5.38 vs 4.88 opinions?

[Wolfman]

Flashback.
I have to admit, There are lock outs on GPW 964. For parade use. Painted them O.D. Very few people have ever mentioned them. But. Here comes the flash back.
The rebuild project was pretty far along and I had the honor of a visit by Mr. Richard Grace. He walked around. Looked 964 over. Did not say a whole lot, but he seemed to like it. Until he spotted the lock outs.
That is when he uttered those immortal words I will never forget. " Those have got to go !!"
Been a few years ago now.
Speed.
Grew up with it. Raced just about everything with an engine. No matter how fast something went, tried to make it go faster. Had a ball !!
Looking back, I can honestly say, I am proud to still be here !!
Point being, the faster you go, the quicker things happen. Might also mention, some things were not really meant to go fast.
Any time you go past the upper limit and walk away is a good day !
Go back and read the comments, especially about maintenance. Might also bring up skill and reaction time. Directly linked to age.
Personal opinion but a jeep at 60 or 65 is about like doing a balancing act on a bowling ball. I know. A lot of folks do it. All the time.
"A man has to know his limitations ! " A quote by Clint Eastwood from one of the Dirty Harry movies. It's true. Keep that in mind.
The obnoxious shimmy or wobble you had at 30 will be a whole different animal at 60.
Nuff said !

[dinof]

The movie was "Magnum Force" 1973. Love it.
Anyway, my first jeep was my fathers jeep he bought from the government in the early 50's. Then in '72 my brother took it and put in a Chevy 327, T-90 trans, civilian rear end. I got the car after my brother went to college so here I am with a jeep with 300+ horsepower, Warn overdrive and 5:38's. & 16 years old. Beat many a Camero, Mustang, Nova or whatever. Street racing mode was start off in 2nd gear because the gearing with 1st was just too short and speed shifting a T-90 was never a good thing. Always fell behind for a few seconds , but that was it. Needless to say, the 1 ton truck clutch with that motor guaranteed you will be rebuilding the t-90 every 20,000 miles or so.

[Joe Gopan]

I used to warn "bring toilet paper when you come for a demonstration ride in my A1".
Not any more tho.

[Wolfman]

Sure says a lot about the durability of a T-90, Dinof.
Curious ?
Still have the stock front axle in your jeep ??
The weak point in the stock steering at high speeds was the worm gear steering with a pitman arm, drag link to a bell crank and two steering links to the wheels. Too much slop !! Not an issue at 20 or 30 MPH but 60 and up, unless all is maintained and tight, you are not steering the jeep, you are hurding it ! Gee & Haw!
Most older cars that are "souped up" and go really fast are switched to rack & pinion steering.
Bring toilet paper for the ride !

Gonna have to remember that one !!

[tamnalan]

If you find yourself wheeling off-road in a line of civilian flatfenders, you'll notice the ratio difference makes your crawl speed a little different than everyone around you. You'll have to approach obstacles a little faster, which sometimes isn't more fun.

I bet our friends that live at much higher altitudes like in Colorado or Wyoming might be happier with the 5:38s for all around use.

[dpcd67]

Don't discount the fact that jeeps with 5.38s also (usually) have bigger tires which make up the difference.

[Joe Gopan]

Standard tire on CJ-2A thru CJ-5 4 Cyl was 6.00 X 16 GoodY Year All Service (NDT) the 7.00 X 15 Goodyear NDT was available from late 48 as well as the 7.60 X 15 Suburbanite starting in 1955. 5.38 Ratio was the most common on Post war CJ.

[dpcd67]

I thought this was a military jeep question. 700x16s post war with low differential gear ratios.

[Joe Gopan]

5.38 is civilian, too, doesn't cost anymore to mention it as CJ parts also fit the MB/GPW housing.

[Marty, SoCal]

5.38 gears would work better with the 7.50-16 desert tire option!

[Joe Gopan]

And a reminder, the turning angle notably restricted as well as the turning radius greatly increased with the installation of the MB/GPW Desert or Cross Country 7.50X16 Tire Kit. It required readjustment of the stops at the steering knuckles due to the change in the turning radius..

[JIMN]

If you do parades, just remove the interlock pill so you have 2wd low range and use that. That way you still have 4wd whenever you want it. Much better than removing a driveshaft, and unless you are popping the clutch or doing burnouts, it won't hurt a thing.

[Lew Ladwig]

I have one of each. My 47cj2a is much better off road. Gas mileage off road is great. On road she is much thirstier. My 45gpw is great around town. Much easier driving. She gets fair mileage in town and the open road. Of road it does not climb as well. The top end is about 5mph.
https://youtu.be/M8j5iHsJWb4

https://youtu.be/1cLMPVRLEeo

So, it depends on how you plan to use it.

Lew

[dinof]

If you do parades, just remove the interlock pill so you have 2wd low range and use that. That way you still have 4wd whenever you want it. Much better than removing a driveshaft, and unless you are popping the clutch or doing burnouts, it won't hurt a thing.

I tried this once and when I drove it, it would pop out of gear. Remove the driveshaft to prevent any tension on the front end.

[JIMN]

I tried this once and when I drove it, it would pop out of gear. Remove the driveshaft to prevent any tension on the front end.

I guess you had something else wrong Dinof. It should not pop out of gear ever. 2wd low range is essentially the same thing as removing the front driveshaft in 4wd low range, except it is a whole lot easier to just move a lever than to remove a driveshaft.

Currently have a GPW and an MB set up for 2wd low range and they work flawlessly, and both have so for 15 years doing numerous parades. - In the much more arduous off road jeep community we set up transfer cases for independent control of the front and rear axles, so you can send power to only the front axle or only the rear axle, both independently in either high or low range. Even doing that would never cause something to pop out of gear.