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DIY, probably in the $1000-1500 range depending on what name brand of parts your buy (assuming you already have the required tools).
Shop price will include labor rate & shop fees that come out to give or take 150/ hour and expect 16 hrs of labor (so $2400-ish in labor), so total shop should be around $4,000 or so ($2400 labor plus $1500 in parts). And that assuming they don't find anything else wrong while they're in there (u-joints, wheel bearings, etc.)
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I was thinking it was more expensive bc of adding a locker front and rear. That pushes the cost up.
I was thinking it was more expensive bc of adding a locker front and rear. That pushes the cost up.
Yeah, if you want lockers then the parts price goes up for sure.
But in reality, most of these things came factory with a limited slip rear (thats works okay-ish) and very few people use an Excursion in a manner where it "needs" a front locker (heck, most don't even need 4x4 at all).
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Yeah, if you want lockers then the parts price goes up for sure.
But in reality, most of these things came factory with a limited slip rear (thats works okay-ish) and very few people use an Excursion in a manner where it "needs" a front locker (heck, most don't even need 4x4 at all).
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For sure, I do trails every now and then. Fully locked isn’t necessary, but a locked rear would be useful.
If you haven't done gears before I would not recommend doing it without somebody knowledgeable watching and checking when it comes time to install the gears. There are some specialized tools that are needed and if you don't get the mesh of the gears in a very specific set, you can kiss that axle goodbye at worst or at best end up with a lot of gear noises.
Another option is to search around for a set of axles that already has the ratio that you want. I was very fortunate to find my 4.88s via another member here who found them on eBay but didn’t need them but passed the info here on the forum. Mine were a complete set front & rear lug nuts to lug nuts for $1200 and a little drive out to WI to pick them up. These deeper gears have been the single best mod to my tow rig EX.
WE3ZS,
I have 3.73 now on 35’s. 4.88 is what I’ve been eyeballing for a while now thinking it would end up being about 4.30. Did you go from 3.73 to 4.88? If so, what did it do to your mpg when not towing? Like just daily driving? I’m getting a 20’ bay boat soon that I will tow long distances, but my Excursion will still see regular daily driving 90% of time. I’m really just looking more drivability and acceleration in traffic etc. When I exit my neighborhood I have to pull out onto a busy 4 lane highway they are doing 60mph on.
WE3ZS,
I have 3.73 now on 35’s. 4.88 is what I’ve been eyeballing for a while now thinking it would end up being about 4.30. Did you go from 3.73 to 4.88? If so, what did it do to your mpg when not towing? Like just daily driving? I’m getting a 20’ bay boat soon that I will tow long distances, but my Excursion will still see regular daily driving 90% of time. I’m really just looking more drivability and acceleration in traffic etc. When I exit my neighborhood I have to pull out onto a busy 4 lane highway they are doing 60mph on.
Yes, I went from 3.73s to the 4.88s and the wagon was rolling on 32” tires at that time., unloaded performance was pretty much night and day difference, the 4.88/32” combo made it a hot rod around town and it towed like a locomotive. My daily routine was about a 50/50 mix of city/ highway and it got 14.5 MPG or so and as good as 15.5 MPG at 65 MPH when stock, with the 4.88s that routine dropped to about 11 MPG. I made one unloaded highway trip in that configuration and it got 11.5 MPG at 65-ish MPH. After the 35”s went on the effective ratio was 4.39 and the unloaded highway at 65 MPH went back up to 14/14.5 MPG, anything over 65 and it drops significantly, but I’m in the NorthEast so lower highway speeds are more common. Our EX is now a dedicated tow rig so the only unloaded miles it sees are roaming around our destinations. Towing the 12K+ TT it gets between 7 and 9.5 MPG depending on speed, terrain, wind and how well behaved I am on the trip.
The 35”s with 4.88s combo is much more fun to drive, it has noticeably better acceleration and better all around performance. I also always run the 5Star 89 octane performance tune.
Yes, I went from 3.73s to the 4.88s and the wagon was rolling on 32” tires at that time., unloaded performance was pretty much night and day difference, the 4.88/32” combo made it a hot rod around town and it towed like a locomotive. My daily routine was about a 50/50 mix of city/ highway and it got 14.5 MPG or so and as good as 15.5 MPG at 65 MPH when stock, with the 4.88s that routine dropped to about 11 MPG. I made one unloaded highway trip in that configuration and it got 11.5 MPG at 65-ish MPH. After the 35”s went on the effective ratio was 4.39 and the unloaded highway at 65 MPH went back up to 14/14.5 MPG, anything over 65 and it drops significantly, but I’m in the NorthEast so lower highway speeds are more common. Our EX is now a dedicated tow rig so the only unloaded miles it sees are roaming around our destinations. Towing the 12K+ TT it gets between 7 and 9.5 MPG depending on speed, terrain, wind and how well behaved I am on the trip.
The 35”s with 4.88s combo is much more fun to drive, it has noticeably better acceleration and better all around performance. I also always run the 5Star 89 octane performance tune.
So with 3.73 on 35’s, safe to say that on flat hwys, this combo produces best mpg at 70 mph. Maybe a 4.56 on 35’s combo would be better overall for me instead of 4.88 on 35’s. I won’t being towing every weekend.
Boats on trailers tend to be more aero than TTs, how heavy would the boat and trailer be?
The 4.30-ish ratio is desired for working the 6.8 fairly hard with a heavier high profile trailer.
So with 3.73 on 35’s, safe to say that on flat hwys, this combo produces best mpg at 70 mph. Maybe a 4.56 on 35’s combo would be better overall for me instead of 4.88 on 35’s. I won’t being towing every weekend.
If you're looking to trail ride and want a front locker, you might want to consider swapping in a Dana 60 from a leaf spring Super duty.
All the Excursions (even the diesels) came with dana 50 front ends. And the availability of gears and lockers for them is just dismal compared to the dana 60. Swapped a junkyard 04 Super Duty dana 60 under the front of my EX, and threw a lunchbox locker in it while I was at it.
Its a direct bolt in if you use an 04 super duty dana 60 axle and then you've got OPTIONS out the AZZ for gears and lockers
Boats on trailers tend to be more aero than TTs, how heavy would the boat and trailer be?
The 4.30-ish ratio is desired for working the 6.8 fairly hard with a heavier high profile trailer.
If you're looking to trail ride and want a front locker, you might want to consider swapping in a Dana 60 from a leaf spring Super duty.
All the Excursions (even the diesels) came with dana 50 front ends. And the availability of gears and lockers for them is just dismal compared to the dana 60. Swapped a junkyard 04 Super Duty dana 60 under the front of my EX, and threw a lunchbox locker in it while I was at it.
Its a direct bolt in if you use an 04 super duty dana 60 axle and then you've got OPTIONS out the AZZ for gears and lockers
That is pretty cool. I wouldn’t need a front locker. Most of the wheeling I do is just short of tearing off bumpers and 1/4 panels! There are better tools for the job than the Ex. Not to say the Ex couldn’t, I just don’t want the bill for the damage after. That glass on rear 1/4 isn’t cheap I’d imagine.
