Re-gear for 33s? (3:58 gears currently)

That's the elocker actuator/motor. Not the elocker itself on the driver side of the pinion

 

still doesn't answer my question though, does that have any reliability concerns. my main thought would be that the motor would get damaged when wheeling with the diff locked and then you wouldn't be able to unlock the diff. sounds like a stupid concern and one would hope that Toyota would've thought of that but you'd be surprised how many times manufacturers don't think of things like that.

 

I ran 33s with 4.56 with the 3RZFE and 5 speed. It's a perfect match.

Now running 5.29 and 37s. It is slightly over geared. Probably would be perfect with 38s.

 

What concern are you referring to? Toyota used this designed on their LC, 4r, fj, taco and is not a major concern.

Most of us, myself included, off road in some bad area and huge rock. Never got it hung up before. It's pretty well protected by the third member and sit center of the diff. I'll be more concern about the driveshaft getting damaged then the motor. You can buy a motor guard for added protection. You'll running into motor getting seize from water crossing then damage from rock.

And if it do happen where the motor is damaged, you can manually engage and disengage the locker by pulling off the motor

 

ok, i guess i'm just being overly paranoid. now that i think about it i guess i would've heard more about it if it was a real problem lol.

 

ok, good to know, sounds like that's what i should go with if i do end up re-gearing

 

Definitely regear!! I also have 2.7 with 5sp...stock was 3.58. When I got the truck it had 265/75/16 and likebyiu said it was bad. I drove it like that for a year. Mainly because it’s not a daily driver (company vehicle). I finally regeared to 4.56 and it drive like a totally different truck. Couldn’t believe how big the difference was. I now have 285/75/16 and the 4.56 still does great. Definitely recommend doing it. You won’t be disappointed.

 

This is what I run now. Great for everything but steep hills or a strong head wind. Over 20 mpg even with 3" lift, custom steel bumpers front to back and a camper shell.

 

ok, i'm planning on running 285/75/16s (just said 33s because it's shorter) eventually. to be honest though i'm a little afraid to go and re-gear, not that i'll regret it, but theres a fair few things that i dislike with the truck. at some point i've gotta question (as i stated before) whether it's worth it to re-gear or whether i'll be happier with trading it in for another 1st gen taco in the long run (v6, center console, rr diff lock, etc. not to mention good gears w/o re-gear). re-gearing is a pretty big step that seems like i'm jumping all-in which really means i've gotta question how long i want to keep this particular truck. am i making any sense? and if so what do y'all think?

 

You will still probly want to regear. As far as I know the 3.4 only came with 4.10 ratio. You can run 285 with a manual ,but auto will need to be geared. All of these trucks are geared tall unless you stick with stock size tires. I vote you hear your truck and keep it unless you find a deal you can't pass up

 

yeah, fair enough, although i am planning on sticking with a manual transmission even if i do sell it and buy a truck with the 3.4. the other thing is that i've got a buddy with a 2.7, 4:10 gears (pretty sure but don't quote me on it), and 33x10.5r15. he can get up Snoqualmie pass no problem which (as i'm sure you're confused as to what in the hell is Snoqualmie pass) is a pass on I-90 over the cascades which has near a 15% grade near the top. this same friend also drives to and from Montana (Bozeman area) rather often so he gets his taco up to higher altitudes and steep grades. basically, to bring it all back round, i'm personally not too worried about turning 285s with a manual trans. and a 3.4 (unless someone tells me i've got reason to be).

as for keeping my truck, i'd be with you on that and maybe i'll feel different after thinkin it over a bit more but as of now, simply put, i love my truck, but i gotta decide if i love every other bit about it enough to jump in this deep with it. i'm figuring on putting a rear ARB in if i've got or am getting the diff pulled out anyways and putting well over 2k in parts in seems a little scary (granted i may just be looking in the wrong place and this concern would be null and voided if i went to a salvage yard for a TRD E-Locker axle). i know that guys on here have put well over that into their rigs (older ones with more miles i might add) but as pretty much everyone i know says... I'm too cheap for my own good

 

so after getting back from said road trip, i think that i'll probably stick with my current setup for a while. on the highway 4th did ok and 5th was as you'd expect. great for cruising at low rpms and getting decent mpg. it surprisingly made it up all the hills without a problem at 70 mph but it was well into the speed range. it does alright in town already which is where most of my driving is anyways. that's probably going to be the final decision but we'll see. i've been known to change my mind before. just felt like this thread would benefit from being wrapped up.

 

Just drove about 400 miles for thanksgiving as well, and my truck is a slug. I honestly wish I had 33x10.50's, but my tires are brand new and I don't want to go through the hassle to sell my wheels/tires to get some smaller ones. Just wish companies made beefy 33x10.50x18's.

 

yeah, i'm kind of in the same boat with my tire selection. kind of wishing that someone made 33x10.50x16 as most 15 inch rims wont fit over my front calipers. that'd be ideal (although i'm probably going to stick with what i've got for now). i could go 255/85 or 285/75 but the 285s are a little wide for my liking and the 255s are both only available in M/Ts and are freaking expensive. what gear ratio do you have in your truck?

 

I've got 4.56's. Which you would think would push the 33's fine, but they don't. I can get it up to 75 in 3rd, then when it shifts up to 4th it slowly goes back down to 60. I am not comfortable sitting at 3.5-4k on a long trip, so I'd like to get something figured out =(

 

huh, weird, especially because i've got 3:58s and my truck does fine in fourth at 60 let alone 70. 70 isn't even a problem for 5th unless i'm going up steep mountain passes. i definitely hear what you're saying about the high rpms, after a while it would just drive me crazy. i drove a 96' ford f250 with a 460 and a 4spd manual on a short trip (1hr each way) over the summer and it was resting at 3500 going 75 down the highway. drove me nuts and i can imagine that it didn't help my MPG even though it's hard to get anything decent with a big-block V8. i swear i could see the needle go down by the mile.

do you have an auto tranny? that might have something to do with sluggish performance.

 

Yes it is a auto. If I could find some 10.50's in my wheel size I'd think that it would help a lot. 6 inch drop bracket doesn't help with aerodynamics either, but these trucks weren't very good with aero from the factory anyways.

 

yeah, i can imagine not. are you running 12.50s? anyways, the auto might be the root of your problem. i've heard that they're pretty useless when it comes to turning big tires and keeping relative power. i've heard of doing a 5spd swap but i can only imagine how expensive that'd be and i'd imagine at that point you'd be in the same boat as the concerns i've expressed. mine's alright when there isn't any wind but you can really feel it when there is anything significant. Elko is in eastern Nevada right? how much wind do y'all get over there?

 

Close, Northern Nevada. Wind isn’t really bad, usually pretty calm. Would be easier to sell the truck and get a manual then doing a 5 speed, then I would have to deal with ECU swaps and other BS. I’m running 33x12.50x18’s. They are a very beefy tread as well, stupid loud road noise. I’d like to try to sell them to somebody else and get new ones, but then I’m out of a truck for a week or two and I hate using my dads taco or f150.