When I first began building the rig, I was running a 44 / 30 axle combo with 35's. At that time the lowest gear available for the 30 was the 4.88. No surprise, driving all that with the 42RLE was less than stellar. I considered an engine swap back then, but instead decided on doing a Kenne-Bell twin screw supercharger. That supercharged / intercooled I6 made about 300 horse and 400 torque, and made all the difference in the world in drivability.
Here it is with everything squeezed between the high lines:
View attachment 197411
It would literally smoke those 35's, and even turned the combo with the 42RLE overdrive into a descent driveline. That mill followed me up through 37's and 40's on HP Pro-Rock 60's running 5.38's. It would certainly not smoke the 40's, but it was still a very well powered driver.
The absolute best thing about that engine combo was its reliability and consistency. Absolutely smooth, never, ever stumbled, and completely reliable off road in any circumstance. You did not know the 'charger was there until you hit the loud pedal. I absolutely loved that engine.