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Hey everyone. I wasn't sure if I should start my own build threat or not but I decided to go ahead and do it to document all the stuff I'm doing. So far the plan is to regear to 4.88"s, put some X/mod B springs, shocks, 18" Harley wheels that come with 33's on them That I'm picking up tonight for really good deal ($500), and some 08 style tow mirrors as well as maybe a cpl other things that I come with.
So today, I'm Regearing the rear. I quickly learned a couple things.. 1. That I'm much older that I used to be when I used to do this stuff a lot more. 2. I work slower due to the previous.
Anyway. I don't have a lot of pix yet as I'm running out of time to use the shop press today. I found a couple alarming things though. There's a gap between the pinion bearing and the gear, and the diff basically just fell out when I took the caps off. In the past. I used to use a slide hammer to get the diffs out but oh well. Another thing to note was the pinion nut didn't seem to really have much torque on it at all.
Well, that was a long weekend. Took a ton of time to make sure I got everything right. A lot of time was spent on removing shims from the solid pinion spacer I used. I only got 38lbft of torque on my pinion nut to get 20inlb of pinion preload after I pressed my yolk on. Those solid pinion spacers torque down real quick! Backlash was somewhere around 8-10. I went a little cross-eyed, it was hot out and just was in a super uncomfortable position as I did this all my driveway on jackstands. Haha. I got some longer bolts for the puller I have (pic) and used it to pull the yolk off in what seemed like about 300 times. Once I figured this out l, it went a lot smoother. As of now, I have my tools cleaned up and am drinking a well deserved cold one waiting on Gasket sealer to dry to I can fill it with the stinky stuff.
Something I learned over the years on filling rearends/differentials... drill a 1/2" hole in the lid and in a thick part on top that's not in fluid in a gallon jug of the stinky stuff, feed a 1/2" od clear hose through hole in the lid and make it touch the bottom, screw an air chuck into the other hole and put about 10 psi of air into it and watch the magic happen. The air pushes down on the fluid, through the tube into the diff.
Before and after pix of the 18" Harley wheels that I bought last night. Tires that came with them are 275/70R18 on the front and 325/60R18 on the back. Tread is really good. I didn't have time to clean them cause I was trying to get them put on before it got dark on me. Haha.
Those wheels look nice. Are you sticking with 33's? 4.88 are awful deep for those.
Thanks! I'll probably stick with the 33's for a bit. I ran a cpl gear calculators that said my RPMs @70 mph would be close to 2500 which is fine with me because I mostly tow our 10k lb TT with it. Other than that, it's my DD but I stay in town for the most part. Plus I won't be putting the springs on for a bit so I won't be able to fit 35's until then anyway. Anothe thing to note, I'm gonna end up waiting a little bit before I regear the front. I got kinda beat up doing all that on the ground in my driveway. I need to recover.
Thanks! I'll probably stick with the 33's for a bit. I ran a cpl gear calculators that said my RPMs @70 mph would be close to 2500 which is fine with me because I mostly tow our 10k lb TT with it. Other than that, it's my DD but I stay in town for the most part. Plus I won't be putting the springs on for a bit so I won't be able to fit 35's until then anyway. Anothe thing to note, I'm gonna end up waiting a little bit before I regear the front. I got kinda beat up doing all that on the ground in my driveway. I need to recover.
I ran my new 4.88s with 32" tires on Lariat 18"s for two years before I bought the 35"s that I wanted. That combo dropped my unloaded highway MPG by about 2 MPG but it increased my towing (9,500lb TH) from 6.5/7 to 9 MPG. It was during that time frame that the EX transitioned from my daily driving fleet to being a pretty much dedicated tow rig as it is now.
Do yourself a favor and unplug the vacuum switch for the front hubs under the hood behind the battery, that will prevent the hubs from locking if someone flips the dash switch to 4X4, just a little free insurance until the gears and tires all match. As an extra bonus that will allow for 2WD Low Range for reversing that big TT, much healthier for the trans and much better slow speed control for spotting the trailer. I use 2WD Low Range almost every time I reverse our TT.
I ran my new 4.88s with 32" tires on Lariat 18"s for two years before I bought the 35"s that I wanted. That combo dropped my unloaded highway MPG by about 2 MPG but it increased my towing (9,500lb TH) from 6.5/7 to 9 MPG. It was during that time frame that the EX transitioned from my daily driving fleet to being a pretty much dedicated tow rig as it is now.
Do yourself a favor and unplug the vacuum switch for the front hubs under the hood behind the battery, that will prevent the hubs from locking if someone flips the dash switch to 4X4, just a little free insurance until the gears and tires all match. As an extra bonus that will allow for 2WD Low Range for reversing that big TT, much healthier for the trans and much better slow speed control for spotting the trailer. I use 2WD Low Range almost every time I reverse our TT.
Good ideas! Thanks Tom! I never thought about using 2 low to back my TT up. I got my beast up to 70 today only for a few mins and my rpms were 2550ish. I'm thinking going up to a 34.5-35 inch tire would drop it a cpl hundred rpm. I talked to Junior at ATS for a little bit today. Seems like I'm gonna run V codes in the front and mod C's on the rear because I don't want as much lift as the X/mod B's give. I may just have to trim a little bit if I go 35's but I'm not planning on going to a true 35 anyway.
As far as work on the EX, I put some wire connectors on my factory e-locker and some heatshrink tubing to get it ready to go in when I check everything out in the rear axle in about 500 or so miles. I would've put it in when I did my regear but when it comes down to it, I just wasn't prepared to do it and I ran low on time. Is what it is. I also put new YitaMotor mirrors on. My EX is already equipped with heated mirrors so those were simple splices. I started to wire the turn signals and running lights but weather was coming in quick so I went ahead and did everything else except turn signals and running lights.
Using 2 Low to reverse, especially uphill with a heavy trailer makes overheating the trans front input seal much less likely. Its fairly common for those seals to get too hot and leak ATF, sometimes they take back up after cooling off, sometimes not.....
Using 2 Low to reverse, especially uphill with a heavy trailer makes overheating the trans front input seal much less likely. Its fairly common for those seals to get too hot and leak ATF, sometimes they take back up after cooling off, sometimes not.....
Just got off the phone with Junior at ATS. V's and C's (not modded) on the way! It'll probably be a cpl weeks at least until I get a chance to put them on. So as of now, what I have left out of my plans are: Front regear and springs. Thinking about getting (in no order) a locker for the front, headers, 5star tune. Honestly, it'll probably be a while for those. I'll probably use the rest of my 'mod money' to take my fam on a vacation.
Just got off the phone with Junior at ATS. V's and C's (not modded) on the way! It'll probably be a cpl week at least until I get a chance to put them on. So as of now, what I have left out of my plans are: Front regear and springs. Thinking about getting (in no order) a locker for the front, headers, 5star tune. Honestly, it'll probably be a while for those. I'll probably use the rest of my 'mod money' to take my fam on a vacation.
Sounds like a good plan (including the family vacation!) but I would suggest moving the 5Star tuner up the list to be the next purchase, maybe a Memorial Day sale, that's when I bought mine years ago.
Sounds like a good plan (including the family vacation!) but I would suggest moving the 5Star tuner up the list to be the next purchase, maybe a Memorial Day sale, that's when I bought mine years ago.
Sounds good to me. I'll do that! Looking forward to having everything done but also really enjoying working on the EX. One thing to note regarding the ride after switching to the 18's and 33's... I figured with the sidewall height being about same between my new tires and wheels, and the stock tire size and wheels that the ride would be about the same, but I was pleasantly surprised with a more solid feel. I can still tell that i have the spring sway though but that'll be fixed soon enough.
I have some ATS X Codes on my F250 and am very happy with there performance.
I saw your mention of 34" range tire size, I have 295/70/18 Nitto Ridge Grapplers on my truck, they work well for everything and are not to loud. With the X Codes and factory B's they have a nice stance, aggressiveness and give that tough look. @WE3ZS is right about the 5 Star, really helps with drive-ability for these trucks. With the SCT Livewire I could monitor all temps needed and later incorporate a backup camera.
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