TBYODA wrote:
I maybe missing something in my understanding but if you we're to swap in a lower stall converter to keep the heat down with 35". I would think your gonna give up a bunch of torque with 3.42, which on the trail you need all you can get. I will stick with my plan of taller gears and I sure those with the Z71's you talk about are pavement princesses and don't tow shit but I could be wrong.
A lower stall speed would help on the trail though, by applying more power at a lower RPM.
I'm not advocating using 3.42's and 35's, for anything. I'm merely pointing out that people do, successfully, quite often.
If a 4-600 rpm increase in stall speed is enough to cause the 4.2 trucks to bite it with a tire over 31's, then I would definitely swap in a lower speed converter when rebuilding. Obviously swapping to a lower gear ratio is desirable as well. Personally, anything less than 4.56's, is wasting time at a tire size of 33-35", but to each their own.
Like I said before, I monitored my trans temps until I was convinced Torque wasn't working, hooked up a Mech gauge, got the same results. My temps never went over 190, towing, driving, offroading. I have 3.42's and 32" tires. So if the 4.2 guy's are seeing huge swing's in temperature, and the converter is the only difference, then obviously that 4-600 rpm difference between the 5.3 and 4.2 converter's is actually pretty significant.