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6 speed?

normburns

normburns

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East TN
Is there a 6 speed trans that will fit, and work behind my 6.5TD? I frequently find myself looking for another gear. Would a 6 speed give me a higher top gear? I have the 5 speed now. What would be my options for getting more gear, other than buying the tallest tires I can find/fit? One guy told me that with a pair of wheel adapters (read: spacers), I could get another inch or more in height... when ideally, I would like to drop the truck a couple of inches in the rear. I have heard of in line o/d units. Anybody have experience, or know about them?

Thanks!
 
If it is a 2wd the cheapest way to lower highway RPM would be to change out the rear gears to a numerically lower ratio.
 
Grendahl said:
If it is a 2wd the cheapest way to lower highway RPM would be to change out the rear gears to a numerically lower ratio.
Click to expand...
remember, if you do any towing, it drops the tow rate, speedo will be off also.
 
x2 on above.
Mine is 2wd, I went with 3:42 gears. Speedo is reset via ajusting the VSSB.
GV is a good way to go to. Would that affect a 4x4 though?
 
I don't really see the need for using the higher gear that would be supplied by a gear vendors ad when in 4x4. So I do not think it would be an issue

Might want to wire up a safety feature that would put the vehicle in 2 wheel drive when the gear vendor overdrive was engaged
 
Well, I have owned the truck for 4 years now. Only one time has it had a heavy enough load to require use of 1st gear (granny low). Normal bed load, including the topper, would be less than maybe 800 lbs. If I am pulling the trailer with the bike on it... figure maybe 1100-1200 lbs. I could probably lose some of my tow capacity, and never miss it.

Yeah, yeah, I know... why do I need a dooley. Well, one thing is I really like the amount of room I have. I am not a fan of small vehicles. Another reason is the 24ft pontoon boat. I am not arrogant (translates to stupid enough) to think it makes me invincible, but when the pontoon boat is behind the C3500, I just feel a lot better than I did when it was behind the K1500. I could act stupid, or not pay attention, and still end up in trouble, but it is just a lot more stable than the 1500 was for pulling the boat.

So, without decoding the codes in the glove box, I am guessing the stock ratio is probably 4.10-4.11, or somewhere close? That being the case, a set of 3.42 gears WOULD be like adding another gear, huh?

Leroy, what did the gears run, and what was the boost on your mileage? That might be a good option for me. My goal, is the greatest mileage I can get, and still have the capability to do a little towing, if I have to. I read threads about what people have gotten out of these motors, and I just don't think that is what I am looking for. I am not even certain that I know what "turning one up" even means, maybe turning up the output of the IP? To do that though, I would need an EGT gauge, and maybe others... nope. I've had hotrods, and this truck isn't one of them. I want the max mpgs, and the max dependability I can get. I have looked at propane injection, water/ethanol injection, an inter-cooler, all as a means to more dependable mileage.

I am pulling around 20 now, my Concorde pulls 23-25, my Stang pulls 22-23. Am I wanting too much, to have the Beast equal, or beat both those? Or is that within reason?
 
Sorry I dont remember. Another benefit is the engine noise is much reduced. Its not as fatiguing to drive. A roaring engine wears me down on a long drive.
 
215/75-16 in the rear, as I recall. A friend told me I could go with a taller rear tire, but I would need spacers (wheel adptrs) to spread the separation between the wheels on both sides. While it would be nice to run a bit more meat on the back, it would not be nice enough to justify the cost of the adapters. From what I have seen, if you get good ones (read safe), they are not cheap.
 
One other possible option is out there, the Ranger overdrive. It goes between the bellhousing and the manual tranny, requiring a change in driveshaft length and location of the stock tranny shifter. If I remember correctly it is a 27% OD and adds 7" to the drivetrain length.

The Ranger gives you the option of being able to split any of your gears, in other words, a 5 speed tranny becomes a 10 speed.

I have no experience with the Ranger, just what I've read about it.

Don
 
normburns said:
215/75-16 in the rear, as I recall. A friend told me I could go with a taller rear tire, but I would need spacers (wheel adptrs) to spread the separation between the wheels on both sides. While it would be nice to run a bit more meat on the back, it would not be nice enough to justify the cost of the adapters. From what I have seen, if you get good ones (read safe), they are not cheap.
Click to expand...
you can run 255/85R16's like a stock, no spacers. they are hard to find and goodyear was the brand i went with. they are tall and skinny, if you like that. they run 33.5' tall. yours are 28" tall.
https://www.google.com/webhp?source...899b850329cb9a2&ix=seb&ion=1&biw=1366&bih=643
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=53
 
My 235/85s need a spacer when loaded, they dont touch when empty but with 80psi they can rub with the loads I run.

The ZF6 dmax 6speed is a nice tranny and would bolt right up but it has the same final gear ratio, just more gears.

I like the idea of the ranger, I'm gonna look into that.
 
i have some 3/16" or 1/8", not real sure, aluminum spacers i will give you. not much of a spacer but they were given to me. they are cast.
 
me personally, I would go to 3.42 gears, and go back to the stock rubber of LT225/75R16D so that you can tow in fourth gear, which is recommended anyways, and throw it in the big hole for MPGs. one set of gears installed will be rather affordable compared to other options.
 
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