Hello,

I have a 1998 E-350 with a 5.4 in it. I swapped out the factory ring and pinion for a 4.10 gear set. Now the speedometer reads too fast. Is there a different speedometer drive gear that I can change to get the speedometer back to an accurate reading? If so, is it a part I can get over the counter at a ford dealership?

Also, was there a tachometer equipped speedo cluster available in these vans in 1998? If so can I just swap one in from a junkyard?

 

Hello Seeitclean,

If your speedometer is working the same way as mine '93 E-150, then it's a complete electronic system.
In the diff there is a speed sensor ring, used for the ABS-modul, the EEC, the electronic transmission, the speedcontrol and the speedometer.
There is the possibility to chance the conversion constant, by a max of 6 times then it's over.
Go to a dealer or someone else with the equipment, and you can let it chance.

But, one thing in your story isn't logical, chancing the ring and pinion won't affect your speed signal, it counts the cycles of the wheels not the driveshaft!
Chancing the tyre size wil affect this signal.

In case you still use the same wheels, i would say there is something else wrong!

Rudi

 

2004 is the first year for tachometers, added as standard equipment.

-Jackson-

 

According to my factory service manual the vss(vehicle speed sensor) is in the transmission and not in the rearend. It is the gear driving the vss that I think maybe could be changed, but that's why I figured I would ask. I'll just go to the dealer and ask. Thanks.

 

See it,

Where'd you get the gears? How hard (or how much $) was it? I'm looking to change the rear gears on my 2003 E350 to 4.10.

Thanks,
DaveW

 

I took it to a guy I know and wanted 4.56 gears put in. He put in 4.10s claiming no 4.56 gearset would fit my oddball dana 60. Since then I have gone to a few ring and pinion shops who insist that 4.56 gears are no problem to install. So I think I probably ended up with some used 4.10 gears that the installer had laying around.

I paid around 600 for the 4.10s. The shops I have stopped at quoted me roughly 700 to put in the 4.56s.

This van doesn't see much extended highway driving and the 5.4 is seriously lacking in the power department so gears are by far the cheapest way I can make this van a better driver. I carry a full 200 gallon water tank and a 1000lb pressure washer in the back not to mention all the materials I have to carry. The switch from the factory gears to 4.10s was barely noticable.

 

4.10 and numerically lower gears use the "Fast" carrier.
You likely have a Dana 60 rear, and 4.56 require the slow ratio carrier.
So, the installer would've needed to install a new carrier.
But, they can use thick gears which allow use of a "Fast" carrier with low gears.


I changed my van from 3.55 to 4.1, and it hasn't incurred any great performance gain when highway driving.
It's a matter of horsepower.
But, country road driving is much better.

-Jackson-