i have a 78 ranger with a 351w and 33" tires now i think my rear housing is a dana 60 and i have no idea what the front is. i was just wondering what the best gear ratio would be for my truck. i plan on doing a far bit of off roading but i still want to drive it on the road once in a while. i plan on putting either new 33 or 35 on it

 

I'm not too familiar with the Ranger model name's application on the different truck weight classes. If this is Ranger is an F250, the rear is a Dana 60 and the front is either a Dana 44 or 60. Snowfighters and some Supercabs got front Dana 60's. If it's an F100/150, the rear is a Ford 9" and the front is a Dana 44 reverse rotation (high pinion). If it's an F350, the rear is a Dana 70 and the front a Dana 60.

On the gearing, I would go with 4.10's with the 33's and 4.56's with the 35's.

 

would there be any problem using 3.55 in the rear and 3.54 in the front. I have a spare set of housings from a parts truck

 

No problem with that combo. Actually, that's normal gearing for a truck with a Ford rear axle and Dana front axle. You can use up to 3.50/3.55 and be fine. I have 3.50/3.54 in my Bronco.

 

are these gears going to give me enough strength when i'm really coming on to it in the mud and snow. what would these gears be like on the highway. and finally what is the best way to make the rear a locker???


thanks alot youve been a great help

 

Use a ratio calculater to see what RPM's you will be at.
http://www.dfw-tx4wd.org/gears.html

 

From my experience with 3.55's and 33's in my F350 with a 351 and C6, I suspect you'll be disappointed with performance, especially towing and climbing hills. That's why I suggested 4.10's with 33's or 4.56's with 35's. I have 4.56's with 33's in my truck and it pulls great, but I gave up some top speed on the freeway since I don't have an overdrive gear in my trans.

You still have not told us if this Ranger is an F150, F250, or F350....

Also, are you sure your '78 has a 351W? I thought the 351 used from from sometime in the mid-late 70's to '79 was the 351M? I know the 351M came in '78/79 Broncos.

The easiest and least expensive way to put a true automatic locking differential in the axle is to use a Powertrax Lock Right, which goes in the stock open case, replacing the spider gears. It is made for most truck axles and the one for my 10.25" Ford axle was about $325. This is not a limited slip though, it is a positive locking diff that works EXCELLENT off road but does have some minor quirks about it when used on the street. They make a clicking noise when going around a turn, a clunk when going from coasting to accelerating, and like to chirp the tires if you get on it in a turn. These things are minor and don't take much to get used to, but some people don't like them so I thought I would warn you about it.

There are many other differentials that can be used. Once you find out what kind of axle you have, go to the following websites and you can read about all the different kinds of limited slip, auto-locking, and selectable locking diffs available to you.

www.reiderracing.com
www.ring-pinion.com

If you tell us what kind of truck you have (F150/250/350), we can tell you what kind of axles it has, if you don't already know .

 

my ranger is an f 250 and the 351w was put in by the person i bought it from. do u have any idea what rear ratios could be in a dana 60 for my truck. i bet it's not the 4.10 or 4.56 that ur talking about. what kinda problems would i run into if i put 4.56 gears in the rear and when i replace my front housing just left the stock 3.54 gears in the housing from my 89 parts truck

and also what will the 4.56 gears be like on the highway


Thanks

 

Definitely do not run 4.10 or 4.56 in the back and 3.54 in the front, at least not if you intend to use 4wd. That's too big a ratio difference and parts will likely end up breaking (t-case, driveshaft u-joints, etc.). Small ratio differences are ok, like 3.50 & 3.54 or 4.09 & 4.11, but not much more than that.

Your F250 could have ratios from about the mid-3's to 4.10-ish.

How the 4.56's do on the highway depends on what size tire you decide to run, what transmission you have, and how fast you like to drive. A truck with a C6 will spin more rpms (~200-400 more) than one with a 4-speed because of torque converter slip, so gas mileage should be a little better with the manual trans. With a C6, 33's and 4.56's, I don't go much faster than 60-65 mph and usually keep it around 55-60 for best gas mileage. The truck can go faster, but gas mileage takes a nose-dive at higher speeds with no overdrive in the trans. Otherwise, mileage is pretty good, as good or better than when I had the 3.55's in it, and more towing power too .

With 35's and 4.56's, I'd be looking at about 200 less engine rpms at the same vehicle speeds (see forumlas below). Running 33's and 4.56's is like running stock tires and 4.30's. Running 35's and 4.56's is like running stock tires and 4.10's (normal gearing for a pulling truck).

MPH = (RPM x TireDiameter) / (AxleRatio x 336).

RPM = (MPH x AxleRatio x 336) / TireDiameter.

AxleRatio = (RPM x TireDiameter) / (MPH x 336).

Note: If you have a manual trans, use '336' in the equations. If you have an auto trans, use '355' in the equations. The 355 accounts for normal torque converter slippage in autos with non-locking converters (C4, C6, FMX).