Posted by Jeff in CO on March 30, 04 at 09:11:00:
In Reply to: Ditto: Been there! Done that! posted by Ben on March 30, 04 at 08:20:46:
Unfortunately you are about to open a can of worms. With the 35" tires and 3:42 gears, I'm sure it's a real dog. I have 33" with 3:73 and I am not winning any races, thats for sure.
If you change the gears in your present axles, it will work for awhile but it's going to cost you quite a bit to even do that. Eventually, those gears may go as well due the smaller axles.
The other option is the 14 Bolt in the rear and the Dana 60 up front. Very stout and should handle the tires no problem. Drawback is going to 8 bolt rims or you could have the axle shafts changed out to 6 lugs.....but that will cost you more on top of buying the axles from a junk yard. The other problem with this option is that it is a popular swap for our half tons so the price of the 14 Bolt and Dana 60 is going to be pretty high (vs. a used 1/2 ton axle).
Finally, if you do go for the beefier axles you are going to really put a large strain on the tranny. That will eventually go out pushing that big of tire. (It's already pretty weak just pushing stock tires)
Sorry for the expensive news but I don't think there is a cheap way around it.
On the upside, I have been running 33" tires with the 3:73 and still on the original tranny (175,000). Maybe you will get as lucky as me!!
Good luck on the decision and convincing your spouse (if you have one!)