Outer Limits 4x4 Board

Hi guys,

I am planning to do a little bit of improvement to my 1995 Paj, so I would kindly ask for your technical help.

My rig is a 2,5 TDI with 4D56 engine @ 73KW (99HP), 5 speed manual gear box V5MT1, diff ratios 4,875, and factory rear diff lock.




Originally the car was rolling 265 70R15 radial tyres, which is approx 29,6 inch. Now I have 31" BFG MT and I already lost some of the traction, but I am planning to go at least for 33", and return to the original traction and torque.

The solution seems to be going for 5,29 final diff gears. I could search for a crashed Paj somewhere in UK or Germany, or I could buy the ring and pinion at the local Mitsu dealer or somewhere else. But in any case the question is, on which Paj of the second generation (in Europe we call them V20's) did they mount these 5,29 gears? My assumption is that they were found on 2,5 TDI LWB automatic. Also it will have to work with my factory rear diff lock.

A second issue is related with the highway cruising speed. Now I have the following gear ratios in my gear box: 1st: 3,918; 2nd: 2,261; 3rd: 1,395; 4th: 1,000; 5th: 0,829; R: 3,295
Due to the fact that the 5th is so close to the 4th, it does not drop more than 3-4 hundred rpm, and when I am cruising the highway I get high revs (105 kmh or 63 mph @ 3000 RPM - on original size tyres).
Is there a possibility to replace the 5th gear pair of pinions with a set of pinions having a better ratio - let's say between 7,6 and 7,2? Did anyone here did that? My gear box is V5MT1, so I assume that it has to be a 5th gear pair of pinions from the same series of gearbox.

If anyone could give me some hints, I would highly appreciate it. Also, if anyone knows where I could source these parts for a better price, this would be also highly appreciated.

The 5.29 gears will help in all situations but are not a silver lining - going from your nearly 30's to 33's will still have the wee diesel battling a bit.

Changning to a higher 5th gear willl help even less.

IF that is still what you want for the road, the 33's will do the job and leave the gearing as it is. It will drop the revs by a bit over 10%. You can get low range gearing to suit your transfer case.

5.29 ring and pinion will bolt to your locking hemisphere I should imagine as they are the same diff. I have only seen them in LWB 2.5's and Soft top 2.5's.

If my calculations are correct, than the final 5,285 ratios should help me move from 29,6 inch (actual diameter of 265 70R15) to 32,1 inch, and therefore 33's should not be a problem.
The math behind is like that: New tire diameter = (old tire diameter X new gear ratio) / old gear ratio.
So, I guess it will have the same or a little bit better behavior on 33's with 5,285 ratio as it has now with 4,875 ratios on 31's. But I will get a precious extra inch tire lift, which really counts.

Transfer case low range gearing I will do anyway, that's why I did not even brought that to a discussion.

The fifth gear however is very annoying, in off road conditions I never use the fifth gear, but when cruising on the highway at 100 Kph with 3000 RPM, I instantly feel the urge for

So, I need the 5,29 final gearing for traction and torque on 33's while driving in off-road conditions, and a "longer" fifth gear for cruising at least 120 Kph @ 3000 rpm. Do you know any V5MT1 or same family gear box with a 5th gear ratio of 7,2-7,4? Maybe the latest generation L200 or Paj Sport?
Or better, is there any company in Australia selling 5th gear replacement kit?

if you find a jtop diesel it will almost certainly have the 5.29 ratio and will most likly have the locker aswell so you may end up with a spare locker which is never a bad thing. if you just get replacement diffs from another vehicle, make sure you get the front driveshaft as its slightly longer and if your just looking for the crownwheel and pinion,make sure the front one is for your 8" diff head as the factory 5.29 is a 7.25" diff head.

WACKO wrote:if you find a jtop diesel it will almost certainly have the 5.29 ratio and will most likly have the locker aswell so you may end up with a spare locker which is never a bad thing...

Jtop's are very rare in Europe, I think I have seen it "live" only once or twice. What about other 2,5 TDI's? Maybe the automatic ones?

WACKO wrote:.... if your just looking for the crownwheel and pinion,make sure the front one is for your 8" diff head as the factory 5.29 is a 7.25" diff head.

You mean that I will never find a factory ring and pinion that will suit my front diff ??? How can I check the size of my front diff head, what shall I look for?
I found this topic for 5,29 gears but now I am even more confused...

Bitsamissin wrote:Axle Data

.......

Gen 2

3.0V6 :-
same as Gen 1 except for NH & NJ auto has 7.25" diameter front diff (high pinion) NH & NJ 5sp man has 8" diameter front diff (high pinion)
2.5TDI :-
same as NH & NJ auto
3.5V6 & 2.8TDI :-
front axle = 28 spline, 29mm diameter, diff = 8" diameter (high pinion)
rear axle = 31 spline, 33.5mm diameter, diff = 9.5" diameter

.......

In this topic the axle data for 2,5 TDI is "same as NH and NJ auto" which "NH & NJ auto has 7.25" diameter front diff (high pinion)"...
Finally how is it?

If you have a 8 inch front diff you'll need the whole front diff to get the 5.29's as they are smaller.

Measure the lenght of your front driveshaft and where you measrued from and post it here, I have an 8 inch one I can measure to see if it is the same as yours.

According to that data yours might be the smaller front diff anyway.

NJV6 wrote: ...

Measure the lenght of your front driveshaft and where you measrued from and post it here, I have an 8 inch one I can measure to see if it is the same as yours.

...

Thanks mate, I will do that as soon as I am going back home, now I'm out for the whole week. I will PM to you.