Changing Gears

[Cincinnati Guy]

Really thinking about swapping to 3.55 on my dually. My truck has a sterling 10.25 can I get any ring and pinion out of a 10.25 thats 3.55 to put in my rear end?

 

[TwoTone IDI]

short answer "yes" with a "but"

the "but" being that you need to be sure you get the right style pinion.

 

[Cincinnati Guy]

There always has to be a "But"

Didnt know there were different types of ring and pinions. How will I know what I have and will need?

 

[TwoTone IDI]

just a matter of a long or short style pinion... it can be broken down by the year but its probably not 100% fool proof

consensus is that the '93+ trucks utilize the long pinion. you would need the short pinion

 

[Diesel_brad]

And just so you know..... You can NOT just bolt in different gears and go

 

[Cincinnati Guy]

Well what needs to be done to swap gears?

 

[Diesel_brad]

You will need a shim kit, a crush collar and the tools to set it up properly. It is easier to either swap the whole axle assem or pay someone to do the gear swap

 

[Rot Box]

There was a cutoff year for the short and long style pinion and I'm not sure what year it was...

That said if you have a the right (short or long) pinion 3.55 gear set for your axle you should be good to go. You will need to properly set the pinion depth and backlash for the gears but they will go in.

Are you planning on installing them yourself?

 

[TwoTone IDI]

swapping isnt that hard, just takes time, and a slight tool investment like diesel brad said

you have to shim and get your measurements within thounsandths of an inch, which means a lot of taking apart and putting back together for the beginner

if that thought concerns you, yes it is probably better to pay a professional

 

[Cincinnati Guy]

I was thinking about doing it myself, I could get it done but I am not sure what the out of pocket cost for something like this would be?

 

[TwoTone IDI]

gears plus install kit youre looking 300 just for parts

another 40 for a dial indicator

20 for paint, oil, and gasket maker

 

[Cincinnati Guy]

If my truck wasnt a DRW Id just swap out rears with a 3.55 but beings theirs a difference in SRW and DRW.

 

[Diesel JD]

I still think it probably would be easier to find a truck with 3.55s and swap. Find yourself a junkyard with a lot of trucks, they are the same gas or diesel. I don't know how much difference there is between a DRW and SRW axle, gotta be some but I doubt it's anything that couldn't be overcome. R&P is pretty tough to do right for a beginner. I was too afraid to do it. As a result I bought an axle from a member here and had somebody bolt the axle in for me. Now I might attempt the axle swap myself but no way the r&p swap. The labor at a professional shop is going to be insane. The gears themselves really aren't too bad, IDK if 300 is correct or not for the parts but with labor you're going to be close to 1000 bucks. Makes an axle swap or a used auxillary trans look cheap huh?

 

[91fummins]

I was just thinking of doing an axle swap myself because I have a SRW axle just lying around. I done some measuring and the DRW is 3.5 inches wider than the SRW axle. The spring perches are the same because both are pickups.

 

[Diesel_brad]

DRW pick up axles go for a premium around here . My brother just paid 650 for one from a junk yard. Only yard with in 200 miles that even had one