Rocket Posted January 19, 2006 Share Posted January 19, 2006 Hi guys Your advice required. I have a (factory) 1989 3.5 V8 ninety whose motor is a bit tired and rough and has been for a while. I plan to get it sorted or replaced this year. While the motor is out I plan to replace the (also knackered) Santana Lightweight LT85 gearbox with an earlier heavy duty LT85 in excellent nick which I already have. While I am at that I want to have a good look at the LT230 transfer box and recondition/replace it if necessary. Later when my wallet has recovered I will be fitting some 255/85 BF Goodrich mud terrains and a lift kit if necessary. My question is, as I will ultimately be putting larger diameter wheels on which will raise the gearing should I take the opportunity now of fitting a transfer box with a lower gearing to compensate. My 90 has always felt overgeared in fifth with 7.50 X 16s but this could be because the motor has been weak (knackered cam I think). Things could be fine with a rejuvenated motor but I thought I would take advice from those who may already have dabbled with such things. Cheers Rocket Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
was a nice truck? Posted January 19, 2006 Share Posted January 19, 2006 My slightly biased advice is to fit a 3.9efi. I run one on a 4 speed auto and bw transfer case with 33 12.50s and although it is high geared the engine copes well and mpg is acceptable at 20 on a good run. Good luck with whatever you chose Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocket Posted January 19, 2006 Author Share Posted January 19, 2006 My slightly biased advice is to fit a 3.9efi. I run one on a 4 speed auto and bw transfer case with 33 12.50s and although it is high geared the engine copes well and mpg is acceptable at 20 on a good run.Good luck with whatever you chose I did think about a bigger capacity and started dreaming about an RPI motor, but just for off roading the 3.5 should be more than man enough, it's also pretty bullet proof (no cracked blocks)and although I know the EFI system is sound, it is unneccesarily complicated for my needs. I am not a great fan of fly by wire, I prefer to see whats actually happening with a control system. Can you confirm that your 33 X 12.50s are approximately the same diameter as the 255 X85s I am considering but presumably they are on 15" rims? Cheers Rocket Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
was a nice truck? Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 Yeah they are on 15" rims (not mach 5s) overall dia is about 32" But they do fill the arches well Dw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocket Posted January 21, 2006 Author Share Posted January 21, 2006 Was a nice truck Did you need a lift kit with those tyres? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
was a nice truck? Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 No not at all. It was fine if i didnt carry half a tonne of oplough steel in the back.Then the tyres caught the spats until a quick visit from a hacksaw. Now all is fine even off road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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