hey i ordered 38.5 boggers and im not going to put them on till i gear my truck i know im getting 4.56 in the rear but what if i got bigger in the front how would that help my perfomance?
if im correct it is the dana 44 in the 2000 off road package isnt it?

 

Bigger in the front would kill your performance in the form of destroying your drive line. You have to have the same gears front and rear or you will shell your transfer case first time you put it into 4x4.

You will need bigger then 4.56 for 38.5's though. Your going to want about 5.13.

 

Actually, if you have a 4.56 in the rear - you need a 4.55 in the front. 5.13 rear needs a 5.12 in the front. The factory gears like mine are 3.55 rear and 3.54 in the front so the front "pulls" just a little bit to limit harmonic vibrations in the tc and driveline. I haven't changed gears, so I don't know if it is possible to get a 4.55 or 5.12 for the front, but it would be worth looking into

 

Like Silver_Dodge said, they have to be the same. They can be off, as Racinfan was saying, by .01 but that's IT.

I would also have to agree that 4.56 isn't going to be enough with 38" boggers. You must have some serious lift to be running those. [&:] The problem with going to 5.13s is it's not cheap at all. IIRC, you have to switch carriers. I believe the stock carrier won't accept anything past 4.56 [>:]

As for axles, you have a Dana 44 in the FRONT and a Chrysler 9.25 in the REAR.

 

Yes, like Racing Fan said, the front is going to be different then the rear, but only by .01 to .02 difference. It is usually unnoticable to the gerneral public who just says give me 4.56, and they think that is what they got in the front and rear. Mine were 4.09 in the front, and 4.10 in the rear. Good to see someone knows the difference though. Nice catch Racing Fan.

According to Randy's Ring and pinion, anything over .02 will cause damage.

I agree with everything Burning had to say too. In addition, I think 38's are far beyond the capability of the Dana 44. Most wouldn't recommend much beyond a 35 for that smaller axle, escpecially if you plan to off-road with it. Not sure about the 9.25, but I bet it isn't too much different. If you have the Dana 60 or 70 in the rear, and Dana 60 in the front, you would be better.

 

7 inch suspension lift, 3 inch coils and 3 inch body lift im sure that would clear 38's pretty easy for about 3,000 dollars haha. and yeah these axles cant handle over 4.56's. you'll need something bigger.. should 2500 axles handle over a 4.56? or maybe diesels.

 

The 9.25 is a little beefier than the 44, but 38s is still pushing it. I'd agree that 2 Dana 60s or a 60 & a 70 would be MUCH better for running these tires. Especially if you're actually going to do some wheeling with it. That's a lot of rubber and a lot of weight to put on a 1/2 ton axle. [>:]

And the 2500 axles and Diesel axles are the same axles before anyone wonders

 

yea its 8" of total lift and it will clear 38.5" i currently have 4.10 gears and 36" of tire my buddy has the same year model and lift and is running the 38.5x14.50 tsl/sx
how much do u think it would cost me to get bigger axle in rear?

 

i do bogging sometimes u should see all the local folks heading to the dodge place after me and my buddy showed up everyone in the mud hole

 

so u think it would best to find an old 2500 or 3500 to ****** the axles from or what?