Hello Guys,

I hate to ask this question but being that I have never done anything like this before so here it goes.

I just purchased a 02 Ram QC 1500 5.9L 4x4 and absolutely love it, minus a few details.

The first and formost detail that I don't like is that it has 3.55 Open Dif. gears in it. IMHO it makes it a little usless for towing, even though it can.

I called around to a couple of local shops in town to find out what it would cost to change this to 3.92 Anti-Spin and this is the only quote I have received thus far.

Change Gears from 3.55 to 3.92 front and rear and install Trac-Loc carriers front and rear, I believe he said some bearing work and fluids all said and done out the door and down the road $2,800.

Now I know this could be done cheaper, but the problem is I wouldn't know where to start, so my question is this. Is this a fair price? Is there something better/cheaper that I could be looking at? Finally, would there be anyone that lives near me (Mosinee, WI) who could do this work for me (I will be more that willing to provide beer, steak and $$$ for your trouble, especially if you save me a lot of $$$.

The other detail is minor...the tires are nasty and basically useless in the snow. But as I said before, that is minor...I can handle picking out tires fairly well, however I will accept any recommendations is a 6/8 ply LT265/70R17 that you may have.

I appreciate any advice you can give me. Thank you

 

i would go higher than the 3.92 IMO

 

I'm also a newbie and have an 05 QC ram. it has the off road pkg and came with the 3.92 (i think thats what it is) as opposed to the 4.10......what does this mean and whats the difference?

 

yeah 2800 is way too much, should be able to find someone to do it for about half that.....3.92 wouldn't be bad but i guess it kind of depends what your gonna use your truck for later on down the road....if it was me, i would look at going with 4.10....another thing you might want to look into is buying the gears and diff yourself and having someone put them in cause more then likely, the shop is jacking up the price on those as well....for diffs, i would look at Auburn LSD or Detroit Tru-Trac

 

whats the difference to the gear ratios. like i said.....my off road pkg ram has the 3.93 gears and some of you have the 4.10......how do they differ?

 

Well, Me Personally - I Have 4.56's but I Knew I Was Going To A Big Tire. With Your 5.9, I Personally Would Think A 4.10 Would Be Enjoyable for You. Still have Not Met Anyone Who Has A Clue About Cars That Would Disagree That The Stock 3.55's Need to Go.

In My Case When I Upgraded My Gears I Gained A Couple of Miles on The Highway (With New Tires).

I Did My Rear Gears, But I Paid Someone To Do The Front. I Think 2800 Is Pretty Steep.

 

4.10 and up (4.56, 4.88, etc...) good for acceleration and towing usually bad for fuel mileage.....3.92 and down (3.73, 3.55, etc...) good for fuel mileage and top speed

 

that does sound like a lot of cash, but im not exactly sure so im just gonna go with redram haha. like he also said, depends what you need. the stock ones NEED to go. i have 3.92 and thats fine, its not a truck i really planned on having for a while. my next will definatly have the 4.56 seeing how im going to put large tires on it. however the 4.10 is suitable for most. try and purchase the parts though and then have someone install it. should save you some money

 

I have considered the 4.10's and to be honest I haven't decieded on the ratio I want yet. I just started looking into what this would cost and the first estimate scared me. [sm=boink3.gif]

For the most part the truck is my daily driver that I put about 50 miles on of mixed city/hwy everyday going to and from work/baby sitters. I do however tow a 1969 (That's right almost 40 years old,) Leisure time travel trailer a few times a year. I only go a couple of hundred miles max each time so its not like I'm going cross county thru the mountains.

The other thing I use the truck for is hauling a lot of fresh cut oak during the summer as most of my family heats their homes with wood, which means that having the biggest truck, that I get the biggest logs.

I can say for sure that the shop that gave me the 2800 dollar estimate will not be getting my business. Assuming I can't find someone to do the work for me (I of course would help so I can learn a thing or two,) what would you figure to be a fair price for the work.