Well I have pretty much tapped out my 4wheeling trust fund for this year. I only have $600 left and wont be replenishing it for a few years. I really want a Milemarker 9500 winch with wireless remote from summit for $499 as that will finish off the bumper. The dilemna is that I still have to put in my front third with 4.78 gears and a few of the local wheelers have offered to help put in the Teras if I wanted to put that in. With the frontend job seeming to be a bear of an ordeal, I have been pressed to forget the winch for a few years and get the Teras put in at the same time. My question, is which would be more practical, Lower Gears or Winch? Does the 50% reduction the Teras give really make a difference? I read alot about how much Marlin crawlers help but many of those applications give over 100% reduction. Also are the Teras something garage mechanics can handle? What to do? <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> Thank You!

Winch vs Teralow...I'd recommend the trealow. I use the teralow a lot. Winch only gets used a couple of times per year.

Do you have an auto or stick? The teras are very worthwile for a stick, maybe less so for an auto.

AS far as the install goes, teralow installs are pretty difficult. I helped Joe B install mine while tranny was still in the vehicle. Taking the xfr case apart is relatively simple, but putting it back together is like putting together a mechanical clock. I'd defintely look for help from someone that has worked on a manual tranny before. BTW, here's some links that I saved.page 1
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Do you wheel alone?

Most likely the answer is no, so no worries. Plenty of straps to get each other out and typicaly someone has a winch in the group.

With my money I would go with the Teras.

Good point Locomigo, I think I will go with the Teras, but man it just doesnt seem right for a true 4wheeler not to have a winch. I think its going to be an internal battle of beauty vs. function. Any more recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks

I've got an Automatic, and the difference with the teralows is simply phenomenal. There is a lot more control when climbing up over obstacles, and the engine braking will even kick in on steep obstacles pretty well.

I still want a winch at some point, but since I am always with a group on anything even close to difficult, it has not been an issue yet!

Based on her username, I will assume a 99. If so, that would mean an auto. For whatever reason the 99s were quirky. No manual tranny, no cruise control, go figure. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

Second point, I would disagree. The Teras in my 99 with auto tranny, and swapped 4.77 gears fully gets it. In Moab, I can go down and up Launch Pad without brakes.

Additionally, it definitely improved the compression braking quite substantially.

If you can buy them and get them installed - and still stay within your $600 budget û I vote for the Tera Lows too.

That 50% gear reduction is worth its weight in gold!


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do you any lockers? If not, crawling slow doesn't do you much good if you can't get the power to the ground... my vote would then be a winch (or scrap both and get yourself a locker first if we're talking best performance).

-Rob

the 99 should probably have the LSD in the rear. If so, then I'd still go with the TeraLows. The LSD works pretty darn well for what it is, and except for the most extreme obstacles that i've attempted, it has worked well for me.

I'm with RobG on this one,Id get a rear locker,that will make more of an improvement in your 4wheelin' prowness than terralows.
And pickup a set of locking hubs,or if you have hubs already then drop your front diff while it's apart for the third install.
Just my .02

Goodluck

Bansil