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3:55 Dana 44 gear ratios . Why NOT?


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I recently acquired a 1995 4x4 pathfinder and joined this site for information and how to tips.

My plan is to SAS the pathy so I have just lined up a deal for front and rear Dana 44 axles off a late 80's

wagoneer with chrome moly rears. I thought I was on my way and then I read on another post that you don't want Dana 44 diffs with 3:55 gears.. Man now I'm really freaking out because I have this deal all lined up.

If I have the both of them with the same gear ratio , why don't I want these gear ratios ? :ohno01:

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They're tall.

 

Deeper gears are better for off roading generally.

 

I have 4.88s in my Jeep for that reason.

 

With the 3.55s, you may find it moves too quickly off road.

 

Lots of factors here, there's nothing that says you don't want them.

Depending on the kind of wheeling you want to do,and your driveline set up, they may not match what you have in mind.

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3.55 gears are way way too tall.

they will rob you of power like crazy. If you plan on running 35" tires with a manual pathfinder trans you're looking at running Atleast 5.14's

 

5.57 gears are just right on 37's w/ manual trans.

5.85 gears are good for 37's w/ Auto trans or 37"+ tires and a manual.

 

those 3.55's won't get you anywhere.

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I was planning on running 33in tires. I have a manual tranny. Does too tall a gear mean they accelerate to quickly, does a deeper gear mean accelerates slower ? The front axle is driver side drop so that should line up right ?

How expensive is it to change gearing ? $400.00 to buy both axles is a great deal right ?

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The lower the number, the more top speed you'll have but less bottom end power. The opposite for higher numbers.

Ill get you a quote on parts. But labor for changing them put isn't cheap.

 

With 33's you would want atleast 4.63 if not 4.9

 

 

Sent while mobile, typos likely.

 

 

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I also hear a lot abouth 4:10 gears. Been told I would be able to go about 70mph hwy but still do ok out on the trails.

I just need to be able to drive the truck to the trails and not have it gears so low that I have to trailer it. I don't think im going to try vertical waterfall rock crawling just yet , just need be able to crawl over medium terrain not hardcore stuff yet. Someone else told me I would be ok with the 3:55 ratio for a while ,, I mean hell the wagoneer they came off of was running them and I think they come on 31 inch tires don't they?

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I also hear a lot abouth 4:10 gears. Been told I would be able to go about 70mph hwy but still do ok out on the trails.

I just need to be able to drive the truck to the trails and not have it gears so low that I have to trailer it. I don't think im going to try vertical waterfall rock crawling just yet , just need be able to crawl over medium terrain not hardcore stuff yet. Someone else told me I would be ok with the 3:55 ratio for a while ,, I mean hell the wagoneer they came off of was running them and I think they come on 31 inch tires don't they?

 

What you need to understand is that the Grand Wagooners always ran tall gears with big engines.

Pathfinders have decent or ok power, no big engine to keep it moving.

 

410s might work if you had a Jeep, but Pathfinders run deeper gears from the factory.

3.55 gears are not a crawl ratio, that is the axle ratio..

Edited by 92Path_68CJ
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OIC ,, So the 3:55 = three revolutions of the driveshaft equals a little more than half a turn of the axle gear on the pinion ?

If this is so how will I find out what " gear ratio " is in the differential before I buy them ? Am I even understanding this the right way ? Man someone needs to post up a lessons on understanding gear ratios and axle ratios. Formulas and variances in calculations. Maybe ill just keep to hauling ass instead of crawling. LOL. :deadhorse:

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almost...

 

3.55 turns of the driveshaft equals one full turn of the tires / axle shaft

 

the mathematical way to figure the ratio required for a new tire size is simple algebra..

 

OEM Ratio / OEM Tire Diameter = New Ratio / New Tire Size

 

ex.

 

4.37 = x

---- ----

29 35

 

 

Solve for X

 

(4.63 * 35)/29 = 5.58

 

or new example

 

(4.37*35)/29 = 5.27

 

or new example

 

(4.37*33)/29 = 4.97

 

 

 

 

There is a method to this madness :D

 

 

 

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Ok I was looking at this white Pathfinder on youtube going on the Clegorn trail. Then I notice the guy posting the video was names SteeeveO. That video was great and got me to thinking that I could get away with only running a Dana 44 in front and leaving the rear axle stock. Is that what you did ? Did you just match the Dana's gears to your stock gear ratio in the rear ? Or did you change both ? Remember I only want to run 33 inch tires.

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Look at this way:

 

My Pathfinder that runs 31 inch tires from the factory runs 4.6 gears from the factory. bigger the tire, the larger (numerically) the ratio needs to be.

 

My pathfinder is now on 33's, and really needs at least 4.9s if not 5.13s. Its currently a DOG running 4.6's.

You can run the h233b for quite awhile, its a good solid axle, but parts are expensive. you would want to change your D44 ratios (cheaper to do) before you changed the h233b.

 

Even if you did this, running 33's your going to notice a big difference in performance running the stock (I'm assuming 4.6 if you an auto) ratios.

 

 

3.55 gear ratios are going to be terrible - no way in heck the thing is even going to move. The lightest pathfinders (2door manual trans) still ran 4.3's factory.

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 Ok I was looking at this white Pathfinder on youtube going on the Clegorn trail. Then I notice the guy posting the video was names SteeeveO. That video was great and got me to thinking that I could get away with only  running a Dana 44 in front and leaving the rear axle stock. Is that what you did ?   Did you just match the Dana's gears to your stock gear ratio in the rear ? Or did you change both ?  Remember I only want to run 33 inch tires.

I changed gears in both axles. I was running 4.88 gears at that time.

 

Sent while mobile, typos likely.

 

 

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Ok cool. Then, so much for saving money. Just gonna have to bite the bullet and spend the money to gear both axles. If I'm gonna do it, might as well go all out and do it right. Thanks to all for the info.

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The stock gears in our trucks are an odd ball size. When doing a SAS your goal is to get those gears as close as you can. Some are comfortable having them off a little but I'm not one of those people. Most people will be moving up in tire size when doing a SAS so regearing is really a big part of doing a SAS money wise and mechanically. Then start factoring the cost of lockers and setting up the gears, possibly changing the rear axle for something that has cheaper parts, having up change the carriers in a dana 44 because the stock ones won't hold the dump truck gears we run lol.

I'm going through this process right now. I decided my best plan of attack was to make a list of every single part I need to buy. Find out what parts need to be new and what ones can be used. Take that list and start adding up the cost and do everything in my power after being price shocked to bring that cost down. There are certain things you can cut corners on and "upgrade" as time permits but gears I don't believe is one of them. Same goes for lockers. If you just want a mall crawler there are many things you can cut corners on but if you want to wheel it at all lockers are a big deal. If you rarely wheel I'd look at open diffs to bring the cost down, if you wheel it and use it on the road a selectable lockers is a must have, If you are using it strictly off road mechanical lockers or spools are a cheaper option. I'm not going to argue with anyone that likes their mechanical lockers on the road but those things have a tendency to trash tires and break parts if you don't drive carefully. Plus they sounds like something is broken when you turn. You might not care because you know what it is but people around you will think you rig is broken if they don't know any better. Nothing like throwing tons of money at something just for people to think it's a piece of crap lol. On top of that the money you think you're saving going that route will be quickly lost when you're buying new tires all the dam time.

As far as what your post was actually about. I'm sure someone has chimed in already but I hope the information I posted above helps with your plans for a SAS.

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