I didnt think they offered the 5.38 on the dana 30 anyhow

 

LOL!! you're absolutely right, they don't

 

Ordered 5:38's They will be installed tomorrow I also should receive the SuperChip Flashpac tomorrow (Thanks David @ Northridge) Will post back on results next week after I get the gears broken in.

 

What is a good (fair) price for having gears installed. 07, auto, rubi with 35".

 

I'm paying $580 (pretty much any ratio) for both sets of gears & install kits with new bearings. Then $550 labor to install.

 

Am planning on ordering the Teraflex CRD60R pretty quick (prolly with just a Detroit for now). Would be nice to throw the 5.38's in there. I've only got the open D30 in the front. Think it'll hold up for a while with a 5.38 RP set in there if I leave it open and continue to ride on 35's?

Not doing a few of the more extreme sections on trails yet, hence the building up to Dana60's and then 38-40" tires. So eventually I will need the gearing.

See any issues in sticking with a 5x5 bolt pattern? How prevalent are wheel-stud breakages going to be with huge tires?

 

As far as I know you can't get 5:38's in a Dana 30. Also I always thought you should build your rear end first.

 

Well, I just picked up my Jeep with the 5:38's Other than getting overcharged $60.00 and taking a half hour to resolve it (Always get your quote in WRITING!) I got into rush hour traffic. The response from takeoff is a definite improvement. Not having my Superchips Programmer yet I had to kind of guess as to speed. But I can say that driving my regular route home on one stretch of freeway that because of speed cameras everyone usually holds it to 60 it did not shift out of overdrive. Whereas before the gears it would constantly hunt between OD & Drive. So far it's worth the investment This Sat. I'm running a trail in Payson,Az which means driving up into the mountains from our 1200' elev. to over 5,000'.

 

Damn, I'm still debating returning my 5.13s and swapping to the 5.38s for my 37s. Will the 5.13s, 37s, and a 6 speed drive like stock or not as good? Will the 5.38s be bad for fast cruising on the highway (65-80 range)?
Anyway I got a quote from a friend of a friend with a local shop to do the install for $600 which seems like a decent price from what others have said they paid.

 

If you're into fast cruising as you say in the up to 80 mph range they the 5:38 may not be the best way to go. I generally hold mine around 65 so my rpm should stay around 2600. Even though the V-6 can cruise easily around 3500-4000 it gets kind of noisy then as well as I would assume your mileage will suffer considerably.