be dissapointed...... where in canada are you again?

 

what is the average speed you drive at every where I've been in bc max is 100 km or 62 mph and lots of bc has lots of hills some big ones.
I have a 4x with 410s and 4sp no over my driving style ot 60 mph consistantly got 18 to 20 you would lose some with slush box but maybe a good tuneup and lighter foot cheapest way out.

 

Agemenon, I would call around and see what the shops would charge you for the swap. I can definately see your dilema if the truck is yout only source of transportation. But swapping the gears really isn't all that hard, I had no prior experience when I did mine (just did my homework), and was done inside of a weekend (including mistakes).

Swapping to a 4 speed auto will give you the drop in RPM that you are looking for, but its not a simple as just swapping trannies.

First off, the stock E4OD is weaker than the C6, and if you ever want to turbocharge the truck, you will have to upgrade it to survive. Even for OEM settings, the transmission needs a lot of work to be reliable, its possible to get a reconditioned setup with enough of those updates, but just the tranny will cost similar to a GV overdrive, and you will still have to setup the electronics to run it. Although if you source one out from the states, it won't be too bad with the exchange rate where it is right now.

And again, there will be driveshaft modding, and the crosmember will have to be moved further back to mount the E4OD, since the transmission is longer overall than the C6.

Personally, swapping a transmission wasn't any easier for me than swapping gears, since I've done both so far.

 

Well one thing at a time lol, I dont have a money tree growing in my back yard. You know this really blows because right when I need my grandpa for these kinds of things, he's not here. He passed away earlier this year in january. That man could fix anything! You know I was wondering something. Are the 3.08's gonna kill my acceleration really badly to the point where I wont be able to get out of the snow if I get stuck? For those of you who were wondering, I live in edmonton alberta right now, but I'm gonna be movin back up north to yellowknife early next year. Now everybody has their own opinion on here. Some say go the E40D way, and some say go the rack and pinion way.

The way I see it right now, its gonna cost 3 grand to get the tranny and get someone to put it in, now if I get a rack and pinion, It'll cost me a few hundred bucks, and right now I'm a little low on funds and I just want something to fix this *****ty fuel milage. I see the E40D as a long term goal, but not something I'd wanna do right now.

 

Uh well I live in the big o'l grand city of Edmonton right now. The speed really differenciates a lot. Some places its 40, some its 70, some its 110 like the highway. But I say that I do about 65 average speed. I don't have a heavy foot at all, I'm so cheap with this truck that I'll keep the motor under 2500rpm on the highway so that it doesnt guzzle all the fuel lol. At that motor speed I'm doing about 80, and I'll avoid the highways as much as I can because they are a real fuel drainer.

 

hugher speed limits and flat ground around edmonton what is yellowknife terrain like I suspect like yukon as far as sp limit.
I have a gearvendor love it simple instal sometimes right price on ebay or craig list can get adapters for c6 if you get used one for different tranny pretty common for c6 tho.

 

Well the NWT is really different wherever you go, its not like down here where everything is the same. I'd say its comparible to northern ontario, but I've been to the yukon before and its more "foresty" than the NWT. The NWT is just a bunch of rock and skinny pine tree's, theres a few hills here and there, but most of it is flat.

Does the gear vendors have an advantage over the E40D?

 

looks like my gearvender drops rpm 600.

is your truck 4x or 2x if 4x and you have shop change ring and pinions a used gv would save you lots of money.

 

Well I know for a fact that 3.08's drop the rpm by about 1000, and with the gear vendors thats another 600, so about 1600 total. No what if I were to get a E40D, and get the 3.08's, anybody know what kind of drop that would get? My truck is 2x4.

 

gv much simpler install can be cheaper plus you get to stay with tougher and more reliable and much cheaper rebuild or replace c6 tranny.
if you dont pull a lot of big loads 3.55s rears and gv would be great and they are most popular gears at salvage yards swap complete rears easy do it yourself get 1 buddy to help rent floor jack supply beer one evening easy.