gear ratio swap help

[jplowman2005]

i swapped a 6.0 and 80e in my truck a few months back, all has been great thanks to stickys and advice on here.. anyways my truck has 4.10 gears and the front end is needing rebuilt due to the outer bearing/bushings haveing alot of play at the axel and is humming at high speeds..my rear end also has its share of slop being as they both have almost 270k on them.. its been hard for me to find any 4.10 front diffs around here and i was wondering how much difference i would notice going up to a 3.83, also will i gain any mpg.. the truck is not my main transportaion and only pulls a 14ft trailer with my rhino and a four wheeler about a hour to 3 hours away, or a car and car trailer around within a hour but i plan on getting a camper down the road.. i just feel like on long trips at high speeds the 4.10 is hurting the engine

[kerrige]

I would say 4.10s are a great ratio for towing depending on tire size. 3.73 would be better if you are running 28" tires but I would imagine you are over 30".

[J Industries]

I would say 4.10s are a great ratio for towing depending on tire size. 3.73 would be better if you are running 28" tires but I would imagine you are over 30".

I agree.

There are also many stock vehicles that come with 4.10's. That being said the highly paid, conservative gm engineers didn't think it was a bad idea.

[jplowman2005]

yes im wanting to say my tires are 31.5 or 32 inches tall, there stock rims tires off a 2010 suburban.. it just seemed like this trannys overall rpm was higher than with my 60e, but would make since for more pulling im at 2k at 60mph.. guess ill look for a lower milage front end or look in to rebuilding it... thanks josh

[J Industries]

It will be at a higher RPM because the over drive in an 80e is less than a 60e.