5.13 or 4.88 Installer doesn't want to do 5.13
#1
JK Freak
Thread Starter
So I am getting new gears. Was going to go with 5.13. I have a Dana 30 up front with sleeves, gussets, rcv shafts and locked on 37's. My install shop does not want to do 5.13 cause he says they will break going through a ditch. I have a buddy who hasn't had a problem on his. How many have broke the 5.13's and will 4.88 even be enough of a difference to change. 6 speed 2 door. Has 3.73 right now
#2
JK Freak
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Springfield, MO
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The lower the gears (the higher the numbers) the weaker they become. The D30 has a tiny R&P already. I would never put any lower gears in a D30 with 37's. I would suggest a new axle housing first.
#4
JK Junkie
I blew up my D44 with 4.88 gears and 37s. The RCV shafts may have been the mistake - they don't break.
5.13 gears in a D30 running 37s with RCV shafts, is pretty much a guaranteed R&P failure, unless you don't wheel at all. The high numerically the gears, the larger the teeth. The result is that there are less teeth in contact with the pinion at any given time. That is why they get increasingly weaker.
4.88 or 5.13, I would ditch the axle shafts and get some stock shafts in there.
Someone will chime in and say they've done it without issue, but reality is that a R&P failure will likely be in your future. I am in the camp that wheeling 37s and running tall gears should be done with a D60. If you don't wheel hard, then a D44 works, but everything else is still weak.
5.13 gears in a D30 running 37s with RCV shafts, is pretty much a guaranteed R&P failure, unless you don't wheel at all. The high numerically the gears, the larger the teeth. The result is that there are less teeth in contact with the pinion at any given time. That is why they get increasingly weaker.
4.88 or 5.13, I would ditch the axle shafts and get some stock shafts in there.
Someone will chime in and say they've done it without issue, but reality is that a R&P failure will likely be in your future. I am in the camp that wheeling 37s and running tall gears should be done with a D60. If you don't wheel hard, then a D44 works, but everything else is still weak.
#6
JK Junkie
Holy crap, hahaha. Doubt you'd make it out of the gear shop parking lot with 5.13s. I wouldn't even run that setup on a D44. Wheels and tires are just too heavy for all components.
#7
JK Super Freak
You have more flexibility with a stick. So, 4.88 is a good option. That said, it's still a 3.8 so no matter what you do from a gear perspective, the engine still needs help.
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#10
JK Junkie