I have a 65 F250 camper special, I know it has the stock tranny and stock rear end and of course 55 is about as hard as I want to work that old 352, about 4,000 RPM

Any how I have been wondering if any of you guys have swapped rear ends with a newer vehicle with higher gears.
Or do you know what I need to tweak mine.

Then come the subject of a new tranny, which do you think would be more expensive, because I want to drive this cross country.

If the rear end was changes my granny gear would I guess just be a not sycro 1st gear right?

Hope you guys can Help.

Oh and someone was commenting on why they don't see alot of these trucks around, I see them all the time in trailer courts.

 

Glad you joined up! I think you have a Dana 60 rear axle in your truck, which is common to alot of trucks. I would suggest identifying your present gear ratio and then deciding how much you want to change your cruise RPM. Aftermarket gears are available at alot of places in many ratios. That would be easier than swapping the entire axle for a newer one-no fit issues.
If you find a similar year truck with a lower numerical axle ratio then a complete swap might be OK. Newer trucks could have different spring pads, brake sizes, width, etc. to contend with. Hope this helps.

 

Your camper spl would have a 4.10 or 4.56; mine had the latter. I looked for a 3.54 but settled for the very common 3.73. It's a big improvement, but the 6.68 first gear is still too low for regular use. I had the gears and case installed in the existing housing. If I were to do it again I would try to modify a later housing and swap the whole works, and get outboard drums in the bargain.
Eric

 

When Ford widened the rear in 73, the shafts were too. However, the carier remained the same for the Dana. If you have the 4:10 gear, the numerically lower ratio will fit into your axle, but you may have to change the yoke as new pinions have a different spline pattern. I went with a 73 trac lok with 3:54, but will have to shorten my shafts as the 73 is longer, and I wanted to use the 30 spline instead of the 16.

Basically, any Dana carrier will work, as well as ratio from 65 to 79. There are 2 carrier sizes though, 4:10 and numerically lower, 4:11 and numerically higher.

Ron

 

How tough is it to just swap the ring and pinion out? I also have a mustang with an 8.8 and swapping the gears in that is a major pain. How is it with a 9"

Thanks,

Greg

 

any swap of gears is a job "not for the faint hearted" no matter what the make or size. Shimming, bearings, pressing seals.....

if you can handle the 8.8, You should be more than able to do the Dana or 9". Just make sure you have the specs for the right one. I will be doing my Dana soon hopefully, but have sought help from a friend who has more experience with them.

Ron