4x4Dragon said:
well im not dead set on using this friend of mine for help, i do have another friend/acquaintence on the backburner......he is a highly trained ASE Toyota Mechanic but he does side work for $ so we'll see how much he's gonna charge.
you're gearing needs seem to be alot different than mine. i've looked at just about every gearing/tire chart on the internet and they all tell me that 4.30's(4.27) are a dead on match up for stock power with 33's. and it still shows as just slightly less with 35's. now even if the chart isn't ENTIRELY accurate i figure it's at least good for comparison purposes and as a comparison....... 4.30's and 35's and especially 4.30's and 33's is a good deal better than 3.58's and 31's....... for me the 3.58's and 31's have been tolerable, even with the wider track of an 8 inch rim.
as much as i'd like to call myself a "full-time" off-roader.....im just not, not enough time and money(YET)
i do appreciate the concern though. thank you for the tips.
i may just end up saving up for that master install kit after all................ i may not be power hungry but I AM sensible.
in a perfect world i would get the 4.56's BUT a good deal on some 4.30's will be JUST FINE for me........anything but those 3.58's.
gear/tire combinations for 2.7 Tacomas, 4x4 and prerunner:
Gen I trucks came with 3.58 or 3.42 gears and 225 size tires (28s) and 205 size tires respectively.
some Gen I trucks got 235s and 4.10 or 3.91s depending on tranny with the 4.10s going with the ATs.
Gen II trucks started getting 4.10/3.91 gears and 235 size tires (29").
Some AT equiped trucks got 265 size tires and 4.56 gears.
Later Gen IIs started getting 4.30s (manual tranny) and 4.56s (AT) and 265 size tires.
Some prerunner ATs with 265s wound up with 4.30s
Gen III trucks for the most part are 4.30 with manual and 4.56 with AT unless they were originally designated for 235 tires in which case they got 4.10/3.91s.
your chart would be correct for the 3.4l v6 but not for the 2.7.
Since all v6 Tacos have 4.10s (all TRDs and ATs) or 3.91s (manual, non TRD) going to a 33" tire and 4.30 gears would give an 'adjusted' ratio of 4.04:1 or right around stock. For 35s and a v6, 4.56s will bring you back to near stock at 4.04:1. In my opinion Toyota should have used 4.30 gearing on the v6 ATs and 4.10s on the 5-spds as this ratio/tire and engine combo seems to do better overall (trail/street). but that is just my opinion.
With the v6 the 4.30/33" combo is a 'stock' equivalent.
For the 2.7 the 'stock' equivalent is 4.56/33 for the 5-sp and 4.88/33 for the AT. for 35" tires the closest 'stock' equivalent will be 4.88/5-sp and 5.29/AT.
calculations by using the 'calculators' on the NE site.
all that BS asside the 4.30/33" combo on your truck will seem like a dream compared to your old 3.58/31s
Make sure your Toyota tech has actually done gear setups; most of them haven't as Toyota doesn't do gears anymore...they just replace complete diffs and 3rd members....or so my local service mgr tells me.
depending on where you are and what labor rates are there, regearing should run around $150-250/diff if you take in the diff/3rd. If you just drop off the truck figure $600 and up. Rates around here are a joke at $105/hr so I go out (way out) of town for stuff like that. Make sure to replace the rear axle seals while you're at it, about $14.
for master install kits go with PORC
http://www.performanceoffroadcenter.com/ for the best prices. Even if you do, by chance, find gears or install kits cheaper they will beat it. just mention ttora and pirate 4x4.
just specify either rear-locker (e-locker, 8" ) or no-locker 8.4". for the rear; the fronts are all the same
