Ok guys, Im new to broncos and this forum. I just purchased a 93 with 4inch suspension lift, 3 inch body lift and 35's. It has a 5.0 with the E4OD trans and stock 3.55 gears. I want some opinions on gear selection. I am thinking 4.11 or 4.56
Also has anyone hear done the front swap themselves on the dana 44? I have experience with the 8.8 and the tools but I have never messed with any dana axles. Will I need any special tools for the front other than what I will use one the rear? I also am thinking of getting a chip to fix my speedo and possibly firm up the shifts a little what do you think?
Thanks
Jimmy

 

I've always had my gear changes done at a shop, so I cant answer on the toughness of the job. I have 4.56's, a 4" lift and 35's on my truck now. I'm going to switch to a 6" lift and 37's though. The mileage went down considerably, even with the overdrive E4OD... it runs at about 2450 at about 71 mph, so I figure I will probably get my mileage back if I go to 37"s. If I figured it right its like going from 3.55 to 3.73 without changing with a stock tire size on the truck (same equiv. as the 37's with 4.56 gears) so, it would still be a gearing/torque improvement without quite the loss of mileage. I think I would go with 4.10's if I were going to stay with 35's and was concerned about mileage.

On the chip question, you can recalibrate your truck speedometer 6 times from the time it was new without installing anything aftermarket at all, heres the link:

http://www.fordtrucks.com/articles/d...peedorecal.php

If all your changes have been used up on your vehicle, you can go with a module like the Superlift TruSpeed, theres a few different reclaibrators out there, I believe. Try to do the free one built into the truck first.

 

Besides the gears, you will need a new carrier for the D44 if you go over a 3.92 ratio.

 

definitely go with the 4.56's you won't regret it. whenever in doubt go with the lower ratio. the extra power far outweighs the loss in mileage, besides you don't drive a fullsize with big tires for good fuel econemy.

 

Sorry, I'd have to disagree...if you got the grunt to do the job with the 4.10's, then thats all that matters. Remember thats like putting the 3.73's into a truck with 3.55 and stock size tires..still not a bad performance/torque upgrade, without having to sacrafice much in the way of mileage. I prefer to put the $$ that goes into the tank into another upgrade than throw it away...to each is own, though!

 

94f150
i agree with you partly on this because i see you live in the bay area. but for someone that lives in a mountaines area and tows a lot the 4.56 with 35's would be a must regardless of engine potential mainly because the tranny or other components would have a potential for failure. in the bay area your on the hwy more and that tall of gear would hurt your pocket for sure. when selecting gears you really have to think about what your gonna be using the rig for. because you only want to do this once being how expensive it is.

late

 

Does anyone have any suggestions on the best place to buy the parts for this upgade? I am leaning towards the 4.56's and I am considering putting in the trac loc diff in the rear. opinions?
Thanks
Jimmy

 

Yes, towing is important, I agree. I have towed 5000 lbs. for years up and over Donner Pass( the pass is over 8,000 ft elevation). I have towed with a variety of vehicles with different gearing over the years and not really had any problems or issues with vehicles that have lower # gears. The thing that ussually hurts the most to someone who does alot of all around driving with thier vehicles is that annual outlay to the petroleum companies!

jim...check with Randys ring and pinion and I believe one of the other ones is national gear.

 

With overdrive, you'll be ok with the 4.56's. I rode in a truck with 35's and 4.56's with no OD and it was hell on the highway. Thats why I'm going with 4.10's. I have a C-6, so I'm going from 3.08's and 31 inch tires to 4.10's and 35 in tires. That'll give me a nice torque increase (rule of thumb is 15%, so its like I went to 3.55's with 31 in tires) and keep it OK for the highway. My club takes long roadtrips to get to trails sometimes, so I need gearing that works on the highway. If I had OD I would have gone 4.56.

 

Does anyone have any opinions on the rear diff selection. Randys ring and pinion suggested the ford racing trac-loc. Does anybody else have one of these? If so, how does it perform/hold up?
Thanks
Jimmy

 

I hear Yukon gears are real good.

 

the gears are good but with any of these if the install is not done properly it wont matter what you had in there.

 

There's a current thread going on right now in the Transmission, Diffential forum on 4.10's versus 4.56's. Check it. Original post from bigblack89.

 

Hey Jim, A few other places to check out so that you can weigh some more options:

Precisiongear.com
reiderracing.com
differentials.com
drivetrainsuperstore.com

Good searching!

 

Hey Jimmy
As far as the diffs go - For the rear, think about putting in an ARB air locker or a Detroit locker, or some other selectable locker. And for the front at least a limited slip, better yet an ARB air locker or some other selectable locker. There are other companies coming out with selectable lockers, like Eaton, Detroit, Auburn, and OX, just to name a few. As far as the milage goes, on my rig with 5.8L, E4OD trans, 4.10 gears, 33" tires, KluneV under drive, and an Atlas II transfer case, At 75 MPH my tach reads 2500 RPM's, Which seems to be about average.

Also, for the gear selection, since you have a 5.0L Engine, you might want to consider 4.88 gears. I read some where that if one has 35" tires along with 5.8L engine, 4.56 gears would be fine. But having the 5.0 engine, the 4.88 gears would be fine. I just don't remember where I read the info. And then again I could be wrong. I had an '89 Bronco with the 5.0 and it just seemed to be way under powered for this size of rig.

Check out High Impact @ http://www.high-impact.net/ There is a lot of info about gearing and traction here.

I have not done the front Dana 44 myself. But, it shouldn't be that much more dificult than the rear 8.8 rear.

For me, I wish I would have at least put in an ARB or detroit locker in the rear and an ARB up front, a year or two ago when I had both units rebuilt. Now I'm getting ready to do it again. I just purchased an ARB and 4.56 gears for my rear-end. Currently I have 33x12.5 Tires, but planning on going to 35's. At some point I may even go to 37" tires. For the front I had, also, purchased 4.56 gears and OX u-joints. I am waiting until June or July when ARB comes out with their 33 and 35 spline air locker. And then I'll get the 33 spline air locker and some aheavy duty axles to match.

Hope this helps