Hey,
  After wheeling this last weekend it was obvious I need to regear.  I'm thinking of regearing the t-case and leaving the axles alone cause the t-case gears lower your high range too.  I'm just not sure how low i should go.  I have a feeling I'm going to be doing the Rubicon before too long.  Should I go 4.2 or 6.5 in the t-case?  Or is there something else I should look into?

Zeke

Brent at Trail Tough:
http://php.trailtough.com/viewtopic.php?t=3
While doing transfer case gears is probably the biggest bang for the buck and a quick-fix, it is definitely a lousy way to try and create a reliable, trouble-free drivetrain. So think about this for a minute...you put on larger tires, so your pinion now becomes TWICE as hard to turn putting TWICE as much stress on the u-joints, transfer case mounts and the transfer case itself, as well as the brackets on the side of the frame that holds the transfer case in place. It leads to problem chasing such as having to use unnecessary large and heavy driveshafts, having the bolts pull out of the transfer case on the long arm side, having the mounting boss break off of the transfer case or having the short arm side bracket start to tear off of the frame rail. It is because you have given your transfer case up to 3 times as much power by putting in lower gears and now the transfer case wants to do flip-flops in its mount. Many people consider only the POWER issue of this equation as opposed to considering the STRESS LOADING situation as well. You need to change the ring and pinion gears also - relative to your tire size - which will make the driveshaft easy to turn again, taking all of the strain off of these parts - just like it was made from the factory when the smaller tires were on it. It is a mistake to do all of your gear reduction at one point. Especially that far up the mechanical chain. Do yourself a favor....reduce the ratio at the ring and pinions relative to the size tire you want to run, then select the transfer case gears that will best meet your 4-wheeling needs. By going this route, you will have a well thought out and trouble-free drivetrain, working well within the parameters of strain that the parts can and will reliably handle.

thanks for the reply I understand the stress loading and am definately considering putting in tracker ring and pinion gears.  This still leaves the major question, "how low should I go total?"  Zeke is my first real trail vehicle that I have seriously modified.  Most of my friends are Heep guys and talking gearing with them is a whole lot different because they have a big motor.  I am going to be doing some mud, a lot of rocks (friends want to take me to the rubicon), and still drive it to work every day and mabey a short run on the highway if I have too.  What sort of t-case/gear set ups for my 33"s would make zeke as capable as possible without suffering too much on the driving to work part?

Thanks
  Zeke

I use this computer to make such decisions:
http://www.lepayne.com/gears.html

I'm running 512's in the SJ413K with 30" BFG muds. I love the low gearing but if you are going to drive on the road it's very slow. My friend runs 462 with 31's and loves them but when he wheels you can see that he could be lower.

I've kept up with traffic that was in a 90 km/h zone and I'm sure with the DOHC I'll be able to get to 100 and drive for a distance. It doesn't mind to rev.

Dan runs 512's with 33 Pit bulls and his rig runs real good. He's got highway speed or at least very close and wheels great. He's got to ride the clutch at times but works good.

I like my low gears but I never had the cash for the t-case gears. It's best to swap them into the samurai thirds...they are alot stronger than the tracker.

My Sammi has 33x15.50 Swamper TSL's,  4.89 Xfer case gears, and 5.29 axle gears. It's way too low. Top speed in 5th high is about 45-50 with the engine screaming.

We put 4.62 Kick/Track gears in Acks Sammi with 30'" BFG MTRs and he says it's perfect for street and does well off-road.

My suggestion for Zeke with 33s is to go with 5.12 Kick/Track gears in your Sammi housings and see how he wheels. It may be all you need. You can always do xfer case gears later.

My 2 cents.

 Your wanting to operate in three different terrans, Road = top speed, Rocks = crawl speed, Mud =  wheel speed ( I know you can shift to a higher gear, but what happens when you need to back up?)
 For  '33 tires there are three options that will let you keep it streetable.
 1, 6.5 t-case gears, good for the rocks and the road, not so good for mud.
 2, 5.12 axle gears, good for mud and the street, but lacking the crawl speed for rocks
 3, 4.62 axle gears, and 4 : 1 t-case gears, this seems to be the best compremise, not perfect, but not bad either. Sadly, this also requires the most work, and the most money.
 Play with a gearing calculator, consider the cost of everything, ( t-case gears, improved t-case mounting system. axle gears, adaptor kits, etc.) and see what you can live with. HTH