Dana 28 gears

[DOPIESLC]

Alright guys I have the dana 28 and ford 7.5 with the stock 3.45 gears. I put a 4 inch lift on it along with 31" bfgs. It pushes itself good except in 4 wheel drive. I think I need a lower gear ratio. My question is where can I find either 3.73 or 4.10 gears for my case? I dont want to upgrade to a dana 35 or a 8.8. I dont do enough off roading to justify it.

 

[4x4junkie]

It's a lot cheaper to replace the entire axle as a whole than to set up a new set of gears inside the diff housing.

Both 3.73 and 4.10 were offered factory, I would suggest looking in the salvage yards maybe (might as well go for a D35 just because it would probably be little, if any more $$$, and parts will likely be available longer into the future than for the D28).

I would suggest 4.10 gears (4.56 would actually be ideal with 31s, though those would be aftermarket-only unless you get lucky and find a truck that already had them swapped in).

 

[strvger]

^^ x2. 4x4 junkie is very correct. before i learned more about rbv's, i had already had 4.56 gears installed in my d28/7.5 axles. my driving is about 90-95% street and highway. with my 31 inch tires, i feel like it is the perfect ratio. as i'm easy on my truck, i don't have any problems with my axles, tranny, tc, etc.
so you get to choose: re-gearing what you have, or finding and installing the later model d35/8.8. another advantage to the latter 8.8 is getting rear disc brakes along with the 4.10 gears.

 

[DOPIESLC]

Hey thanks for the info junkie. Its looking like i might just grab the dana 35 my neighbor is getting rid of. It has the 4.10 already in it.

 

[DOPIESLC]

Yeah struger I'm wishing i kept the axles off from my old ranger cause they were already done. oh well guess i gotta start doing so looking around. Just curious if either of guys can answer this but I do tow a 2000 lbs boat behind this every weekend. Is it a good idea while getting new gears to get a locker also? I'm not real familiar with towing with a locker.

 

[strvger]

i like my locker lots. one will give you an big advantage when you're at the boat ramp and the surface there is wet and slippery.

 

[DOPIESLC]

So I'm getting that I need 4.56 gears and a locker would be a plus. Hmmm better start shopping.

 

[badmts]

I have an 86 4x4 with 31.6in tires and it is FINE with 4.56 gears I got them both off here with a front locker for $200 just a side note ,the d28/7.5 can be wheeled if tire o.d. is kept around 31,power is not outragous and you keep a few spare parts for the trail. Last week I busted the LF outer driveshaft ($50 from salvage) and they found a few loose u-joints so I had them replace 6 of the 7 on the truck -It rides alot better now. What started as a $400 beater now has new engine,clutch,gears,wheels&tires,driveline,cb/cd,tool box and prerunner spare-next month LOCKER for rear !

 

[DOPIESLC]

Ya not planning on going bigger then I am now. Its a great all around height. Does great with the 3.45 as long as I'm not towing. I'm still trying to figure out if the gears have already been changed cause my last ranger was the same exact setup but had the dana 35 and m5od with 4.10 gear ratio. This ranger has bigger tires and will walk all over my old ranger that had smaller tires, lower gears, and the bigger axles. But previous owner claims no gear change was ever done. He owned it for 15 years.