So after much research and debate, I decided to to go with a 5.38 gear instead of a 5.13 set. I'm still in the break in period, so I don't have a good solid review of the performance yet, but I can review the other stuff related to a gear swap if anyone is interested.

Before the install, I was very worried about the dreaded gear whine. And thanks to my friendly local drive line shop (dan's driveline in las Vegas) that is a non issue. Very friendly and knowledgeable staff. I was dealing with the owners nephew who runs the shop when his uncle is away. I left the jeep with them for 2 days so they would have plenty of time. The end result is a perfectly installed set of gears and a cool FREE t shirt!! Pic below.

I can tell you going to 5.38's from stock rubi 4.10's without calibrating with a tuner makes driving the speed limit almost impossible lol. But overall I am very satisfied at this early point in my re-gearing experience.

 

Thx for sharing. Cool shirt!

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just another update about my gear swap experience -

i took the jeep on the freeway for the first time today to see what it could do. the stock rubi 4.10's put me at about 1800ish RPM at around 70 mph with o/d on (auto) with my 33" bfg mt's. after the 5.38's the rpms are now at 2600 at 70mph. it does not hunt for gear (go between o/d and 3rd constantly) and it also doesnt bog down or lack power to cruise and even pass people now.

so to sum it all up, i can now effectively use the jeep on the highway without fearing uphill grades and fear the trans shifting excessively. just in the past 2 days my "average econ" screen in the cluster has went up 1.4mpg. i figure thats pretty significant since i havent reset it since i bought it. im gonna reset it next time i get gas and also calculate it out manually to get a better idea of what kind of mileage gains im actually getting.