2013 Ram 1500 QC Laramie Gear Change

mich3210 · Jun 5, 2019

Good Afternoon!

Acquired my step-dads 2013 Ram 1500 Quad Cab Laramie after his passing a few months back. It's got a 5.7L Hemi, but unfortunately has the 3.21 gears. I've done my research and understand that I need to change the entire front assembly. I've already talked to the guys at Moe's Performance and will be ordering the Rear Ring and Pinion, along with the Master Install Kit. Install will be done by a local mechanic, and then headed to Ram Dealer to flash the computer.

I couldn't find a good used front, so I'm ordering new. From what I've found is this the correct front assembly that I need: https://www.nhoeparts.com/oem-parts/mopar-differential-assembly-68257422af

Part Number is :
68257422AF

Rear will be this: http://www.moes-performance.com/OEM_3_92_Gears_9_25ZF_Rear_Axle_2011_up_Ram_1500_p/oem392.htm

OC455 · Jun 5, 2019

Dang, little bit of work ahead of you. Well, at least your mechanic.

mich3210 · Jun 5, 2019

OC455 said:
Dang, little bit of work ahead of you. Well, at least your mechanic.

He said less than a day...

Can anyone confirm if the front assembly / differential that I posted is the correct one?

mich3210 · Jun 19, 2019

Gear change was completed today. Getting the computer flashed tomorrow at a dealer near me to change the axle ratio.

Need to break in the new gears before I tow with it. Will post again once it's broken in. Will probably change the fluid after the first 500 miles.

Brand New Front Diff ran me $1331.36 shipped to my house.
Rear 3.92 gears from Moe's Performance were $499.98, with the Master Install Kit.
8 hours worth of labor, plus 3 quarts of fluid ran me $789.45 with tax.
Computer flash will be $53.99.

All said and done, changing from 3.21 to 3.92 ran me $2,674.78.

Took the towing capacity from 6450 to 10000.

VernDiesel · Jun 19, 2019

A better converter is another substantial improvement that could be made. Would it have saved any labor to have done this at this time?

Lol round it out with a cam & headers and you will have a sweet truck. Thanks step dad may you Rest In Peace. Good work btw And thanks for the detailed breakdown.

mich3210 · Jun 20, 2019

Dealer couldn't do the reflash. FCA has greyed out that functionality.

Dealer told me I could get an aftermarket programmer/tuner to take care of it. Said it should only affect the MPH. I checked, and at 55mph on the dash I'm only doing about 54mph based on GPS.

Any recommendations on an aftermarket programmer/tuner that could be used? Anything that will hook into my Android Phone?

TRCM · Jun 21, 2019

mich3210 said:
Gear change was completed today. Getting the computer flashed tomorrow at a dealer near me to change the axle ratio.

Need to break in the new gears before I tow with it. Will post again once it's broken in. Will probably change the fluid after the first 500 miles.

Brand New Front Diff ran me $1331.36 shipped to my house.
Rear 3.92 gears from Moe's Performance were $499.98, with the Master Install Kit.
8 hours worth of labor, plus 3 quarts of fluid ran me $789.45 with tax.
Computer flash will be $53.99.

All said and done, changing from 3.21 to 3.92 ran me $2,674.78.

Took the towing capacity from 6450 to 10000.

Legally, your towing capacity has not changed.

if you get stopped for any reason, and they check the weight against the door sticker, you will be overweight.

So be careful.

Ratket · Jun 21, 2019

3k to go up .71 in gear ratio... good for you!!

^ And what he said about the tow rating, it’s kind of ironic if you think about, now you have price of mind towing 10k, did it struggle before towing what ever you where towing before.

RamClassic LI · Jun 21, 2019

I think you will be fine legally, my door sticker states nothing about my trucks tow rating. Just normal info axle weights, cargo capacity gross vehicle weight etc. think about it this way, all of these SUVs that have a aftermarket hitch installed they don’t have a sticker on the door jamb stating the tow capacity. The tow rating is determined by the manufacture based upon options.

crash68 · Jun 21, 2019

RamClassic LI said:
I think you will be fine legally, my door sticker states nothing about my trucks tow rating. Just normal info axle weights, cargo capacity gross vehicle weight etc.

^^^ this
The sticker with the vehicle's VIN number list the GVWR along with GAWR with the tire size, type and inflation specifications. The GCWR is determined by if the state you live has a rating based on vehicle class or uses an Elected Gross Weight. No where on there is an axle ratio or a tow capacity but the Payload Police seem to think it does.

TRCM · Jun 22, 2019

crash68 said:
^^^ this
The sticker with the vehicle's VIN number list the GVWR along with GAWR with the tire size, type and inflation specifications. The GCWR is determined by if the state you live has a rating based on vehicle class or uses an Elected Gross Weight. No where on there is an axle ratio or a tow capacity but the Payload Police seem to think it does.

Well, the info is there, altho you may have to do some math. Make sure you tell the officer checking you that.

And no matter what you say, it doesn't change the fact that legally, he changed nothing.

If I put a 3500 drivetrain under my 1500, does that now mean I can tow like a 3500 ??

All I am saying is to be careful........I realized a long time ago, some people are gonna do what they want, no matter they legality or cost of it.

RamClassic LI · Jun 22, 2019

TRCM said:
Well, the info is there, altho you may have to do some math. Make sure you tell the officer checking you that.

And no matter what you say, it doesn't change the fact that legally, he changed nothing.

If I put a 3500 drivetrain under my 1500, does that now mean I can tow like a 3500 ??

All I am saying is to be careful........I realized a long time ago, some people are gonna do what they want, no matter they legality or cost of it.

You are comparing apples to oranges. Different gear ratios were available in the 1500. The reason your analogy doesn’t apply is because a 3500 drivetrain was not a option for the 1500. Different gear ratios were.

Ratket · Jun 22, 2019

That apple looks like an apple to me lol

TRCM · Jun 22, 2019

RamClassic LI said:
You are comparing apples to oranges. Different gear ratios were available in the 1500. The reason your analogy doesn’t apply is because a 3500 drivetrain was not a option for the 1500. Different gear ratios were.

The analogy is that the truck was built a certain way, and the owner changed it to what he wanted....doesn't matter if it was an option or not.

Just because he changed it to what you wanted, doesn't change any legal limits.

You can try to justify it all you want.....yes, it will tow better, but it wont' be legal if ya get caught.

You can put anything you want under it, but the law only see what it was built with when it was sold.

mich3210 · Jul 1, 2019

Guys... I changed it to a factory ratio, 3.21 to 3.92.

The door sticker doesn't matter. If it came from the factory with 3.92 the door stickers would have been the same. The sticker doesn't list the GCWR. All it lists is the Front/Rear GAWR (3900 each) and the GVWR (6800). It doesn't list the GCWR, which is all changing the gear ratio did. I can pull more. It doesn't change my payload or anything like that.

There's nothing to get caught doing. I'm within the limits of the vehicle with the options it's currently equipped with. If you look at the chart below that i got from Ram you can see that the numbers are the same, no matter which gear ratio you have with the 8sp transmission.

Mpgrimm2 · Jul 1, 2019

@mich3210 ,
There's a good chance AlfaOBD will do what you need....
** AlfaOBD
(for activating factory features/changing vehicle config yourself. See docs linked in OP)

M² Mods.

2013 Ram 1500 QC Laramie Gear Change

mich3210

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OC455

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mich3210

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mich3210

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VernDiesel

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mich3210

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TRCM

USN, Retired

Ratket

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RamClassic LI

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crash68

ACME product engineer

TRCM

USN, Retired

RamClassic LI

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Ratket

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TRCM

USN, Retired

mich3210

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Mpgrimm2

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