Was a 4.10 gear offered ???

[tarussell]

Of all the 1rst gen. Cummins trucks that I have seen all of them have been 3. 07 geared trucks. Did Dodge ever offer a 4. 10 gear as a factory option with a Cummins? If so, which years should I look for ? Thomas

 

[nascar mark]

Hi Tom,



Yes 4:10 and 3:54 gears were also put in 1st gen trucks with 3:54 the most popular. As far as the years for the 3:07 I believe were only offered in 89,90,91. If this is wrong someone will correct.



Hope this helps.

mark

PDR - Black Sheep Racing

 

[dodgenstein]

I believe the 3. 07 gears were offered with the nonoverdrive 727 trans. When the 518 OD trans came out,the lower gear ratios were offered. Off the top of my head I believe i saw 3. 54's were offered on the early trucks also,but 4. 10's were only offered on the 91. 5's to 93's.

 

[Grey Wolf]

We have a '90 D250 with the 4. 10 and my '93 W250 came with the 3. 54. Both are 5 speeds, I believe it was a matter of choice and was available for most of the first Gens, but I'm not positive

 

[tarussell]

Thanks a bunch for the reply's !!! I got a friend lookig for a Dodge with a real front Dana 60 axle and I am trying my hardest to get him to buy a Cummins powered truck. I am pushing the 1rst gen. trucks on him because of the front axle and the NP 205 transfer case's. I just wanted to know what gear options were out there. Once again thanks, Thomas

 

[Philip]

Look at my sig. I have the 3:08's in my rig.

 

[rdodd]

philip----- I have been thinking of trying 3. 07 gears in my 92 Auto. How do you like them in yours? How do they work for pulling and what does your tach read at 70mph?

 

[sawcut]

4.10

I have a 92 w-250 with 4. 10's and the a-518 transmission. I can't pull heavy loads with the truck in od because the a-518 has a weak overdrive unit. I max out at 55 mph in third and 2450 rpm's, this can't be good on the drive train. My suggestion is if you want 4. 10s is to go with a 5-speed transmission. Just my $. 02

 

[Philip]

Well I don't have a tach. The most I have towed with it is around 7K. I hauled a car from Okla to here. On the flats. I ran out of motor around 75 mph. So I just set the cruse for 70 and didn't worry about.



I tow with my OD on.



To switch your truck to 3:08's you have to switch the complete axle assy's. They are special housings and carrier assy's for this ratio. They are not cheap when you find them. It took me over 6 months to find a rear axle for my truck a couple of years ago.



For 90% of the driving I do. I like the 3:08's. When I need to go around 7k and up. I wish I had the 3:54's.

 

[nascar mark]

Re: 4.10

Originally posted by sawcut

I have a 92 w-250 with 4. 10's and the a-518 transmission. I can't pull heavy loads with the truck in od because the a-518 has a weak overdrive unit. I max out at 55 mph in third and 2450 rpm's, this can't be good on the drive train. My suggestion is if you want 4. 10s is to go with a 5-speed transmission. Just my $. 02

The A-518/46rh doesn't have a weak over drive unit. Its the torque convertor that is week. I have towed heavy loads in O. D. all over our mountain laidened province with no problems. When I had DTT rebuild the transmission to handle more bombing, Bill showed me my O. D. clutches and bearings and said they looked like new and could be used again but said I am paying for a complete rebuild so new parts are what I got. Unlike some shops DTT doesn't mind you helping or watching every step of the way. Today DTT drained my oil and refilled my transmission with synth motor oil as I am testing wear/longgevity/temps and racing.



mark

PDR - Black Sheep Racing

 

[BushWakr - RIP]

sawcut,

You're doing your transmission a bigger favour than you know when you run at 2450 in 3rd. You have the RPM to assure max pressures holding your clutch packs together and you are moving a decent amount of oil thru it too.

You can improve your situation by backing out your governor screw 2 or 3 turns and test driving in 3rd. (3rd is 1:1 on the A-518) You should see a higher top end in MPH and higher governor limit. You are completely safe running up as high as 3000 RPM on that motor, assuming it's in decent shape. I am currently at about 2950 with no problem at all. The biggest problem in OD is heat generation. It gets real intense when you load it down in OD... . nasty... ...

So far, in my time here on TDR I have never heard of anyone blowing the OD on their A-518. Maybe nascar mark has heard of it, but not me...

You guys, the biggest enemy you have is high transmission temps and low RPM's. That does the most damage to an auto.

Keep your rev's up above 1700 whenever possible and your temps down. Put in a transmission temp guage, it's a necessity (NOT an option) especially if you tow.

If you do that, and regular sevice your 518 will last a pretty long time... ... until you beg,borrow,steal high HP ..... then, all bets are off...

Oh BTW, if you want to firm up your shifts you can run Dexron III or a mix of 7176 and Dex III. The Dex doesn't allow as much slip as the other and makes your shifts a bit harder/firmer.



Bob.

 

[DPKetchum]

My truck hardly ever runs without a 24 ft long steel gooseneck horse trailer behind it,with 3 grown horses and gear it weighs 9600lbs or so. Have towed this out west several times and all over north georgia and from 50 up in o. d. I swapped mine from 3:54 to 4:10 several years ago. I personally like the way it drives loaded or not with 4:10's. I stood on it the other day and it will pop up to 70plus before upshift to o. d. So far I've never had dark or discolored trans fliud.

 

[tarussell]

Transmission longevity is exactly why I was inquiring about the gear ratio's. I would like to see the rev's up a bit to keep the line pressure at a good and safe level. A good gear ( 4. 10:1 ) has more bennefits than just mechanical leverage.



rdodd, You will need to look for a Dana Model "61" front axle if you want the 3. 07 gears. They look the same as regular front 60's but they are gear ratio limited because of the offset pinion.



I really enjoyed reading all the responses in this collumn,Thanks.

I am sure that I will have more questions on 1rst gen, trucks very soon. Thomas

 

[rdodd]

I have a 2wheel drive so can't i just change the gear in the rear or do i have to change everthing?

 

[tarussell]

rdodd, Sorry, I assumed that you had a 4X4. I believe that your Dana 70 is like a "61" in that it has an offset pinion. Some lower gears ( higher numerically ) are offered for the 3. 07 axle housing's, but they are expensive and are limited in what ratio's that are offered. Check with some drive line shop's like



Randy's Ring&Pinion

Reider Racing

DTS

Dyna Trac



Some are more expeeensive than others but you should be able to get your questions answered and maybe find a good deal.

I'll bet that you are going to need your B. O. M. ( build of material )

# when you call. It will be located on the back side of the passenger side axle tube in the middle. It is a stamped # so it will be difficult to see and is about six to eight digits long.

Good luck , Thomas