I am considering changing from 3.42 to 4.10 gears. Ninety-nine percent of my driving is in town and rarely take my truck on any trips. My main concern is finding someone reliable to do the work. I have heard a few stories where people have had bad experiences after having their gears swapted out. I live in Tyler, TX and don't mind driving to the Dallas or Shreveport area if need be to have it done right. So I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on where to take my truck for the work??

 

Oh yea my truck is an 04 2WD ECSB with 5.3 with stock tires and wheels.

 

I was going to do a 4.10 swap until I read some stuff. The backlash on the NBS truck is much tighter than the OBS trucks. This means the gears can't be installed by yourself properly. The only way is to have them installed is by a shop who is AWARE of the backlash changes on these trucks or take it to the dealership. Only bad thing is that the dealership doesn't even know some trucks come with 4.10s factory and they charge around $900 for a ring gear? . The best bet if you want 4.10s is buy the ring and pinion yourself and have the dealer install it.
Hope this helps.
Philip S.

 

I would post this in the Texas Regional forum if you haven't already, I'm sure someone can help you there.

 

www.strangeengineering.net

Strange 4.10's around 189.00 dollars and get the master installation kit its around 80.00
I paid 325 for my installation and they make no noise and drive really awesome..... Make sure you get the Installation kit that has the bearings with it.... I made that mistake and ended up paying 225 dollars for bearings that costed 40 dolalrs. didnt know it until after the install...... Worth it though, best mod yet.....

 

I went from a 16.4@85 or so
added Gears and PCM (which you need for speedo calibration) went 15.6 so they help alittle

 

i installed mine myself. no problems. just popped the ring gear out with the g80 and swapped everything over. no noise, no bind. just right.

 

no kidding my gears are just waiting i really want them in now although i doubt it will make as dramatic a difference with mine after i put my cam heads in

 

The dealership can install them but they don't have anything to reprogram past 3.73 gears, so you will have to buy an aftermarket PCM or tuner to correct your speedometer. Kinda strange that the 4.10s are a factory option yet when you install them they act like they are a rare gear ratio or something.