my68ur8trd

buddy of mine is trying to get his 94 4runner regeared to 5.29. apparently it came stock with 4.88 (v6 auto) and with 33s it is slow as hell. well weve been calling around and everyone says that the third with 4.88 was only supposed to be in europe and that he has to get another 3rd and have that regeared. ive never heard this before. any info?

thanx

Justin

Phisherman

I'm not sure about any of the following...

4.88s were an option that year and it came with a different housing than other 4Runners. I'm pretty sure you have to get a new third.

alltheway

Pretty much all Toyota pickups and 4Runners came with 4.11 gears, but it is possible to have 4.88 gears. Did your friend buy the truck from somebody else or was it like that when he bought it?

kyle_22r

the third member from a toyota with factory 4.88s is different from other third members. only toyota factory 4.88s can be put in these, so the best thing to go is look for a standard V6 carrier to have regeared

Flamedx4

I think Phisherman and alltheway are both right. 'Pretty much' all did come with 4:10 but there are factory 4:30, 4:56 and 4:88s out there. And from what I've read the 4:88 rear is a special unit with a special gear set and your buddy will have no luck finding gears for it. (But it should not be slow - 4:88 is the perfect ratio for 33s.)

He might make a deal with someone with a 5-speed rig who wants 4:88s and swap third members and some cash - they get a deal on 4:88s and he gets carriers he can re-gear.

EWAYota

not to hijack, but if one was to find a truck or 4runner with the stock 4.88 gearing, could one take the 3rd members and put them in a truck that came with the 4.10's? just curious, im planning on regearing, but looking for the cheapest way to get it done.

Phisherman

It probably seems slow to him because rigs with 4.88s came with 31s stock. Moving up to 33s will make his comparable to 4.56 with 31s, which anybody with a 3.0 will tell you, is not that fast.

Phisherman

You could get the third member and swap it, but the problem is finding a rig with stock 4.88s. I hear it's rare.

EWAYota

they only came in the v6's correct?

Phisherman

yeah, I think it was part of a towing package too if that helps

Robinhood150

5.29s with 33s will put the truck back to stock. 4.88s for a manual tranny, but 5.29s for auto tranny.

I just regeared so I've got a factory 4.88 third that I'm thinking of selling.

leebee

hey guys, my 93 v6 auto has 4.88's and im thinking of upgrading to 33's next year. flamed, robinhood, can either of you explain why you say 4.88 are ok with 33's and then 5.29's are ok also. im confused now.

thanks

lee

kyle_22r

the automatic has a higher first gear and a deeper overdrive than manual trucks, plus it sucks a lot of horsepower compared to a manual transmission. usually you go the next step up in gearing with an automatic. 5.29s would be a better match for 33s and an auto, though it should be liveable with 4.88s

the 4.88 thirds came in V6 trucks with the 31" tire option and automatic transmisisons. 5 speed trucks with 31" tires stock(v6 or not) got 4.56 gears

EWAYota

is there a way to decipher any of that off the door stickers inside the truck, as to what options came with what truck?

kyle_22r

i'm not sure about the doors, but i know the axle code on my truck is on the plate on the passenger side fender, under the hood.

http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/faq/vin/

look under "axle codes." 4.88s will have an axle code of G144

RobG

I have factory 4.88's in my 93 V6 Auto and just added 33's this Weekend. It is slower (didn't think that was possible) but still street drivabable. Definitly want 5.29's with 33's and the Auto.

I spoke to someone at All-Pro they told me that the housings we special Toyota Low speed housings and were off center. Because of the low volume of these housings no one makes gears for them.

Not sure weather I'll wind up regearing or replacing the auto with a 5-Spd, if that is possible. Anyway the budget is shot for quite a while.

Question.
Is it only the rear diff that is different or does the front have to be relaced as well to regear ?
Does the entire rear end have to be replaced to regear ?

Robinhood150

Yes, just the rear. You have to replace the whole 3rd member, not the whole axle.

Cebby

Apparently you can shim the ring gear to make it work, but why make it harder than it has to be? Non-4.88 3rds are plentiful and cheap.

Are you putting in a locker? From what I've read, ppparently the carrier, not the housing is odd-ball. If you are replacing the carrier with a locker, it is "supposed to" work fine.

I was also uncertain even with all the assurances and debate on the subject, so I went the easy route and got replacement front and rear 4.10 diffs and had them regeared to 5.29's and stuft with ARB's. I didn't want the hassle if it didn't work as advertised...

Robinhood150

Well, I know the front works because I replaced only the gears and added the arb.

Flamedx4

Yes, you can swap the entire factory 4:88 third members into other axles, and if you want you can put just the gearsets themselves into other axles too; they need a spacer. But you can’t put other ratios into the 4:88 thirds without replacing the entire gear carriers. The factory 4:88s are a thinner ring gear, no one makes aftermarket ones that thin. Robinhood added an arb, which is the gear carrier, that’s why his worked.

Kyle has it right – the auto (gearing and horsepower loss) is the reason for the axle gearing difference.

The code plate is on the doors of the newer trucks.

By the way, someone said in a recent gearing thread (I can’t find it now) they can only do 70 mph with 5:29s and 35s – I don’t get it. I do 70 effortlessly, it only turns 3000 rpm at 70 and accelerates from 70even in 5th gear just fine. When I bought my truck it wouldn’t go over about 70 either, and I found the throttle cable needed adjustment (it was loose and wouldn’t pull full throttle.) After that – wow! Better acceleration and of course now I have top speed. Just thought I’d toss it in for the benefit of anyone who may want to check theirs. Sure the 3.0 isn’t fast, but I have no complaints about it’s ability to move the truck around – it’s still way better than my 22RE was…