Which ratio?

Stock 3.73's with 37's aint getting it done! Anyone here with an 08-09 swap gears and can make any recomenndations? Thanks!

I know the engine and trans is different in 08 but I don't if the gearing is different than older models. Mine is a 05 and I am runnin 4.88s which is really nice it feels like it has more getup and go than stock with 35s to me. You do have to get a superchips programmer or something that can calibrate speedo to the gears if you don't it will cause a abs code or something. If your wondering about gas milage my 05 is getting 8-9mpg at 60 or 65mph city driving.

I'm running 4.56 gears with 38s along with the Superchips Flashpaq programming on performance tune. Runs better than stock, but you do have to pump premium in the beast. I'm getting about the same MPGs as mudbug with this setup.

D.Kinsey said:

Stock 3.73's aint getting it done! Anyone here with an 08-09 swap gears and can make any recomenndations? Thanks!

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What size tires are you running?

MaxPF said:

What size tires are you running?

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37's

4.56's.

as already posted, the 4.56's would be perfect, however, you need to make sure the programming will be OK with the swap too. I hav enot personally seen a gear swap on the 08+ H2's yet. The 07 and older, no problem.

Is your issue:

too slugish off the line since te 37's were added?
mid-range too slow to shift with the larger tires?
too much delay when shiftin between gears?

alot of this might be easily fixed with just a programmer. I know with my older H2's that I ran 37's on, the programmer's change of shift points, shift firmness made the driveability of that truck much better over running with just 35's. It does NOT add a ton of power, but does help in my mind.

That newer trans you have likes to shift alot! esp once you go to the larger tires. When I drove an 08, it took some getting used to driving up I70 into the mountains. The 08 shifted so much more, but was much smoother than my 07 I had at the time.

Now if you are wanting 4.56's for crawling in 4Lo, this will also make a little bit of a difference.


I think the easiest/ cost effective method to start with would be a programmer. you;ll need one anyhow and is also nice to ahve for diagnosing DTC's...esp while out on the trails if needed.

...hope that helps some. I can check into the programming/ gearing swap if you need help, just let me know.
Tim.

Aw crap... I was thinking 4L80E. Do the 08-up have 6L90E's in them? If so, 4.56's will still be fine, but 4.88's might be a bit better.

L690E. Thanks!

I have a 08 h2 and I swapped to the 4.88s and I am very pleased . We are running 37 inch cooper stt tires on 17 inch rims

auggie mathis said:

I have a 08 h2 and I swapped to the 4.88s and I am very pleased . We are running 37 inch cooper stt tires on 17 inch rims

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Anyone heard of or had a problem with the pinon on a 4.88 set-up? Couple of the local shops have said they have had problems breaking the smaller pinon of the 4.88's.
Also getting mixed responses from the local guys about the e-locker....

I am running 4.88's. I haven't broken the pinion gear, but knocked 5 teeth off of the ring gear a few months back on a pretty step and uneven hill climb. The pinion gear was perfect. Took it back to where I had them installed and he warrantied them. A good quality gear is a plus. There are a lot of inferior gears out there that some shops use. Was my problem from the gear? It could have been. But with the stock weight of the H2, it is a monster. Then throw in the gear I carry and mods I have done and it adds even more weight. Also it is wheeled and that puts stress on components too. After my experiences with the 4.88's, would I get them again? Hell yes! They perform excellent.

As far as the front E locker, I haven't had any issues with it itself. I had a glitch in the wiring when first installed. And somehow the wiring at the diff got torn, still not sure how that happened. I have only used it a handful of times. But when I have used it, it has gotten me out of some spots where I wouldn't have been able to without it.

For eaton locker longevity look at alrocks locker install. MaxPF gave proper ways to engage it and will take off a lot of unnecessary wear...I think the eatons are strong but there are a lot of ways to weaken it by improper use. I'll link it when I get home, can't find it on tapatalk

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06 H3 said:

For eaton locker longevity look at alrocks locker install. MaxPF gave proper ways to engage it and will take off a lot of unnecessary wear...I think the eatons are strong but there are a lot of ways to weaken it by improper use. I'll link it when I get home, can't find it on tapatalk

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The thread is here:

It's already been mentioned, but all gears are not created equal. Many off-road guys like Yukon, probably because they are widely advertised and widely available. My issue with Yukon is that they don't actually manufacture any gears, so you never know who makes them or where they're made. They do have a good reputation in general though. By contrast, AAM (the company that makes your axles) either makes their own gears or they are made by a reputable contractor to their specs. Likewise, Superior and U.S Gear are OE suppliers and actually manufacture the gears they sell. There are others, such as Zoom, Richmond, Nitro (who is also a repackager like Yukon), Precision Gear, etc. may or may not manufacture their products. When it comes to gears, I would rate AAM (which doesn't make 4.88's for your axle), Superior, and probably US Gear (which I have no direct experience with) as top of the line. Yukon is probably next down, although I have seen certain people have issues getting a good pattern with some of their gearsets on various different axles. The rest are unknowns, although I have heard anecdotes that certain manufacturers products (particularly Zoom and Richmond) are much noisier than OE type gears. Thats my loose change.

FWIW, I am now running an OE GM 3.42 gearset (pre-AAM, made when GM still owned the plant) behind my Cummins in my 9.5" rear. I run it hard with no issues. Before I had the Cummins I ran a 6.2 diesel and I had 4.56's made by Superior in both axles. I wheeled the piss out of it with no breakage. Not sure about your weight, but with the 6.2 I was around 5800lbs. I'm at about 6300lbs now with the Cummins. I never worried about the gears.... front shafts were another story

I just got a set of 5.13's for my 37's. Installing this weekend. Planning on some growing room in the future.

[__--MUD--__];31929 said:

I just got a set of 5.13's for my 37's. Installing this weekend. Planning on some growing room in the future.

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What year? Let us know how it goes:thumbs:

I have 4.88, 38 tires, recalibrated using superchips programmer. Averaging 8-9 miles highway, about 6-7 city driving. No problem. But my H2 is 2005.

So..4:88 it is! So far so good. About 2100RPM@70MPH, pulls really good around town. Can't wait to see how it does in Moab! Less than a month..WooHooo:thumbs:

Great news! Is the truck all sorted out for Moab now?

alrock said:

Great news! Is the truck all sorted out for Moab now?

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Think so....Close...I hope...LOL! Got HID's in yesterday, sorting out CB/Ant., Aux. lights, how the heck I'm gonna store 2 weeks worth of caca in the "limited" space of the SUT. Heavy duty steering parts in and front aligned and getting ready to open back up the diff's for final gear inspection. Yeah...close..haha...

I think you need Gobi racks for the roof and bed

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^what he said

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cgalpha08 said:

^what he said

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Got one for the roof.....Saving up for the bed cover one$$$

You know we need pics when its installed

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D.Kinsey said:

Got one for the roof.....Saving up for the bed cover one$$$

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Saving? That's un-American! :giggle: