Regear axles from 3.42

[JJ8875]

I have a 92 K1500 with the 350. I have 31's on it now and I plan to upgrade to 33's. My concern is will the 3.42 and the transmission (4L60E) be able to handle the bigger tires. I use it mostly for a daily driver (less then 20 miles/day) and sometimes for highway driving. I have towed in this set up before with a motorcycle in the bed and a Mustang behind it, but that was a one time thing haven't done since.

 

[outalne94z71]

3:42 and 32's are a stock combination so going up to a 33 will be ok, would be better to have 3:73 though, if you were jumping to like a 35 then you would be getting the trans hot especially if they were heavy 35's like boggers but what you are doing you should be just fine, you could always add a bigger trans cooler if you want a little more peace of mind.

 

[whiplash473]

3.42 shouldn't even be in a truck


Sent from bored/stroked iPhone

 

[outalne94z71]

3.42 shouldn't even be in a truck


Sent from bored/stroked iPhone

i've had worse, had a 87 suburban with 3:08

 

[great white]

What do you mean by "handle it"?

Are you asking if it will kill the transmission in short order?

If so, probably not. You're not going very far off stock.

Are you asking if it will be slower to accelerate?

If so, a bit slower. Any time you add rolling mass and diameter to the wheels it takes more work to overcome it.

Swap 'em on if you want them. See what it does.

You may end up with odd lockup behavior because of an RPM change at speed (bigger tires) , decreased fuel mileage (out of efficiency range, rolling mass, etc) or it may be barely noticeable at all. There will be some speedometer error, but more importantly the PCM is going to see road speed error. This may mess up the lockup, shifting, fuel MPG, etc. Again, probably not a big change, but a change none the less.

If you don't like the results, a restoration to the way it is right now is only a final gearing change away.....

 

[JJ8875]

I thought it had the 3.73, but after doing research found out about the 3.42. Wasn't really to happy to see that. The PO had 33's on it, but I went to smaller size because of price but after getting them the truck looks stupid since it has a 3" inch body lift.

 

[outalne94z71]

I thought it had the 3.73, but after doing research found out about the 3.42. Wasn't really to happy to see that. The PO had 33's on it, but I went to smaller size because of price but after getting them the truck looks stupid since it has a 3" inch body lift.

what was the stock tire size, the 245 or the 265?

 

[Dszx13]

I want some more info on this. I lifted my truck last summer an put 35s on it. I lost 3rd an 4th. Highest recommended tire size was 35. So that's what I got. Could this be why my trans crapped out. It was rebuilt about 7 years ago an light towing here an there