I just located an 04 8.1 with only 49K miles. What did they do, keep it in the garage?? Our 04 had 239K miles on it, so 49K seems WOW. He's checking on the gearing, but he thinks it might be the 4.10.
This kind of a no brainer unless it's overpriced or has a dead carcus in the back.
Axle codes are in the glove box...
GT4 -- AXLE REAR, 3.73 RATIO
GT5 -- AXLE REAR, 4.10 RATIO
Yes, it was overpriced. They tried to tell us it wasn't, but really, it was too much (plus the suspension felt off). So we passed on that one, and found the exact same vehicle the next morning on CL with 20K miles more and $6K less. We pick it up tonight.
I love Craigslist. The one caveat for that vehicle is we need to locate a third row seat, so now I'm off to search for one somewhat local-ish.
Oh, and yes, we figured out the codes for the glove box, so we were able to confirm the engine through the VIN (tip given upthread) and the gear ratio through the glove box.
Even if it had the 3.73, I would still say TRY IT FIRST before dropping a bunch of $$$ on swapping gears.
One trip towing over the "tow rating" isn't going to create a space-time rift and destroy the universe! You'll just go slower, or maybe not.
All the 4.10, 4.30, 4.56 gears will do is make the engine run at a higher RPM for any given speed. More RPM is more available power for towing, but also more fuel consumption and more wear and tear on the engine when not towing.
There's a LOT more to it than "Ya gotta have 4.10's to tow, period."
The point of going with the "lower" gear ratios is to be able to stay in OD while towing down the highway. Each step is about 200RPM difference in engine speed. If you need 400RPM to stay in OD, a 200RPM jump (3.73 to 4.10) is wasted money. You really needed 4.30's.
By the time you go to 4.56 gears, you may as well just lock out OD and save your money for gas. Running in direct (3rd gear in a 4-speed) is not an issue.
2002 Chevy 3500 DRW 8.1L/Allison
2000 Palomino B1500
...and the reason why I need a DRW to haul a Palomino:
2004 United 7x14 tandem axle enclosed toy trailer
2011 PJ 8x20 7-ton deckover equipment trailer
mkirsch wrote: Even if it had the 3.73, I would still say TRY IT FIRST before dropping a bunch of $$$ on swapping gears.
One trip towing over the "tow rating" isn't going to create a space-time rift and destroy the universe! You'll just go slower, or maybe not.
I agree.
Quote: ...More RPM is...more fuel consumption and more wear and tear on the engine when not towing.
Not quite, or always at higher loads. Shorter gearing can and has increase fuel economy in city and while towing for many people. At light loaded, say highway unlaoded, generally, higher engine speed means wasted fuel.
Quote: The point of going with the "lower" gear ratios is to be able to stay in OD while towing down the highway.
It also provide more torque multiplication in each gear. It's a double bonus for gas engines with higher peak torque than normal operating range. More torque and horsepower at higher engine speeds and better multiplication.
So Pac, what are you getting? 8.1L 3.73 Burb without a back seat with 70k miles?
* This post was
edited 07/20/12 12:07pm by APT *
A & A parents of DD 2005, DS1 2007, DS2 2009 2011 Suburban 2500 6.0L 3.73 pulling 2011 Heartland North Trail 28BRS 2012 VW Passat TDI
mkirsch wrote: Even if it had the 3.73, I would still say TRY IT FIRST before dropping a bunch of $$$ on swapping gears.
One trip towing over the "tow rating" isn't going to create a space-time rift and destroy the universe! You'll just go slower, or maybe not.
All the 4.10, 4.30, 4.56 gears will do is make the engine run at a higher RPM for any given speed. More RPM is more available power for towing, but also more fuel consumption and more wear and tear on the engine when not towing.
There's a LOT more to it than "Ya gotta have 4.10's to tow, period."
The point of going with the "lower" gear ratios is to be able to stay in OD while towing down the highway. Each step is about 200RPM difference in engine speed. If you need 400RPM to stay in OD, a 200RPM jump (3.73 to 4.10) is wasted money. You really needed 4.30's.
By the time you go to 4.56 gears, you may as well just lock out OD and save your money for gas. Running in direct (3rd gear in a 4-speed) is not an issue.
There's a little more to it than that.
Lower gears make it eaiser on the tranny and Ujoints. This is likely a major reason that the manufacturers often give lower geared trucks a higher tow rating. They care about warranty claims as it costs them money.
Lower gears are also eaiser on the brakes as the engine braking becomes much more effective. And of course each gear in the tranny will feel much stronger as lower gears allows the engine to maintain the right rpms for maximum power.. A truck with higher gears will stay in each gear longer as the engine cannot accelerate thru it quickly,,,or even at all.
Naturally there is a trade off in economy. Especially when lightly loaded. Towing, a lower geared truck may very well get better MPGs.
* This post was
edited 07/20/12 07:00pm by Huntindog *
Huntindog
2010 Palomino Sabre 30BHDS TWO bathrooms...No waiting!
MICHELIN XPS RIBS LRE
2011 Silverado Big Dually 3500 4x4 CC D/A
EQUALIZER Hitch 100% BOONDOCKING
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We got a 2004 with the 8.1L, and the 4.10. No third row but we located one with a single phone call and we can pick it up on Wednesday. Moving right along! Our last car had 110K miles when we bought it, and we had it until 239K miles when it was totaled, so the 70K miles is great.
I was really concerned about not having enough of a margin of error on weight of it if it had the 3.73.
Now off to order the hitch! Tow mirrors on the way, brake controller ready in hand. Whew. Bleeding money into the new set up but having a blast getting everything lined up!
And really, thanks so much for the detailed explanations about the gears. I did think it would create a rift in the space time continuum. Or maybe a penalty from the towing police.
PacNWNomad wrote: And really, thanks so much for the detailed explanations about the gears. I did think it would create a rift in the space time continuum. Or maybe a penalty from the towing police.
Glad you see the humor in it...while some do not
Too many take a 'one size fits all' to everything that 'they' own or
use
There are other metrics to all things...like gearing. The type of
engine (from diesel, to small block gasser to big block gasser to
XYZ new technology that will come along) matters, as some do not or
can not spin (rev) as fast as a small block gasser can....etc, etc, etc
out of context without the rest of those attributes
OBTW, there is no policing on any public, free forum...'weight police'
is a derogatory term used by folks who didn't hear what they wanted
to hear. That to me, telling that their gut feeling vs what they want
to hear or opposing
-Ben Picture of my rig
1996 GMC SLT Suburban 3/4 ton K3500/7.4L/4:1/+150Kmiles orig owner...
1980 Chevy Silverado C10/long bed/"BUILT" 5.7L/3:73/1 ton helper springs/+329Kmiles, bought it from dad...
1998 Mazda B2500 (1/2 ton) pickup, 2nd owner...
Praise Dyno Brake equiped and all have "nose bleed" braking!
Previous trucks/offroaders: 40's Jeep restored in mid 60's / 69 DuneBuggy (approx +1K lb: VW pan/200hpCorvair: eng, cam, dual carb'w velocity stacks'n 18" runners, 4spd transaxle) made myself from ground up / 1970 Toyota FJ40 / 1973 K5 Blazer (2dr Tahoe, 1 ton axles front/rear, +255K miles when sold it)...
Sold the boat (looking for another): Trophy with twin 150's...
51 cylinders in household, what's yours?...
Quote: OBTW, there is no policing on any public, free forum...'weight police'
is a derogatory term used by folks who didn't hear what they wanted
to hear.
Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to be offensive. Please accept my apologies.
One of my grandfather's rants (he was a snowbird, and also owned a KOA at one time) was to rant about people who were overloaded on their tow weight. So I'm....cautious. While I'm cautious, I realize there is a very small majority that is *extremely* conservative, sometimes beyond the bounds of what is reasonable (25% margin??) And I really did think something dire would happen if I tried to pull something so close to the cap of a rig if it had the 3.73 instead of the 4.10. Now that I know the mechanics of it more, I'd be okay with it, but I am really glad we found the 4.10, it eases my mind even more.
Quote: Glad you see the humor in it...while some do not
I figure, if you can't laugh about it, why bother?
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