8.25 gear swap ??

I have a 91 dakota with 3.55 gears in the original 8.25 and I want to put in something higher like a 2.94 or even 2.45 what year rears can I get gears from and how hard are these to swap in? Do I need any special tools for settin up the gears?

get a hold of a service manual, and look the procedure over. I have a 2.45 limited-slip i plan on pulling out soon let me know.

2.4 gears and down have a different sure grip and carrier. The 2.7's and up are all the same. Then in the late 1990's they changed ring gear styles and carrier I believe. Different ammount of bolts maybe. Cant remember exactly but just be aware of this when looking for gears and sure grips. So for example a Dakota up to the point they changed the guts inside the 8 1/4's could use rear gears out of any 8 1/4 Mopar they made up to that point. So JY cars should a good place to find a set of 2.94's if thats what you want you gas miser Dave.

I think only the spline count (and associated parts like side gears, spider gears, diff case) changed for the 97 model year, but the ring and pinion gears SHOULD all interchange. IIRC, the truck gears were slightly larger at 8-3/8 vs. true 8.25, but it SHOULD all work. I think as long as you're swapping the whole diff chunk, any housing should be fine. The differential had to be changed on the 2.45 gears to put some meat back in to the ring gear, as the pinion is so large the ring would be too thin otherwise. There were some NOS 2.45 SG's on epay a couple years back, so that supply still seems to be out there. May as well put some good stuff in if you're doing that surgery. I also hope most of the driving will be highway, as 2.45's are anti-mileage gears around town. BTDT.

Clair

I had 2.45s in my 68 dart 4dr with a 273 and it was fine and my grandma had an 80s fulsize with 2.94s and quite a bit taller tires and the 318 was just fine in there also. Either way I think I will be OK with the gear ratios, this is not a hot rod. If nobody buys my cudas 318 it may end up in here some day and it has lots of tq at low rpms.

As far as the swap thing am I understanding right that one of the 2.45 SGs should bolt right in?

I think the differential is the magic part needed to run 2.45's, so if you've got one of those you're good to go. I don't think those 2.45SG's sold for very much, as it's not a popular gear ratio and the diffs weren't good for anything else.

My 74 Swinger with 2.45's got 10-12mpg in town, but 20+ on the highway. The 2.45 1st gear in the 904 just didn't multiply torque enough for the pig to get out of her own way. Out on the open road, she was actually kind of fun to drive. 2nd gear would go a LONG way...

Clair

The trans has low gears in it, that should help it a tad.

Most people ship them to you for the cost of shipping. I just don't want to toss mine in the scrap if some one can use it. I'm going to 3.73's on a fresh limited-slip.

OK you got me. Let me know when you have it ready to go and I can send some $ for shipping and lunch or

Maybe you could swap an early A500 into it? The OD would give you 2.45 on the highway and you could keep the 3.55 gears for city driving.

Now you guys are going to think I am nuts but the truck does have an A-500 in it. I still don't like the RPMs it runs at 80mph. The factory tack shows a 4500 redline and it ain't got no guts when it gets there. Low rpm response it great.

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Now you guys are going to think I am nuts but the truck does have an A-500 in it.

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You're right, I do.

2.45 with the OD is going to give you a final drive ratio of 1.69. A slight headwind and it's going to need to down-shift. Trust me, that is FAR too low of a ratio. The smallest I would go with a .69 OD is 3.23 outback. Your city mileage is going to drop like a rock, and highway driving isn't going to work out too well unless you plan on driving 100 constantly.