I need some help. I have a 1998 1500 4x4 with 3.55 gears in it. It also has 35's on it, so I need to change to 4.56 gears. Do i need to buy a different carrier and if so which one? I cannot afford a new auburn, or whatever, I would be staying with the stock set up, I just dont know what the difference in the carriers would be or which one I would need. Also the front diff is a Dana 44. do I need to change the carrier for that and do the gears need to be reverse cut etc??? Thanks for any and all help. Again, assume that I will be using a diff out of a junk yard, do I need a different one than my current one with the 3.55 gears on it?

 

Hi, take a look at the adds in the truck magizines and give a drivetrain specialty shop a call. there are many out there, Randys R&P comes to mind- i am not advertizing for them however they were great and helped me with all my questions.

 

when i put the 4.56 in my other truck i had to replace the carrier for the dana 44. It just depends if you have the LSD in the rear or just open weather u need a new carrier. I had an open dif and my spider gears were shot so i had to replace them but u dont have to replace the carrier in the rear if everything checks out ok but u will need to replace the front carrier no matter what. I also went threw randy's ring and pinion like chad2199 mentioned. they are very good at telling you what u need.

 

Carriers are rated by 'series'. On the stock carrier, you can fit 4.10 and lower numerically gears, for the 4.56, you either need a new carrier, or, I think you can get 'thick' gears, that will bolt onto the stock carrier, and just work.

The suggestion to call an R and P shop is a good one. They will be able to tell you exactly what you need.

 

With your 3:55 gears you'll need a new front carrier. Your rear carrier won't need replacing.

 

Is the factory rear LSD ok to reuse?

 

Yes, but i do recommend that you pick up a clutch kit with new spider shims and refresh the posi it will work much better. however keep in mind the low bias ratio that the factory one provides. with larger tires it will become less effective. It will work fine for light to moderate wheeling but freshening it up will help greatly