HELLO ALL,

Did a lot of searching on here but could not really find what I was looking for.

I have 373 now and went to shop and talked to them about gear change maybe 456. I am towing a 17K trailer with auto and was maybe looking to change gears to help. Everyone on here talks about 410's. would 456 be too low. They told me that if I went to 410's it would not be that much of a difference so it might not be worth it. I don't drive this truck that much unloaded. It spends 80% towing. Normally I dont have trouble but on hills it slows way down and also when I tow into the sand I have to tow in 4 lo not because it would get stuck but if I stop in the sand in 4 hi there is so much drag on the trailer that it won't start moving again and I have to switch to 4 lo.

Any suggestions?

 

What size tires are you running?

 

Yeap, that is what happens towing heavy, auto, and 3.73 gears. I have 4.10 gears, auto, and tow heavy. No problems. I have no 4 Lo. It does make a big difference when towing heavy with the 4.10 gears. I don't think they make 4.56 gears for the AAM axles. Since you have a 4x4 you will have to change both front and rear ring and pinions. That will be expensive. You may come out cheaper to upgrade the tranny (48re) to solve this problem. Pulling that kind of weight you will need exactly what I would need. The following minimum IMHO.

1.) Upgraded Torque Converter (TC)
2.) Upgraded Valve Body (VB)
3.) Upgraded Flexplate (Suncoast laminate)
4.) Billet Input Shaft and Hub
5.) Billet Intermediate Shaft (optional)

Cost: Around $3500 to $4500 dollars.

Many companies to chose from. DTT, Suncoast, Dunrite, Georend, HTT. You can do a search for more reading. Fill out your signature so we can see what kind of truck you have. Hope this helps.

 

Oh yeah, the acutal problem is the crappy TC. It is too loose. But, when you upgrade it and the VB you stress other parts down the line having a domino affect. From all of my research I have done for myself this is what I am going to do after I hit 70,000 miles and my powertrain warranty is gone. The slowing down on grades may not be corrected with the tranny upgrade but it may.

 

updated my signature

 

It would be nice if they had a 4.30 gear option, but that would keep the revs pretty high when crusing.

 

I think 4:10's are ok if you go any lower you might need a GV OD unit for anything over 65mph..my sweet spot is 68-70mph w/2200rpms,so by going lower, 65-70 mph would have RPMS of about 2600-2700 and after a while of driving that can become tiring,(vibration and noise)..I would do the trans first and go with a extra trans cooler for the heat generated frim towing that load and while doing the trans get a exhaust brake done to help stop your truck+5er...That way you can go and stop without a worry.... my trans is this fall for me! Rich

 

the cheapest thing to do would be to find someone that wants the 3.73s instead of 4.10s. im sure there are several people that would be interested in that to get their rpms down on the highway.

as said earlier the stock tranny when towing heavy could use some help

brett

 

If you are towing all the time I would go trade in on a 6 spd truck. man what a difference. I have both an auto and a 6 speed and the manual walks all over the auto with a trailer behind it . I pull 17 to 20k constantly and can go up the grape vine or donner summit at 60 without a problem in 5th gear at around 3/4 throttle . you will eventually start having tranny problems with your auto anyway pulling that kind of weight. I would go drive a 6 spd and see what you think. its like pulling with a little big rig. LOL

 

4.56 and 4.88 gears are available.