So i am looking into rear ends to put in my truck and i dont have a clue about any of it. If i upgrade i would like something that gets better mpg along with good power for off-road. Any ideas on what to use?

 

Well, aside from your user name which tells us that you have a 94, you have not given us any information about your truck... 2wd or 4wd? What gears do you currently have installed? What is your tire size?

I doubt you will get both better MPG and good power off-road. Gears are typically one way or the other.

 

Bit of an oxymoron getting better mpg and better offroad capability.

 

ok what are the two sides what gets better mileage and then what ones are good for off-road

 

Like I already said, you have to know where you are currently for a good baseline.

 

someone correct me if im wrong, but i thought the lower the number(3.08,3.42) will give better gas mileage and higher numbers(3.73,4.10) will give you more power off the line but sacrafice gas mileage.

 

Depends on how it is driven and taken care of. Mileage depends a lot more on the habits of the driver and the nature of the drive (hills, stop lights, etc) than on the gears. You could find situations were 3.08 gears would not give you better mileage because they are making the engine work harder.

One of our farm trucks had 3.42 gears in it when we broke an axle. We swapped over the running gear from another truck that had 3.73 gears and the mileage improved. A simple case of how the truck was being used.

So, (insert broken record) it really depends on what you currently have.

 

"Usually" whatever gears the factory put in there are best for milage and performance.

 

wouldnt that mean all blazers should have the same gears then? i know 3.42's and 3.73's are the most common in blazers, but how would both of those give the best mileage and power? im not trying to start a pissing contest i just dont know to much about gearing and i would like to learn alot more.

 

Im guessing your truck doesnt have an LSD. IF it doesnt, you could get one. That would give you the same mileage and better offroad capability.