Having now finished installing a 4" lift (Skyjacker) on my '93 W150 ext cab long bed, it had been in my plans for this truck to go to a set of 35" tires in conjunction with lifting it. After having read quite a bit on here and a couple of other sites, it appears that how to go about moving to the taller tire is not a lot easier than installing a lift.

This truck came with a D44/9.25 axle combo, running 3.55 gears. From my reading the experiences here and talking to some locals, it would appear that 4.56's with a 35" tire set would achieve what I want in having a daily driver in town and on the interstates that would make better than 10 mpg (currently see 12 mpg or so) with some low end power, run 75mph without running the rpm's way up, and the ability to pull a decent trailer load (say a 21' runabout or a camper). I hunt and fish out of this truck, but there is limited mud-running in it, and I don't trail drive or boulder crawl. Now comes the question: is it better to do a gear swap in my stock axles (or is it even feasible?), or do I go on the hunt for a set of D60's and work from there? I haven't gotten far enough to see current $$$ on buying a set of D60's, but I was told to expect at least $1K for a gear swap on what I have, and the one shop I talked to said it might not be feasible to put 4.56 in the 9.25 rear.

I'll probably stick with the current setup, which is running with 31" tires, until after waterfowl season is over; these 31's don't have many miles on them, and I hate to let them go with so little use. But come Feb, I'd like to change the setup to 35" tire, and may go ahead and do it sooner.

I see that several of you have swapped axles out, and it looks like the D60 is fairly popular for a swap. Can I have your recommendations/suggestions on this please? Include what you ran into on brakes and driveshafts also, please. While my wife has ragged me on spending $$ to do what I've done so far, I've spent FAR less than what a new Dodge would have cost us when I bought this truck off her dad last year (had only 57K miles on it), so I don't mind spending some $$$ on it to get it exactly how I want it for a DD and to hunt and fish in.

Thank you,

Joe Cruse

 

i found this tire differential chart. it was very helpful for me.
http://www.offroaders.com/tech/gear-ratio-chart.htm

 

Personally, I would not put a larger tyre on that truck than a 33 12.5. No need even in the mud. A 35 will just make you spend a ton more money for not a noticeable difference. And a set of 4:11 or so will be good with the 33. And you can keep the stock axles.

 

Ive got a set of d70/60s with 4.10s I originally wanted 4.56s but im happy with the 4.10s although if I paid to do a gear swap Id go with 4.56. Ive got 35" tires.

I got a quote from Randys Ring and Pinion to re-gear my axles would be 2000 dollars so I just found me a set of axles from a w250 cummins. Grand total around 3k.

If you dont do anything serious the d44 and 9.25 will be fine but you cant go wrong with 3/4 axles.

 

CG, yes, I've read a bunch of your threads on here, along with a few others who swapped out axles. Funny thing is, my FIL (from whom I bought the truck) has told me more than once that the dealer told him the only thing separating this truck from a 3/4 ton model was an extra leaf on the rear springs. I actually might have a line on a matched set; local 3/4 ton W250 south of here for less than $1K. But...this is like an '84 or maybe a little younger. Is there a model year below which I should not look to buy and swap onto my '93, or will any 1st Gen back into the '70's work okay? Are 2nd Gen axles okay for a '93?

Moe, thanks for the link.

Sniper X, I see your point. I was thinking towards this direction because I really liked the look of lifted 1st Gens with the 35" tire setup. I'm almost inclined to find a set of used 33's to put on the old stock rims, just to run for a bit and see if I like the look.

I still am going to watch out for a set of D60's to swap in. I'm assuming from what I've read so far that I will be looking a modding or replacing driveshafts also??

 

I made the half ton to 3/4 ton axle swap once. And I will never do it again. This was on my 1974 Ramcharger and it never broke anything with 35s on it but when I went with the 3/4ton running gear and 16in wheels and 35in super swampers, my mileage, power, handling, and braking went to crap. The truck was just as good for everything but super mud bogging before and after it sucked at everything but mud bogging. But if you have the money then hey! Do it!

 

Hate to hear it did not work out for your swap, but this is why I asked about it here, to get the experiences of other users. I appreciate the feedback!!

I went through the thread on the Ramcharger site over the last 2 evenings on the community's individual suspension/wheel/axle/gearing/tire setups; very enlightening thread. I was surprised to see so many running 35's (or even bigger in a few cases) with their stock 3.55 setup, or even taller. And apparently having no issues.

I think I WILL look at swapping out the 31's to a set of 33's on these rims. Another mod I'm really thinking hard about for the 9.25 on the truck now is going to the bigger (1 3/16"??) Chevy wheel cylinders for the drum brakes on this axle, and upgrading to a 1 ton master cylinder/booster. I put new brakes on when I bought the truck, but I still think it could be improved, and have read a few threads about making this upgrade.

Thanks again, and hope others will chime in here with their axle experiences.

Joe

 

2nd gen axles will not work because the front driveshaft drops down on the driver side instead of the passenger side. The rear axles might work though, idk.

1/2 tons have a smaller frame than 3/4 and 1 tons so you can beef up the axles and springs but a 1/2 ton will never truly be a 3/4 ton.

Im not sure how many years back you can go but I dont think it matters. But keep an eye out for the dana 61 (youve probably already seen something about it) but it has high gears and and the gears are not interchangeable with a regular d60. As far as I know the 61s were only used on some diesel models.

I didnt care for the look of the 33s when I had them on my truck for a short time and didnt notice any reduced economy went I went back to 35s. I would never choose 33s over 35s after having run them both

As for the brake upgrade, Im still rocking my 1/2 booster and master. My rear brakes have yet to work since Ive had the axle (not the master and boosters fault) I still want to upgrade the booster and master cylinder eventually though

 

If you don't hard core offroad with it, your axles will be fine. However, 3.55s + 35 = piggy piggy piggy. It might not be so bad with a 5-speed, but if you have an auto, first gear is going to be mushy. I have experience towing ~5k lbs with a brand-F horse-named SUV with a 3.55s and 33s, and it leaves a lot to be desired. The owner is going to 4.56s in his stock axles soon.

 

You CAN run 35s with the 355s BUT it makes your low end power dissappear so bad you'll HATE it. PLUS it lputs so much more strain on the drive line. And the things I mentioned about mileage as well round town. I will say that if you have a stout motor it is better on the freeway with the 35s than stock tyres with the 355s because like before when crising at 75 was possible, you can cruise at 90 at the same RPM as before. Or 75 at a much lower RMP however, this can also (if an auto) put you into another problem, seeking passing gear all the time right at the RPM you want to cruise at on the freeway since you lowered the final drive ratio so much. I had that 500hp+ 426 wedge in my Ramcharger so it was faster than crap everywhere but I needed to put 4100s in it at least to be good in town.