I have a rookie question.
I have a '93 F-250 4x4 with a 460. I am pretty sure that I have a C5 rear end with a gear ratio of 4:10. A friend has told that I may be able to change the guts out of my rear end, disconnect my front driveline and save myself some money on gas. since I am using my truck as a daily driver that seems like a great idea to me. My question is would this be possible without screwing anything else up on my truck, and if it is, what type of rear end would I be able use that would be compatible with mine and what gear ratio would get better gas mileage.

Any help would be appreciated
Thanks LOUSTER

 

You might pick up a MPG or two, but that's it. You can't just change the gears though, you have to set them up properly or you'll be looking for another rear axle. A shop would charge you $500 to $600. Plus you won't be able to use your 4x4 until you either change the front or change the rear back.

You could swap the whole axle out, but that's a lot of work for only a little gain and you still can't use your 4x4. You also run the risk of buying a worn-out rear axle that you don't know the history on.

My advice would be to leave it the way it is. If you want to save gas, buy a small car.

 

Some people on this board refuse to have a small car for safety reasons and on another thread we went back and forth on the small car issue. I have a smallish DD car thats getting 30mpg. I just drive my 93 4x4 on weekends and for fun/hunting. I agree with Andym.

 

I'm not a big fan of small cars myself but unfortunately I don't have the time to take full advantage of my 4x4. My friend thought that I could gain as much as 30% in gas mileage, but if it wouldn't do at least that its definately not worth it.

 

My thoughts would be that for what you could potentially gain in MPG the work and more importantly dollars invested would not justify the return. I would think you would be better off spending much less money and putting forth much less effort by maximizing the efficiency of what you have. Standard stuff...good tune, clean filters, tires up to pressure, even alignment potentially as an extreme to the idea. Other than that, driving style can make as much or more of a difference in mileage as most anything else.

 

i think it comes down to why do you have that truck? 460 and 4.10's sound like a tow vehicle. 3.50's could lower the rpm but kill the towing ability. driving habits and maintenance could be better answer. manual hubs would be good also. my brother inlaw is lazy and has auto hubs, he suffers at the pump and on the trail.

 

i have a 3.07 rear gears which was put in for the same reason. i bought my truck after someone had done this fight for mpg. but now my 4wd will not work till i match the back to the front and put the front drive line in. its lame, it sucks, dont do it!! but i was getting great gas mileage i got 300 straight 6 f150 getting 22, i have had cars that get the same haha. comes down to it the fact is still that its a 460 and you are not getting gas mileage no matter what you do. invest in a little ranger or a deathwish car.