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Best Gears for Mudding

16K views 13 replies 7 participants last post by  Yota Bill 
#1 ·
I plan on building a mudding rig out of my 1991 Ford Ranger Extended Cab. It has the 2.9L V6 with a 5-spd manual tranny. I plan on goin with 33x12.5 inch tires. It has a Dana 35 front end and a 7.5" rear end. I was planning on putting either 4.13 gears or 4.56 gears but I'm not sure which one is better. Currently I have the 3.73 gears. What's your guys's opinions on what gears would be the best.
 
#2 ·
4:56 but still going to suck as a mud truck as you need horse power and wheel speed to be a good mud truck or low gears and big tires.. You won't have either.. But .more gear will help the V6 out
 
#3 ·
x2

if you want a mud truck, your best bet is to consider a V8 swap and then run a somewhat higher gear ratio for wheel speed, but if the engine swap is not feasible, go for the lowest gear ratio, that will help you keep the tires turning...you arent going to be throwing mud in the air, but you may not get stuck as easily

if you do decide to swap in a V8, then also consider an auto trans, they work better then a manual for a mud truck since there is less lag between gears, and no clutch to get packed full of mud
 
#6 ·
don't waste your time on those axles. You'll just break them. by time you spend the money on gears and set up kits for them you could have bought some biggger axles and a v-8 to drop in. take $700 or so and find an old rotted out donor truck and take the drivetrain out of it and put it in the ranger or just swap the body.
 
#7 ·
If you plan on leaving it on 33's and a V6 just put in 4:56's and have fun but when the mud bug hits full on. Then build somthing else and keep the toy ranger or sell it to fund the 1ton mud truck.. Don't wast your time on anything less then 1tons unless your never gona run more then 36' and a mild V8
 
#9 ·
Dana 44's arn't that good for anything over 36's and arn't good for tosing money into so unless you go to 3/4 ton dana 44 that already has 4;10 or 4:56's (arn't stronger just bigger breaks and better gears and be bought for under 500) don't waist your cash on dan44's if your plans are for bigger then 35's or 36's
 
#12 ·
maybe not in the ranger. what do you guys think of toyota axles? It seems alot of guys really like the toyota axles and I have 4 toyotas laying around my house but only one has an engine and that's my daily driver. so what do you think of the toyota axles. all of the toyotas are 88-90 so they are the ifs versions
 
#14 ·
basically, for a BDMT, think big tires and high wheelspeed...that means a good BDMT has plenty of torque to get the tires spinning, and lots of horsepower to keep them spinning at a high speed. It would also need some hefty axles to handle the weight of the tires and the pure abuse that causes.


now, if your looking to play in the mud with this Ranger, and do it on the cheap, then just take a sawzall to the front fenders, ditch the bed, move the rear axle as far foward as possible, stick the biggest tires on it you can, and have fun

the best way to build a BDMT is to start with a 3/4 or 1 ton truck, preferably the older trucks, with a solid front axle. Then you already have the V8 and decent axles, lift it and add some tires.
 
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