Ram 2500 swap rear gears only

[Clark Kent]

I'm in the middle of changing my 2018 6.4 Hemi 2500's gears from 3.73's to 4.56's. I'm thinking I can finish up the rear, drive the truck until the weekend and then tackle the front. That's if I don't use four wheel drive.

In park, the front driveshaft turns freely by hand and the front axle has a disconnect. I can see that the driveshaft is basically uncoupled from the transmission. Therefore, I don't see the harm in driving this thing in 2wd until I swap the front gears.

Am I missing something or does this seem feasible? Change the rear gears this week, reprogram the truck, drive some, and then swap the front gears the following week.

BTW, the True-Track style rear LSD in this AAM 11.5 is one heavy carrier.

 

[G. Mcpherson]

You should be good to go.

 

[62Blazer]

Absolutely no reason you couldn't do this. In an emergency you could even use 4wd, such as if you were stuck in a mud hole you could shift into 4wd to get out of it. Just don't put it in 4wd and go hot tracking down the road.

 

[2003F350]

Absolutely no reason you couldn't do this. In an emergency you could even use 4wd, such as if you were stuck in a mud hole you could shift into 4wd to get out of it. Just don't put it in 4wd and go hot tracking down the road.

This right here. Don't drive in 4wd anywhere you'll have a decent amount of traction and you'll be fine.

 

[U&A]

Or leave the fronts alone so you get more wheel spin up there when in the mud to keep your truck afloat longer[emoji1787]

Jk


Sent while firmly grasping my redline lubed RAM [emoji231]

 

[MADDOG]

Yeah, you're good to go. Just don't engage 4WD and you'll be fine.

 

[Bldrinker]

Let us know how you like the power after the swap.
I just put 285/75/18’s on my 6.4. Depending on how it goes towing the trailer in 2 weeks I may re gear.
Currently have 4:10’s

 

[Clark Kent]

Thanks, figured there wouldn't be an issue.

I'll report back after the swap. I honestly didn't notice any significant difference in power with the 35's from my day to day driving. However, they only went on about a month ago and I've done very little driving with this whole Covid thing. Maybe 500 miles or so.

As for towing, I have a car trailer and jeep I haul around often so I wanted to regear. I haven't towed that jeep since the tire change as the local offroad parks were closed. I've only towed my small aluminum 16' bass boat. With the boat I had a little bit of gear hunting with inclines at highway speed that I never noticed prior to the tire change. I think if I already had the 4.10's, I probably wouldn't be swapping gears for my use. But again, I haven't towed my jeep yet.

 

[Thomas James]

How much does it cost to replace the gears? How do I know what size gears my truck has? I have a 2017 Ram 2500 HD 4x4 5.7 Tradesman.

 

[GsRAM]

How much does it cost to replace the gears? How do I know what size gears my truck has? I have a 2017 Ram 2500 HD 4x4 5.7 Tradesman.

I'd budget 1500 per axle and then hope to find a good shop that would do it for closer to 1200.

Put a mark on your tire side wall and one on the driveshaft. Jack up the truck and support it securely on Jack stands. Have a helper turn the tire slowly one complete revolution and you count the number of times the driveshaft turns per one tire revolution. That will get you close.

 

[G. Mcpherson]

I did Gears Fr. and Rr. to 4.10 AAM. 2100 for both including Gear Sets and Bearing Kits and Seal.