Are older S10s geared lower?

I have a 1990, extended cab, Chevi (Tahoe) S10 with a 4.3 Liter engine. It seems to have a good bit of power until I get above 60 mph., and then I have to start giving it the gas. I've heard that older pickups are geared for towing and hauling. My truck will probably run about 85 mph., and then it runs out of gear. (I have an automatic) Is it possible to have my transmission adjusted for running at higher top-end speeds? I never tow, so it doesn't matter if I lose towing power.

The gearing is based on your rear... Typically they came with 3:42 or 3:73, some even came with 4:11... To find out how high you're geared, look at the label in the glove box. Here are your RPO codes. Look for the one that starts with GU... (gu6, gu8, etc..) Let me know what it is and I can tell you how you're geared. If you're geared high (3:73 or 4:11) You can easily drop it down to 3:42 just by swapping out the rear (or the gearing in your existing rear diff) If you're running 4x4 and not 2wd, you would also need to redo your front diff. Post the RPO code for me..

Note: If your label is too faded, call your local GM dealer's parts department. Give them the last 9 digits of your VIN number, and they can tell you which gearing you have.

There's no reason your S10 shouldn't be able to get to the 100mph cut out.(not that you want to do 100 in an S10). Sounds like your cat might be getting clogged up or something. Unless you're actually at redline at 85mph (I doubt it), there's something bogging the engine down. And it's not the gearing.

just a added note for the gearing in the 4x4 s-10's if you change the rear and front pig gearing you also have to change the transfer case gearing. not doing the transfer case gearing you can do damage to it or to the tail end of the tranny. my buddy just went through this problem with his 92 4x4

There's no reason your S10 shouldn't be able to get to the 100mph cut out.(not that you want to do 100 in an S10). Sounds like your cat might be getting clogged up or something. Unless you're actually at redline at 85mph (I doubt it), there's something bogging the engine down. And it's not the gearing.

I have a 94 2wd 2.2 manual tranny and when i get onto the parkway, my rig seems to hit high rpms when i go anything above 65 mph. if im doin 85, the needle pinned, its really high and workin hard. i dont ever remember the truck doing this when we first got (new in 94 - 5yrs old) it so i dont think its normal for it. and how much would it be to get a new rear to allow higher speeds?

PurpleBeast94

Gearing on a vehicle is static, rpms at a given speed do not change as a vehicle ages or wears. Now, if you're clutch is slipping like mad a high speeds it's not going to last very long at all. When you say it's pinned, is the tach redlined at 85mph??? You know it's a 5 speed, right? LOL

I'm not sure how the 4cyl trucks are geared, but a 4.3 should have no problem hitting 100mph and should cruise between 2 & 3k on the highway. I've got the 3.73 gear and I think it runs between 2 & 2.5k@65mph.

Edit: After thinking about it, a 2.2 probably is pretty tapped out by 85-90mph. Changing the rear gearing for lower rpm on the highway is possible, but it'll hurt accelleration.

I had a 85 S-10 Blazer 4 X4, I think the engine was a 3.8, not sure, but it was the one below the 4.3.

It had 5 speed Manuel and 85 MPH was all it would do on straight flat highway, it did not have no power at all, on a down hill run it might would have gone faster if you got out and pushed.

My 92 S-10 4 x 4 with the Votec 4.3 with automatic will peg the speedometer out.
May God Bless,
Jerry

smokey why would you change the transfer case? the only gearing in the is the reduction for low range other than that what comes out of the back of the trans is what comes out the the transfer case in 4Hi & 2Hi. there is no gearing when in those two modes.

smokey why would you change the transfer case? the only gearing in the is the reduction for low range other than that what comes out of the back of the trans is what comes out the the transfer case in 4Hi & 2Hi. there is no gearing when in those two modes.

Yeah, do you know of anyone successfully swapping different gears?

I would sorta like to know what's involved.

Yeah, do you know of anyone successfully swapping different gears?

I would sorta like to know what's involved.

Easiest is swap out the entire rear, but to use your existing rear, it's a matter of changing out your ring gear and carrier

Easiest is swap out the entire rear, but to use your existing rear, it's a matter of changing out your ring gear and carrier

I'm sorry I meant swapping the gears on a 4wd. rlith, is yours 4wd? And if it is, did you swap the fronts?

To regear a 4wd, then yes, you have to re-gear or replace the front diff with the same gearing as the rear

I've got a 93 4.3L, it will go pretty damn fast. I was cruising down the highway well over the top of the spedometer. When I let off the gas, it took 10-15 seconds to coast down to 85. Those of you that can't go over a specific speed either have an exhaust restriction or a clogged intake.

Please remember the smaller V-6's do not have the power of the 4.3, so if the power is not there it will not do as your 4.3 does nor mine 92 S-10 Blazer with the Votec 4.3.

Also had a 1985 full size Chevy pickup, with the 4.3 and a 4 barrel carb., it did not have the power to pass someone on the open highway, but when you kept your foot in it, it consumed much gas, but it would not reach 90 MPH, to much truck and wind resitance for this motor.

The 4 barrel sound good when you steped into it, but the result of stepping into it were not much.

I've got a 93 4.3L, it will go pretty damn fast. I was cruising down the highway well over the top of the spedometer. When I let off the gas, it took 10-15 seconds to coast down to 85. Those of you that can't go over a specific speed either have an exhaust restriction or a clogged intake.
or we have rev/speed limiters on all 96 and newer vehicals, otherwise i would berry it out at 100, i have a shift at 75 i beleve, so it gets there quite easyly

another ? is, if i swap a 2.2l rear for my 4.3 rear, can i keep the posi and get more power from the lower geard rearend?

At least back to 94 and newer are limited to 100mph.

96 was when it was mandated all vehicals by federal law, an hence the birth of OBDII (more then a speed limiter was installed so please no one point it out, it was an emissions thing)

another ? is, if i swap a 2.2l rear for my 4.3 rear, can i keep the posi and get more power from the lower geard rearend?

If the ring&pinion can be swapped, or if the posi carrier can be put in the 2.2L, then yes.

and this will give me excellent low end and slower at the top end correct?

I'm not sure if they nescessarily have different gear ratios, but if the 2.2 is a lower ratio, then you are correct.

GM light duty trucks came with different transfer cases for the different engines and gear ratios

they are :

new process 205
new process 241
new process 231
borg warner 1370


my 89 s-10 has the 231 with 4.3, 700r4 trans, and gu 6 axles, my buddies 89 s-15 has a 4.3, 700r4 trans, gu 5 axles and 241 transfer

he put the 231 transfer in and lost speed, gm service told him the the gearing in the transfer case isn't geared for the gu 5 axles it's geared for the gu 6 axles

I've got a 93 4.3L, it will go pretty damn fast. I was cruising down the highway well over the top of the spedometer. When I let off the gas, it took 10-15 seconds to coast down to 85. Those of you that can't go over a specific speed either have an exhaust restriction or a clogged intake.

Is there an easy way to tell if that's the problem? Also, could a dirty fuel filter cause the engine to have to push harder at higher speeds? (I want to get good gas mileage should I ever get on the interstate).

Please remember the smaller V-6's do not have the power of the 4.3, so if the power is not there it will not do as your 4.3 does nor mine 92 S-10 Blazer with the Votec 4.3.

Also had a 1985 full size Chevy pickup, with the 4.3 and a 4 barrel carb., it did not have the power to pass someone on the open highway, but when you kept your foot in it, it consumed much gas, but it would not reach 90 MPH, to much truck and wind resitance for this motor.

The 4 barrel sound good when you steped into it, but the result of stepping into it were not much.

Correct I guess because my '83 s10blazer 4x4 2.8 carb will not stay in overdrive with any upgrade or attempt to speed up much when cruising at decent rpm around 60 mph. otherwise rpms gets high and temp starts to climb. in my opninion 2.8 poor choice for lot of highway use but fine for a little with reasonable speeds. think of it as the gas saving city s10 and the 4.3 the country powerhorse highway passer. pushing a 2.8 hard on highway a lot in my opinion will cause greatly accelerated wear on engine and tranny. be light on the gas pedal and patient with traffic and it will last ;-) keeping it in overdrive saves expensive gas and repairs.

got a 1990 blazer with many boltons. The truck seems to beg for a higher gear. Was told I had the heavy duty axles withe 3.55 gearing. Think I need a 3.73 and it IS 4wd.

Where can I find a writeup on changing these two gears???

In 1987, the S10 line of vehicules had electronic fuel controls (TBI, fuel injection, etc.) and computers. Maybe there is a rev limter or speed limit setting in the computer.

Could this be a possibility? I would go to a dealership and ask the maintence shop guys the question.

I have a 97 2.2L 2X4 and its top end is at 95. Something is different from mine. Couldnt tell ya tho

may be a 3.42. Seen this 4.3 go 114 mph on the freeway...Thats with the digital dash. Got out of it cause got nervous

At least back to 94 and newer are limited to 100mph.

What is it that keeps a newer vehicle from going faster than 100 mph? Is it a governor of some sort? Can it be taken off so that the truck will go over 100mph?

[I know with school buses, the governors only allow the bus to travel at 65mph (some only 55 or 60 :( ), but I've heard of the busdrivers removing them so that they could do about 80 if they had to get on the interstate :D ].

its done by computer through the wheel speed sencor (wss) and the only way around it is to reprogram it, you can disable the sencor, but that is odomiter fraud, because the cluster quits working, your speedo doesnt work and you would quit racken up the miles

When did they start putting such things on cars and trucks to limit the speed.

Do they put this speed limiter on all cars and trucks?

ALL vehicals in the united states as of 1996 had to have the restriction put on them, federal law

just a sidenote of specs for ya...hope it helps.
98 s-10 extended cab LS trim
2.2L I-4 WITH a fubar cat.
5 speed manual transmission
2WD drivetrain, 4.10 gear ratio
ALL STOCK.

at 70mph, tach holds steady at 3,050rpm
at around 94-96mph, tach cuts off engine at 4,000rpm(96mph was on a downhill...lol)
i can jump alot of "rice rockets" off the line, chirp the tires going into second, and if i have bad tires, chirp them going into third as well. but after second, i have nothing left...lol so much for the "all powerful" 2.2l.

ALL vehicals in the united states as of 1996 had to have the restriction put on them, federal law

have to call a bs flag there :bs: alot of cars may have governers, but not all. it is however federal law that trucks cannot run "triple digits". the corvette, viper, gt, supra(stock) and so on have no governers. i know i am naming some high dollar cars, but at the same time, i have driven low end nissans and toytoas alot faster than 90-100 mph, all stock with no governer to eb removed. some will shut off around 130mph, some will shut off higher, and some will not shut off at all.

have to call a bs flag there :bs: alot of cars may have governers, but not all. it is however federal law that trucks cannot run "triple digits". the corvette, viper, gt, supra(stock) and so on have no governers. i know i am naming some high dollar cars, but at the same time, i have driven low end nissans and toytoas alot faster than 90-100 mph, all stock with no governer to eb removed. some will shut off around 130mph, some will shut off higher, and some will not shut off at all.

Actually on the vette it's 160... It's not that they are required, but the cut off is a safety based on the tire rating for stock...Lets say when I drop in my v8, I manage 2 get up to 140.. The issue is that my existing tires are certainly not rated for that and could easily blow out and kill me. (granted, I don't have stock tires, but my current ones are rated for a 100mph..) That's where the rating system and limiters come into play.

Thanks for the comments, this I was unaware of.

I always wondered why they made cars and trucks that would run faster than the speed limit of our highways.

Once year ago back in my cross country truck driving days another trucking friend and I were going up interstate 5 and were going between 80 and 90 MPH and a fellow in a car asked me on the CB radio, I thought they put governors on trucks to keep them from running over the speed limit.

I acted dumb and said a governor has something to do with the state, not a truck don't it?

Which on 18 Wheelers the governor controlled only engine RPM not speed, and it would depend on the truck gears how fast one could go.

if there is a governer on the vette, then how come i can take one and top it out(on a track of course), with no mods?