Advice: F&R non-matching gear ratio's

[geohil]

Need some advice here Gents - I chipped a tooth in the rear-end of my runner so it is going to need a new ring and pinion. Currently it has 4.30's to my chagrin. Being an unexpected fix I'm not ready financially to throw 4.88's in the front and the rear, but it seems dumb not to seize this opportunity to start the process. So I would like honest feedback on running different ratios on my front and rear diffs for a short amount of time?
My runner is the selectable 4wd AND the front diff is still open. 99.5% of my driving is in 2wd, but for those rare occasions until I get the fix how bad would it be to be in 4wd with non-matching ratios? Is there any slop in the transfer case, or would the open diff allow for slip? Would I be ok in gravel or snow or someplace with less traction?

Sorry for the long-winded ask but I want to turn this crappy situation in my favor and 4.88 have been on the list for a while!

Thanks

 

[KidVermicious]

With 4.88 in the rear and 4.30 in the front you will be dragging the rear tires in 4WD. The steering won't be as bad as if you had the higher ratio in front, but it'll still be wonky. You'll also have no traction in slick stuff like snow or sand - with the rear tires not spinning as fast as the fronts, they won't drive the truck, the fronts will. And if the rear DOES manage to hook up, it'll only last a second before the driveline bind becomes too much and the fronts abruptly break traction, which depending on the situation could range from annoying to catastrophic.

I wouldn't do it. If you have to go to 4.88 in the rear right now, just plan on not using 4WD unless you absolutely have to. Maybe a better idea to just pick up a used 4.30 diff and throw that in to keep the financial hit down, and then sell it on to recoup your loss when you're ready to regear both diffs, no?

 

[DirtDawg]

You wouldn't be able to use 4wd without eventually some sort of damage. Same thing if you used different sized tires front and rear. You would experience "jumping" in 4wd because your vehicle is essentially binding up with the pavement.

Don't do it. Either fork up the money for the gear swap now, or find a used set of 4.30s to throw in.

 

[geohil]

Looks like whether I like it or not I'm going 4.30's for now. A used 4.30 elocker 3rd member is $200 from my local pull-a-part. For a ring, pinion, bearing kit, and labor it would be $900 to rebuild mine with 4.88's. I'll keep my old 3rd AND I found a full ADD 4.30 front diff for $75 - so when the time comes I can have them done in 4.88 (with ARB front) and swap both at the same time.

Thanks all