Starting to look into gearing my 89 xj. pretty sure it has the 3.55 gears but going to check when i replace the rear diff gasket (its leaking pretty bad).

Anyways, i will be doing a lot of daily driving with this truck as its my only car for a while. I got it with a 4.5in lift and some 33x12.5's. I do alot of highway driving in the summer to the beach and such, and i work at the ski resort in the winter which is roughly an hour from home. What do you guys like for gearing in something like this? should i consider going to a 32" tire?

I do definitely plan on wheeling, but i am more concerned about hwy drive ability and if at all possible (dont laugh!) fuel economy. any suggestions or comments welcome

 

dude sweet life man.beach in summer and ski resort in winter

 

from what i've been told, it seems like 4.56 is the best all around gear for 33" tires. i personally will be going with the 4.56 because i tow with the truck as well and its not a daily driver. if it was my daily driver, i would probably do the 4.10 gears.

 

If you work at a ski resort, that means you drive in the mountains right? Use the 4.56. You will get a little less milage on the highway, but better power and milage in the mountains.

 

I forgot to mention, i will be doing a small amount of towing as well. I'm not trying to get the best tow rig available but i should mention it to try and find the best compromise, obviously i know i cant get the best for everything, but trying to find what would work well for what i do.

I will only tow very rarely, but if it works well it would happen maybe a few times a month at most. I have a track car (77 vw rabbit) that i would like to not have to drive to events, the car weighs in at 1792lbs wet, so probably 2000lbs with spairs etc. the trailor is also very small an light weight, single axle, and im not sure on the weight, i would estimate around 3000lbs for everything. I would more than likely not be towing over any mountain passes with this setup, this would be mostly flat towing, and yes my xj has the tow package on it

yes i drive in the mountains all winter long, 3-4 times a week ill climb that pass, so that is where a lot of my driving is. I have quite the commute to work (bout 45min without traffic) so fuel mileage is sorta a concern. obviously getting another car for commuting would be the ideal route, but for the time being that is not an option. thanks for all the reply's so far!

 

X 3, 4.56 is hands down your perfect axle gear for 33s.

 

seems like most say 4.56's so that's what i'm gonna plan on unless i get a better reason to go otherwise...

anyone have a link to doing a serp belt replacement? i don't have a manual yet and im just curious how the tension is set...the rest i can work out no prob

 

3 bolts to loosen on your power steering pump. One on the front and two on the back. Then turn the long bolt right next to the power steering pump pulley to loosen the serpentine belt. The power steering pump acutally acts as your serpentine belt adjuster and tentioner on your XJ. once you get the belt swapped it is reverse order to tighten the belt and then tighten the PS pump. Be very sure of your serpantine belt routing before you remove the old belt.

 

x4 on that for what you want it will be good you might loose some mpg but it wont be a severe lose good luck

 

seeing that you plan on towing through the mountains i would reccomend the jump to 4.88's

4.56 and 33's puts you pretty close to stock gearing. but there is nothing wrong with a little more in this case.

i run 5.38's and 36's and its definately overgeared, but i still manage nearly 20 mpg on highway trips. makes it more fun to wheel, puts less stress on the transmission and drivetrain too.

 

I run 4.10's in my DD with 33's behind a AW4 trans. Its not bad, I am on road more than off and I drive about 15 miles of highway to work each way so 4.10's were a good choice for me (plus i found an 8.8 with a trac-lock and discs in a 4.10).

 

well that's the thing, although i do plan on towing, if i do need to go over the pass, i would likely do it with another tow rig, something a bit more setup to tow. the jeep would be mainly for local events and at most a trip south to portland raceway (bout 3 hours mostly flat freeway). so really i won't ever be towing through the mountains.

still thinkin 4.56's are the way to go..

thanks for the brief write-up on the serp belt, tearing that all apart tonight, hoping to have it ready for this weekend what's the best manuals out there for these? i know for dubs we always use Bentley Publishing manuals cause the Haynes and Chiltons are basically a joke haha, is there something out there that is really good?

 

that's pretty good mileage! did you do anything else to get that or is that fairly average for a 4L with bigger tires? i'd like the best freeway gearing as possible to help with the mpg on longer trips. the wheeling is sorta not super important because i more than likely wont be going in the gnarly trails but i definitely plan on playing in the woods from time to time

 

alot has to do with how i drive it. if im in a hurry and doing about 75-80 mph i get around 14-15 mpg

but cruising along at 65 gets me the best milage and i try to keep it there.

everyone thinks that high gears= good highway milage, while this can be the case, it's not always true. lugging an engine at low rpms will get worse milage than keeping an engine in the powerband

 

4.56 is what im 90% set on for my 33's