Keep factory RR diff lock when regearing?

For some it's not an easy decision. For 2+ years, I debated 4.30 vs. 4.56 where initially I was leaning towards 4.30. There is a TW member with a 2nd Gen Taco MT running 35s with 4.30, he loves it. He's also the type that prefers desert racing, Mojave Road, Death Valley, Pismo and driving +75 on the highways. Another member that I wheel with, same thing 2nd Gen Taco MT running only 33s went with 4.56, and he loves his setup. Also helps he drives like a snail on the highway, even before he re geared. For me, I've added A LOT of weight, between armor, racks and RTT so 4.56 would help compensate from that extra weight. Also I can accept a lower comfortable hi way cruising speed.

 

I'm going 4.56 with my manual trans and heavy ass truck with full steel front to rear, top to bottom and 35's next year.....Just waiting on the ECGS clam shell special when it pops up.....I'd never think of 5.29 unless you were off road only or city commuter....

 

Ok, yep, I think I agree, 4.56 for manual if the way to go, and less likely to break in the trail. Thanks everyone!

 

You may want to consider this in your choice of gear brands.

 

I personally wouldn't go with nitro gears. I had bad experience with them. Had broken tooth on it. Try to get it covered under warranty they wouldn't. First thing that came out of their mouth was asking if I was doing a burnout when it broke. Which I wasn't. I was on my way home from work when the ring gear teeth broke. They also told me they won't warranty it because of my tire size and I'm on 37s. They only warranty it up to 35s I was on 4.88 gears.

I asked them why they even have 5.29 then if your not gonna warranty it for tires bigger then 35. They didn't say anything about that having .5.29 gears for 35s is way overkill IMO.
I got another set of nitros 4.88s guess what half a year later it broke again and same thing happened on my way home from work when it did break.

So I ended up this time around going with Yukon gears and getting their yes plan. Which is a lifetime warranty no questions ask if it breaks just send it in and they'll send you a new one.

If you look around at the actual rock cralwers like the old school Toyotas all those guys run Yukon gears and not nitros and maybe that's for a reason?

I tow with my truck sometimes also. First time it broke I didn't have a trailer to tow second time got a trailer a towed it a few times never had a problem. My truck weighs about 6k lbs itself also. It has full armor front rear bumper with swing out and fill size spare. Also front, mid , rear ,diff skid ,lca skid, and gas tank skid plates.

 

ok that is something to think about.

so, in these photos you have 35s? do you have long travel on the front? what lift do you have?

 

There 37s in the pictures. No long travel just mid travel. Icons 2.5 with reise extended travel with camburg uca. Rear is icons 2.5 with resi and Dakar leaf packs with their aal.

 

I upgraded the front brakes to the 4runner brakes. It's a little bit bigger then the Tacoma. You gotta run 17 inch wheels to clear them also.

 

I’m in the same boat with my truck (bumpers, skids, 33’s, lots of other weight and non aerodynamic mods) minus wanting 35’s, and I’m heavily leaning to 4.56’s even though there will be lots of highway to get to camping/off-road areas. I know I’ll be over geared and also looked into 4.30’s but I just keep going back to 4.56’s. The difference in rpm between the two at 70mph is approx 150 so it’s really negligible for fuel mileage. Plus I’d like to eventually pull a 13-14’ inflatable boat w/20hp motor.

http://www.grimmjeeper.com/gears.html
6-speed gear ratios below (right side)

 

What gears did you go with?!

 

Ha. I put in the 4.56! I am now on 35s, and she's dialed in like factory, maybe slightly lower. I can cruise at 70mph/2600rpms In 6th gear. I do hit the trail fairly hard, so I'm considering a tacobox!!

 

Current state of build:
Without the bumper for frame recall

 

The problem with 5.29's is that they are 5.29's. you end up with just a portion of a couple teeth making contact and take my all the force. When I ran those I treated as disposable. Meaning, was going on a wheeling trip, install them... Have fun and just wait till they popped. Usually get 6 months out of em.

 

I'm thinking of going 4.88. And yea... I too would love a tacobox or atlas haha

 

Just as an FYI I’m an auto, v6 4.0 guy who is doing 5:29 with front harrop for my truck.

Reading a lot of horror stories about 5:29 in this thread. I too have heard these from time to time. I have 5:29 nitro and front e locker with all new bells & whistles waiting for me at Zuks place. I’m on 35’s and relatively lightweight (NO overlander weight).

Here’s what I chose and why. I’ll be swapping them in early next month, but Ken Francisco (ZUK) will be setting the gears. Peep Zuks humble webpage. He is somewhat of a gear legend specifically with toyotas. He is by far, an expert in setting gears properly and he stands by his work. I’ll explain why I ended up choosing 5:29 and why I’m confident in this choice FOR MY USES & because I’ll probably end up on 37’s within a couple of years.

http://gearinstalls.com/

 

I'm on my 3rd set of gears, I have kept the original locker in place. No issues.

 

Not only did Zuk recomend 5:29, but Joe G (GMG Fab) also recomend 5:29, and ECGS Also Recomended 5:29. All of these resources know way more about gears than me, but after discussing my uses, desires & overall truck setup they all resounded a recommendation For 5:29 because I would prefer to be a little OVER geared rather than under geared or “stock geared” in comparison.

my truck is a city DD with a little bit of hWy use but nothing major. Most of my wheeling trails are 60 mins away. Of all the things I am building my truck for, “having a low HWY RPM is not one of them”. That’s simply not a priority for me. I’m ok with 5th gear 70mph being 2440rpm. That’s very reasonable with 5:29 on 35’s. Also, 4th is about 3300 at 70mph I believe. These rpms will only go lower once I inevitably slap on 37’s.

I also used the grimmjeeper calculator to see what my exact RPM’s would be and check this out.
To those saying “5:29 is too small, it will break”. Zuk has told me that argument is really based on the quality of the actual gears & the GUY who set them. He assured me that 5:29 is not a risky choice & Joe G runs 5:29 on his crawler with 35’s-38’s all day and has no regrets. Many guys run 5:29 for wheeling rigs that don’t ever see trailers and they do great and they provide great control for low speed crawling and reduce a ton of strain on the trans/drivetrain

 

Also, for an additional $250 I’m doing a REM treatment to my rear diff 5:29 nitro gears which will further enhance their strength.


Also. My truck only weighs 4860lbs even with full steel belly skids, me in the drivers seat, full tank of gas, sliders, 35’s & rear steel bumper. The only thing That doesn’t include my full sized spare which I keep in the bed 24/7. When I’m really wheeling hard that’s about all I have in the truck. Here’s the grimmjeeper calculator for 35’s on 5:29. Totally liveable for someone like me who is ok with being overgeared.

 

Did you ever make the switch? How is it

 

AT or MT?