At 07:58 PM 9/16/98 -0500, you wrote:
>Hey all,
>I want my truck to be fast, but I don't really race. I am
>afraid to change my rear because of traction.
>When I initially joined the list, Jack had told me if I want speed put a
>
>4.10 in there. I have a 8.25" Rear axle w/3.55, and I know nothing
>about this stuff. Where do I buy a 4.10? What
>kind of brand is this 4.10? Is this something I can change myself
>relatively easy? Should I change my whole rear axle first??
>
You can probably get 4.10s through Jegs or Summit. Mopar Performance
also sells them. I've heard that Richmond is a reputable company that
sells quality gears. The rearend is something I'd like to upgrade
sometime, but my research so far has indicated that its going
to be a hassle and/or cost a lot of money. an 8 3/4 would be nice,
or a Dana 60... Sean Meldrum sent me an article about an 8 1/4 that
was "built up" to withstand the stress of racing. That might be the
road I take; I'm still not sure.
If you don't race, then the 8 1/4 will probably be just fine. You
can probably just pop the 4.10s in there and forget about it. One
issue with changing the rearend ratio is that it'll throw off your
speedometer, so you'll have to have that adjusted as well. I think that
there is a gear for the 3.90s but I'm not sure what adjustment could
be made for the 4.10s. (Maybe the 3.90 gear and then whatever the
adjustment is to correct for a tire size difference??)
Another issue: Make sure you're going the right way!! If you
want your truck to be fast, then you don't want 4.10s. You'll want
3.23s, or something on that end of the spectrum. 4.10s will make your
truck quicker, but they'll limit its top speed.
Low numbers = fast (speed; Bonneville Salt Flats)
high numbers = quick (acceleration; Drag Racing)
As far as installing the gears goes, no its definitely not easy. You
need the know-how and especially the tools to do this; as there can be
a lot of setup, shimming, etc. involved. You'll want to budget some
money to pay for a professional installation. My local Dodge dealership
told me that they would do it for about $115 labor. (And their work
would be guaranteed for 12 months/12,000 miles.)
-Jon-
.--- stei0302@cs.fredonia.edu ------------------------------------.
| Affiliations: DoD, EAA, MP Race Team, NMA, SPA, USUA. RP-SEL |
| '96 Dodge Dakota v8 SLT CC (14.80@92.97), '96 Kolb FireFly 447 |
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