I recently bought a 1974 Dodge W200. Well about a year ago I guess. Previous owner didn't believe in maintenance near as I can tell haha. Both diffs need attention, transfer case needs attention and eventually I'll need to do something with the engine and tranny aswell. Gear ratio in diffs are Front 4.09 and rear 4.10 I think. My question is, if I decide to do the diffs and put some more road-able gears in, will this effect the transfer case in a negative way?

 

i think it depends on what size tire you have on your truck. what gears were you thinking of getting? it should not effect the transfer case.

 

I am not sure, Motive Gear has 3.55's that will atleast get me above 60mph haha Im still in the raw planning stages. Thank you for the quick reply!

 

tires are 280/75r/16 according to a site i found they are 32.54 inches. According to an rpm calculator i just found. 3.55's would give me 65mph at 2600 rpm. Right now I'm doing 60@roughly 2900 rpm lol poor old 360 with over 100,000 miles. Those 300 rpms would make alot of difference. Might even look for a little taller gears even.

 

i don't know if it would be worth changing gears for if you want to go with 3.55's. i have been playing around with the calculator on http://www.grimmjeeper.com/gears.html and in with the numbers i entered in there was 423rpm difference at 65mph. i don't see why your truck should not be able to do 80mph even if your truck was to have 28" tires like i do.

 

Yeah after messing with the calculator I found lastnight, I think I agree with you. I'll just focus on getting the bearings and seals fixed up. Once I redo the engine, 3000 rpm won't seem so scary haha. Thanks for the reply.

 

Nice find! 74's are the best. Electronic ignition and disc brakes, but still the good 'ol divorced np205. I have 4.10's in my '72 W200, and I run around with 39" tires without much clutch work. I have had 31's on my truck a few times for various reasons, and I know what you are experiencing. It does suck. If I were to keep smaller tires on it, and drive it on the freeway, I would probably put 3.23's in it. My '72 D100 has 3.23's and 30's and it is (was ) comfortable in all types of driving. That was with a 727 though.