2013 YukonXL 2 speed Transfer case change to 1 spd

[swathdiver]

I'm looking at what's involved to change from the 2 speed transfer case in a 2013 to a single speed and/or changing the existing 3.48 rear end gears to 3.08 for better milage. Anybody had any experience or advice with this?

How do you drive the Yukon and what kind of gas mileage are you getting with it now? What kind of fuel are you feeding it? How much weight is it carrying usually?

 

[1stYukonXL]

Depends on settings on your account
You can set it for email notifications

Depends on settings on your account
You can set it for email notifications

Thanks, I went into my preferences and set things up.

 

[1stYukonXL]

The transfer case has nothing to do with gear ratio. If you simply want to change your gear ratio, you need to change your front and rear differentials.

Do the math on your fuel savings. If dropping down to 3.08 gears lets you go from 19 mpg to 21 mpg, if you drive 20,000 miles a year, that’s a savings of about 100 gals. At $4.00/gal that’s only $400 a year. If you spend $1000 or more on the conversion, you won’t see any savings for almost 3 years. If you drive fewer miles; the longer it will take to pay yourself back.

Thanks for your input. Yes I do drive 20,000 plus miles a year and lots of it highway driving. Around town as soon as I get to speed I use my cruise control and that seems to help. Your math does make sense. If I can basically get a front and rear end for scrap value then it might be worth it? I haven't purchased yet and it seems everyone I find that has what I want also has the 3.48 gears and has scared me away, but I might just now say the heck with it and grab the next one with low milage and good undercarriage that I see.

 

[j91z28d1]

if you're looking for a cheap. parts truck. the hybrids all but the first year's Cadillacs have a 3.08 gear axle front and back. it's the smaller sized ring and pinion rear end so you would technically lose some tow rating if you have the larger one now, but if you don't max tow often, not a huge deal.

I have seen deals where the owner is traveling and something hybrid related goes out, no local shop will work on it for them and towing them home is more hassle than it's worth. I've seen them non running for 500$.

keep an eye on Facebook and Craig list, they pop up for cheap non running. if you have place to store the parts, there's a small demand for enough of the discontinued hybrid parts that you might make a profit off the parts and get the 3.08 axles for free.

things like brake masters and controls are impossible to find new, modules and the like wouldn't take up much room and list on ebay. transmission are rare and used is about the only option.


just a thought. I would be interested if you see any mph increase

 

[intheburbs]

Crunch the numbers. As others have said, you'll see a ROI of at least 5 years, if not more. Never mind the fact the price of gas is likely to go down in the upcoming years.