Stuck in the Snow and Mud

[ryanb360]

Well, it was a fun weekend to say the least. I found out the hard way that 4x4 doesn't always mean four wheel drive and I found out 20 miles away from cell phone service with my 2 year old and a buddy. Just means something in the front and something in the back is spinning. Okay got it, I have decided that I want to put a locker on my front and rear end. The problem with my POS is that I don't know my gear ratio. I've done the research on this beautiful zone, and my issue lies with the fact that I have no tags on my axels, and my door stickers are gone... hmmm... anybody out there have a stock plane jane FS model? Can anybody help? My other concern is that I want to lift my rig in the next 6 months and put a set of 33's on it, Maybe 35's... but, should I put the bigger stuff on first and then get different gears? hmmm... Anybody?

 

[Justshootme84]

There should be a tag bolted on both axles, so if one is missing the other might still have it. Assuming both are gone, and no door sticker, you'll need to jack one rear wheel off the ground. Rotate it two (2) times around, and count the number of times the driveshaft turns. You should get 6 turns of the driveshaft for the 3.08 ratio, and 7 turns for the 3.55 gears. The reason you need to turn the tire 2x is for the open differential, as the spider gears need one time around per side. Jack the other wheel up off the ground, and watch the direction it turns when you rotate the other wheel. Opposite directions means an open diff, or no locker. Once you determine the gear ratio, you can calculate what size you need for taller tires and a lift.