What is maximum gear ratio?

What is my gear ratio?

• i have an 86 jeep cherokee, 2.5L i4, 5 speed manual. What is the gear ratio in it. And i cant read the tag on the diff because it is corroted(i think i spelt that right). So any ideas 4 cleaning it would be nice. But any if anyone know the gear ratio i would really like to know.

• Answer:

  You probably have 4:10 gearing but, depending on options, your gear ratio could be one of the following: : 3.31 - only available on older (pre- '87) 2 door XJs with "Fuel Economy" package 3.73 - found in some XJ's with the towing package 4.10 - used with 2.5L engine and older XJ's with the "Off-Highway Vehicle" package. Most likely your's unless you have one of the other option packages. 4.56 - rare (very) but can be found on some older ('89 and earlier) models with 2.5L engine and auto transmission. Try a mild cleaner on the tag, Dawn dish washing detergent may work good and try to look at the tag at an angle, sometimes easier to read that way or do a pencil rub on paper after you clean it, if the impressions are deep enough you may get a readable copy. If all else fails you could pull the cover off the differential and count the teeth, messy though. An easier method is to jack up the back end until both rear wheels are off the ground (jack stands and chock your front wheels). Disconnect the rear driveshaft or you can put your transfer case in neutral if it's 4wd to negate the interference of the transmission gears, and make a mark with chalk or something visible on the driveshaft pinion yoke. Slowly turn one wheel (leave the tires on) and count the number of turns the pinion makes, that's your gear ratio.