3.08 to 3.42

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Jerryred94silvy

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I had an S10 that had 3.08/V6, and got the rear end out of another S10 that had 3.42s. Made a very noticeable difference on that truck. It wouldn't get out of it's own way before, and would do some impressive burnouts after. lol

That truck was a '96, and after the swap, it was enough of a difference to mess with the ABS. Lucked up and found a used Predator tuner, that allowed me to enter tire and gear info, which straightened it right out.

I can’t imagine a V6 with such high gearing. That’s cool to know the difference it made though. I’m sure some “accidental” tire spin might occur with the lower gearing in my truck...
 

Jerryred94silvy

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So will I need to set pinion depth if I’m only replacing the gears? If so I think I’ll just spring for an LSD. But if not I’ll keep being cheap and just do the gears lol.
 

351FUN

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Dont fear the gear! I would jump to a 3.73 personally. i have 4.56 in my 97, (33" tire) a little extra gear makes for a fun driver and very minimal loss in fuel economy. even thou you are turning more rpm, the load on the motor is less.

4.56 isn't too much for that small a tire? That's what size I'm running and I was looking at getting 4.11's soon.
 

stutaeng

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Personally, I wouldn’t spend the money for that small of a change. I’d go 3.73’s at the minimum. I just went from 3.42’s to 4.10’s and a Truetrac.

How did you like that change? I have a 99 1500 ECSB with 4.3 and 3.42. Will do a 4.10 swap soon. I've got 4.10s on my other trucks, but they are 3/4 ton class. I really like 4.10s on those trucks.

Was going to go 3.73, but was doubting if it was worth it. Probably wasn't going to a huge change, then I found some 4.10s at a very good deal, so I jumped on that.
 

Nickpisp

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How did you like that change? I have a 99 1500 ECSB with 4.3 and 3.42. Will do a 4.10 swap soon. I've got 4.10s on my other trucks, but they are 3/4 ton class. I really like 4.10s on those trucks.

Was going to go 3.73, but was doubting if it was worth it. Probably wasn't going to a huge change, then I found some 4.10s at a very good deal, so I jumped on that.

I also went from 3.42’s to 4.10’s in my ‘04. I expected it to feel like some low geared hot rod but it’s great. That’s one of the reasons I went 4.10 in my ‘93. Also my ‘93 has a 4L80E so I needed some gear to keep it from being a dog.
 

JWOK

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So will I need to set pinion depth if I’m only replacing the gears? If so I think I’ll just spring for an LSD. But if not I’ll keep being cheap and just do the gears lol.

Yes, you will have to set pinion depth if you change gears. You should read through a good gear install instruction as it requires a number of critical settings. There are a few tricks that can help the process of getting the pinion shims right - like using a bearing that is honed out to slide onto the pinion without a press (just for set-up but not permanent). You will need a dial indicator, inch pound torque wrench, foot pound torque wrench, a spanner (or similar) to hold the yoke from turning, and a LOT of patience. It is doable, but not easy or quick to do it properly.
 

stutaeng

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I also went from 3.42’s to 4.10’s in my ‘04. I expected it to feel like some low geared hot rod but it’s great. That’s one of the reasons I went 4.10 in my ‘93. Also my ‘93 has a 4L80E so I needed some gear to keep it from being a dog.


Awesome! Also trying to do a 5.3 swap and 4L80e. That's one of the reasons to regear!
 

Turbokat

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I went from 3.42 to 4.10 (4l80e) and it was absolutely worth it if you live in a area with a lot of hills. It used to struggle a lot in uphills in 4th, overdrive and tcc locked but not anymore
 
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