Hello,

If you have a 5.2L and the manual transmission, what size tires and gears do you have, and how do you like them? I recently purchased a '99 1500 with the 5.2L and NV3500 manual transmission. It has a 3" lift and 35s and 3.55 gears. It is surprisingly not terrible (unloaded) with that combo, but 5th is useless under 65 mph and I know this truck has a lot more potential with the right gearing. Been debating on pulling the lift and going with 265s, stepping down to 33s, and/or regearing the truck and staying on 35s. Doing a lot of reading and the automatic guys seem to go directly to 4.56 gears with 35s due to the higher (numerically lower) first gear on the transmission as well as the steeper .69 ratio of overdrive. Not a lot of info on trucks with the manual though.

 

Is your truck 2WD or 4WD? This makes a big difference when it comes to re-gearing, as the front and rear differentials must have the same gear ratios in them or bad things will happen...

 

It's a 4WD.



Thanks,

Mike

 

I'm running 33" tall tires and upgraded from 3.55 gearing to 4.10 gearing in both the front and rear differentials. My transmission is a beefed up automatic (46RE). I'm very happy with the gearing upgrade, as the truck has a lot more pep when taking off from stoplights and a better low end pull for towing.

With 3.55 gearing and 35" tall tires, your truck will be sluggish down low regardless of transmission.

 

With 35's, you really want 4.56 gears. Trouble is, changing them is not a trivial task, and paying someone else to do it, is right about 2 grand, plus or minus 500..... Depends on labor rate in your area. Gear setup is more of an art form than anything else. And you HAVE to get it RIGHT, or, you get to pay for all of it again. Something else to keep in mind is, your axles are gonna take a beating from the big, heavy tires. Expect to go thru things like ball joints, bearings, and steering parts fairly regularly. Yeah, the jeep guys do it all the time, but, their vehicles don't way close to 6000 pounds either.

 

Thanks guys, I appreciate the input. I bought this truck as a nice commuter truck that can occasionally pull something if need be, I drive about 50 miles per day round trip in traffic as well as freeway. I am prepared to spend the money to make it right with the gearing, or going down in tire size if the 3.55s are more decent with 33s. (Even considering going back to stock springs and 265s) But If I am going to spend the money in any direction, I want to do it right. I have this same engine in my '97 Wrangler on 37s, and with 5.13 gears that Jeep is fast and climbs mountain passes easily in overdrive on the freeway. The Jeep is probably 1,200 - 1,500lbs lighter, but I know the 5.2 should push this 1500 Ram along nicely with the right gears for a given tire size. (I'm pretty surprised how it even does with 3.55s and 35s and manual transmission ratios and even still gets decent gas mileage between 13.5 and 14.9 mpg doing the math by hand).

HeyYou - interesting point on the ball joints and front end parts. How fast do these wear out with 35s in a street application? In all honesty despite how good these second gens look with bigger tires, I was actually looking for a stocker to just drive around in, but it's hard to find em A) not beat up or mile'd out, and B) with the manual tranny. This '99 had good history and maintenance, as was clean so I got it even with the lift and tires.

 

Mine weighs 8800lbs! But i have dana 60's and not a dana 44/9 1/4. Another reason why i chose a 2500 rather than a 1500. If you plan on running 35's keep up good maintenance(grease) on the wear parts and inspect for wear. 4:10's may be a good compromise between sluggish and jack rabbit. This depends on your personal preference.

 

How long they last depends a lot on where you drive.... If it's mostly on-road, then they should last years. If you do a lot of rough/dirt/trails, yeah, not quite as long.

 

Honestly D44 ball joints don't last even with 265s.

I wouldn't worry about it and just replace as needed.

Even with a manual I'd personally run 4.56 and myself I'd seriously consider 4.88. I always err on the side of deep gearing and mileage .....meh who cares.

No one ever considers altitude but it's a factor. Baseline for me is 6500' and most goes up from there, so deeper gearing is mo betta. If I'm getting 12 vs 13mpg, does it really matter? Answer: no.

 

I have 4.56 with 33's, and it just too much gear. Towing on the freeway is a no-no, engine is screaming at 65mph..... 35's would be great, and likely what I will put on when I replace these.