Oh me - don't say a diesel is going to be needed !! HA! I'm going with Ford parts after much deliberation and deciding that I'm just too darned old to mess with it myself. Before deciding to do this I pulled out the CAT Scale sheets one more time. With just myself in the cab, tools in the back, hitch, 303RLS hooked up, and a full tank of gas it's a total of 18,340 lb which means 10,500 lb of trailer with 2,200 lbs on the pin. (truck without the 303RLS weighed 7740 lb)

If 4.30's don't get the job done, I'm going to whine!! (started to say cry) I just can't justify another diesel and fuel prices are going to increase back to pre-Jan 15 prices probably sooner vs later.

I was trying to wait until you bit the bullet, but darn it .... I've finally found someone with more patience than myself !! I'll let you know how it works out.

 

The only reason I have done the gears yet is part of me is concerned that I won't be happy with the 4.30's and waste a grand on the gear swap (2WD). I really don't want a diesel but I have no intentions of getting rid of my trailer (which we love by the way). I went tans got our setup weighed a few months back and my setup is almost identical to your numbers. Not sure what the break in period is for new gears but when do you think you will be hitching up and hitting some steep hills so you can report back on how much better the 4.30's are? This is a picture I took before leaving the campground last Sunday.

 

HEY !! Someone's got MY TRAILER! Oh wait - last Sunday mine was covered and had 11" snow on top of it. grrrrr We went from 2 degrees last Friday to 64 degrees today. You've got a good looking setup there and I'm jealous.

The "official word" is 500 miles before towing with new gears. That's going to be difficult, but I'll try to drive real fast !!

My 303 has gelcoat/fiberglass cracks at the rear curb side corner and needs to go to dealer for repair. GDRV has approved the repair for the 2nd time. I'm happy with, but concerned about my unit due to several issues common in the Reflection line. Mine has some of those "issues" also and we're working through them with GDRV.

It's probably going to be mid-April before I can really check out how the 4.30s help pulling the 5er. I'll keep you posted.

Rich

 

I'm using Yukon rear and G2 front. Knowing exactly what's needed to do the swap, it's still not all that cheap thanks to the odd 10.5 gears. I'll have about $ 900 in changing mine, my labor is free. Gears plus new inner pinion bearings and front carrier bearings. I don't like reusing pulled bearings. Almost forgot 300 more for the spartan locker for the front. Fyi, my Yukons are factory ford gears so not sure what's the deal there.

 

I have a 2014 CC 4x4 and have been considering the upgrade to 4.30 gears. My trailer is about 9500lbs but the truck seems like it is always shifting gears, even in tow haul mode. On one recent trip, it constantly up/down shifted going down the interstate on relatively flat road. I was told by my dealer that they must do the gear swap work or it will void the power train warranty. Has anybody ran into this?

 

Unless you have the work done by the dealer with factory parts then yeah it would give you warranty issues. That being said the only area they should deny would be an axle issue.

 

It may just be me, but of all the new vehicles (trucks & sedans) I've owned over the past 50 yrs (and there's been a bunch because I drove 150miles/day minimum for 34 yrs); there has only been one that had drive-train issues covered by the warranty. That was a 2003 Chevy Dmax LB7 - with bad rear axle seal on left side. That problem made itself be known after only 300 miles on the odom.

I've had Fords, Chevy's, Pontiac's, Buick's, Oldsmobile's, Isuzu diesel Pup, VW Scirocco and even a Mercury. Buick's have been the most reliable vehicle brand for me/wife. Pontiac Firebird w/350 has been the most dangerous for me. (my foot being be problem) Ford Ranger the most uncomfortable vehicle. Ford F250 the best hauler.
VW Scirocco the most troublesome - picture the windshield wipers going L then R and the headlights going bright then dim with each direction of the wipers!

 

You may want to check with Ford on that.

What I do when it wants to hunt gears is lock it into a gear with the manual mode.

Denny

 

Just checking in to see if your got your truck back with the new gears yet? I realize you probably haven't had a chance to tow yet but curious if you notice a significant difference with the 4.30's compared to the 3.73's?

 

Got the truck back yesterday afternoon (Friday) with 4.30 gears and a front-end alignment. I now have 156 miles on the new gears (no pulling) and can say: "No and Yes". No to Significant and Yes to difference. HA!

At 70mph the engine is turning 2100 (approx) rpms. As I turned the engine off about 30 minutes ago the lie-ometer was showing 15.0 mpg on less than 1/2 tank of 87 octane gas. I notice going up overpasses the engine does not labor in the slightest, the speed does not change, and rpms do not change like they did with 3.73 gears.

I was surprised (for some reason) that the tranny is hitting 6th gear at 44 mph. I haven't been able to make myself observe shifting in the lower gears and that's where I should be tuning in. My one brain cell isn't tuning in fast enough !!!

Pulling is what you and I are interested in though. Oh.... with 3.73 gears the engine was turning around 1850 (I think) at 70 mph. If I had a memory I'd be dangerous.

Rich

 

Cool. I was hoping to hear it was a significant difference. I know it's only been a day but do you feel like it was money well spent? Or do you want to wait until you get to pull your trailer before answering? You still a few weeks out before you get to take your trailer out?

 

Yes, I must wait to pull before knowing whether there is a significant difference. It shifts, it goes, it turns a tad higher RPM, and I'm hohumm. If it pulls 10.5K lbs up some of the hills easier than it was with 3.73 gears doing 45mph - then I'll be impressed.

I asked the mechanic about waiting 500 miles before pulling and he said that was not necessary, so I may pull the trailer next week (toward end of week) just to see how it does.

I'll let you know.

 

Rubicon - Just for informational purposes I wanted to let you know that I have intentionally paid attention to the truck performance this week while driving (not pulling). The truck seems to have a "sweet spot" in terms of mpg between 55-60mph. Driving in this sweet spot I went 150 miles and ended the trip (starting with full gas tank and 200 lbs of tools in the back) at 16.0 mpg.

Doing another test between 65-70mph gave me 15.6 mpg (same weight). Over 70mph and all bets are off the table.

Also paid attention to the shift points with the 4.30, easy acceleration for deliberate shift points and premium mpg. Points were:
1: 0-5mph
2: 5-15mph
3: 15-20mph
4: 20-25mph
5: 25-40mph
6: 40+ mph

I repeated the shift pt trial 4 times and each time got exactly the same results.
Not sure what this proves, other than ..... it's consistent !!
Will pull the Reflection next week.

Rich

 

Thank you for the data!

 

Thanks for the update Rich. Look forward to hearing how the new gears pull my trailer!

-Rodney