Ihave a 1999 Dodge Ram 1500 with a 318,5speed Manual transmission. I tow a 5000 lbs camper.The truck is pretty much stock and it seems to struggle going up hill.I have 3.21 gears and I am thinking to go 3.73.Would this help? Any ideas are appreciated.Thanks

 

If your going to change gears for power may as well go whole hog and get the 4.10's. If your just looking for a bit of a boost, try a programmer, cai or a cat back. For more pop a fastman tb is always an option[8D]

 

i got the stock 3.55 gears and i hate em...could be b/c i have 35 inch tires...but i will be going to 4.56s as soon as the cash flow gets better

 

3.73's should be good enough if your only problem is up hill if you wanted the extra power 4.10's would give it to you also minor performance upgrades wouldnt hurt

 

I went to 4.10 from 3.55 and glad I did. I originally was going to do the 3.73 but decided on 4.10.The differences in mileage are minimal. From 3.73 to 4.10 the rpm jump is very minor. My mileage while towing actually is slightly better, but not enough to really make any difference. It did help with towing performance on hills.

 

About how much did that cost to upgrade?

 

Total cost was $750.00 to have done at a specialty shop. That was all new American made ring, pinion, bearings, seals. Parts were $397.50, labor $325.00.

 

Go with, 3:91

 

I have 3.92's with 33's, 318 with Auto. Last weekend I pulled an off road rig to the trail, probably 30 miles each way. It was a 5000-6000 lb load. All I have is a Magnaflow cat-back and I was pretty disappointed with my truck. It made it, but going up hills it almost couldn't make it. I had to alter my trip trip to aviod the really steep hills. The one grade was pretty bad, it was a long one, and kinda steep but nothing that IMO should have slowed it down that much. It was in second the whole way up at about 3500 rpm, almost to the floor and struggling. Yesterday I had to pull a friends Scout II home, with a tow strap, no trailer. It weights a little over 6k and dang, right when we pulled on to the road there was a really slight hill and again I had to put it to the floor almost to get it going. Kinda sucks.

I replaced my plenum a while back, then when I got back to the house I checked it again and the intake is dry so its not leaking again. I've thought I've been lacking power for a while, and that kinda proved it. I'm thinking its cracked heads. I loose about 2 qts of oil per 3000 miles and have to add coolant every 5000-6000 miles too.

Don't have money for a $600-$800 pair of heads with the Jeep Buildup at the same time. I'm going to pull the heads over spring break to see if they are, and how bad they are cracked.

 

I'd also go with 4:10's thats what I run but then again I have 33"s on mine. It seems about perfect but I don't know how it would be with stock tires. I'd assume a lot faster.