Re-gearing Gen 3?

[Marutuk]

Heya,

Recently I have been looking at some upgrades for my '03 Monty and people have been mentioning re-gearing it to go to 4.9 gears on Gen 3's to help with the larger tires (using 255/85/16 atm - 33" I believe). Also, one of the other things that come at the same time would be getting an LSD from the 01-02 monty.

Unfortunately, searching for this subject doesn't give a lot of details on what exactly needs doing. And as it's quite a bit of an undertaking and potentially costly (as I don't have the space or knowledge to do this myself), hence a few questions.

- What are the main benefits for doing this?
- Is getting the LSD worth it?
- What exactly do I have to replace to accomplish this? The full differential housings?

Thanks!

 

[montypower]

You can buy gears from the dealer or used diffs from a wrecking yard 01-02 with 4 speed auto. Direct swap. If you buy used, then just bolt in. It's a good time to replace bushings, bearings, seals, etc... Also, ARB locker is nice addition (especially in rear).

More power. Correct speedo. Much better crawl off road.

LSD is pointless in the 03. ARB way to go.

 

[Marutuk]

Thanks, sounds like re-gearing is worth it. Regarding the LSD, isn't that part of the rear differential if transferring it from an '01-'02, so if transferring that from those to the '03, it would automatically come with it?

 

[Michael Brown]

The LSD's weren't standard on the 01-02 models, so it is hit or miss on whether you find one or not. I searched for a few months trying to determine which trim levels or packages included one. I installed a 4.3 LSD into my 05 limited from eBay almost 2 years ago. I can sense that it helps, but the traction control is so good offroad that I don't really need it.

If you can get the front and rear diff assemblies from a wrecked vehicle then everything bolts right in. I did the rear in my driveway on a set of ramps. I don't plan on using larger than 33" so I'm not concerned with re-gearing to the 4.9 just yet.

 

[Marutuk]

Fortunately, thanks to a fellow member on the Facebook group, I have the option to get the LSD version of the differentials.

So to summarize, if I just transfer the differential housings (front and back, or are other parts needed?) from the 01-02 to the 03, I should be good with both gearing and LSD?

 

[montypower]

Yes, very simple.