Vne182
Member
'm loving the refresh on my 2012 Ram 1500, I just rebuilt the front suspension with new Icon Stage2 Coil-overs and some boxed upper control arms. For Labor Day, I did some pretty gnarly trail riding and loved the extra clearance and traction from my new 35"s. There was one casualty as I did manage to crush one side of my dual exhaust. I pulled the muffler and am currently just running a 3" turndown tip where the muffler used to be. The truck isn't horribly loud since I'm still running the factory manifolds and cats.
My next mod is a limited-slip. Even though the truck does surprisingly well offroad, there were a couple of situations where a rear tire was in the air spinning. This can be very bad for a front cv axle joint in 4-low with the majority of the torque sent to the weaker front axles which suddenly get traction when articulating through very uneven terrain. I've blown a front axle cv joint before while trying to scramble to get traction in this manner. I've also blown a power steering pump when trying to dig out of deep snow/ice, full throttle and turning back and forth is a also a bad combo for that PS pump. It would be a lot easier on my truck if that rear axle could maintain traction through both wheels.
I ordered an RMS (Yukon) limited-slip diff off eBay with a rebuild kit for $440. This seems like a good fit for our snowy conditions and my occasional offroad use, the wife usually drives the truck in the snow.
While I'm rebuilding that rear axle I would love to also install a set of 4.56 gears to get back some acceleration and ease some of the wear and tear on the old transmission. Or should I consider 4.92s? Of course, this brings up the issue with the 2011+ Ram 1500's and their unswappable front diff gears which are welded in.
So here are my questions. What is the smartest way to swap gearing?
Option A. Buy a cheap/used $250 2009 Front Diff and rebuild it with 4.56 gears? Is a 2009 front diff assembly a true swap out for a 2012? Would I need to get the 2009 front driveshaft? Would I need to build an adapter to mount the diff assembly? Would I need a new pair of 2009 CV axles and would they fit through my 2012 wheel hubs okay?
Option B. Stick with the 2012 Front Diff but swap in a 2009 diff case with 4.56 gears? This seems like a no brainer if a different carrier would fit, one that I could bolt a 4.56 ring gear to.
Option C. Don't bother swapping out the 3.55 Factory gears.
Money/reliability are my biggest concerns. The truck has 90k miles,
My next mod is a limited-slip. Even though the truck does surprisingly well offroad, there were a couple of situations where a rear tire was in the air spinning. This can be very bad for a front cv axle joint in 4-low with the majority of the torque sent to the weaker front axles which suddenly get traction when articulating through very uneven terrain. I've blown a front axle cv joint before while trying to scramble to get traction in this manner. I've also blown a power steering pump when trying to dig out of deep snow/ice, full throttle and turning back and forth is a also a bad combo for that PS pump. It would be a lot easier on my truck if that rear axle could maintain traction through both wheels.
I ordered an RMS (Yukon) limited-slip diff off eBay with a rebuild kit for $440. This seems like a good fit for our snowy conditions and my occasional offroad use, the wife usually drives the truck in the snow.
While I'm rebuilding that rear axle I would love to also install a set of 4.56 gears to get back some acceleration and ease some of the wear and tear on the old transmission. Or should I consider 4.92s? Of course, this brings up the issue with the 2011+ Ram 1500's and their unswappable front diff gears which are welded in.
So here are my questions. What is the smartest way to swap gearing?
Option A. Buy a cheap/used $250 2009 Front Diff and rebuild it with 4.56 gears? Is a 2009 front diff assembly a true swap out for a 2012? Would I need to get the 2009 front driveshaft? Would I need to build an adapter to mount the diff assembly? Would I need a new pair of 2009 CV axles and would they fit through my 2012 wheel hubs okay?
Option B. Stick with the 2012 Front Diff but swap in a 2009 diff case with 4.56 gears? This seems like a no brainer if a different carrier would fit, one that I could bolt a 4.56 ring gear to.
Option C. Don't bother swapping out the 3.55 Factory gears.
Money/reliability are my biggest concerns. The truck has 90k miles,
Last edited:
