3.55 vs 3.73
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3.55 vs 3.73
Just wondering what the difference is between the two, is one better than the other? Also I thought I remembered someone saying how you could tell which one you had by the sticker on the inside of your door. I tried doing a search but came up empty. thanks
Last edited by blams2004; Apr 18, 2007 at 03:47 AM.
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From: Angelica, NY
The 3.73 rear end is a little lower geared, which means more power and less top end. I've had both and prefer the 3.73 gears. These are pretty heavy trucks, and not over powered by any means. So I prefer the lower gears. In theory you should get better gas mileage with the 3.55 rear. But depending on how you are using your truck, it may not help that much. If your working the engine harder because of the higher gears, it may cancel out any mileage gain. If you're going to be doing any towing, I would recommend the 3.73's over the 3.55's. Just my thinking anyway.
Posting Guru
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From: Maple Grove, PA
well, it won't be a dog with 3.55's but it won't pull as good as the 3.73's....and you really won't lose any top end because the truck stops at around 100 anyway unless you have it chipped...even then you really won't lose any top end speed....you'll just have a little more revs to get there.....
as for the gear set to get......i would strongly suggest the 3.73's for the reasons above and it's better for towing...
this is a topic thats debated often and we usually come back to 3.73's unless you live in the mid west and you plan on doing all highway driving and never tow or tow very little...
as for the gear set to get......i would strongly suggest the 3.73's for the reasons above and it's better for towing...
this is a topic thats debated often and we usually come back to 3.73's unless you live in the mid west and you plan on doing all highway driving and never tow or tow very little...
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Originally Posted by gui88ford
unless you live in the mid west and you plan on doing all highway driving and never tow or tow very little...
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From: Maple Grove, PA
Originally Posted by FXForistell
My midwestern 3.55's agree with that. Truck's used in that scenario and I have no complaints.
...next time i guess
Mountain Pass
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I have the 3.55 gears and I wish I had the 3.73. I tow my boat every weekend and all loaded up it weighs prob around 5,000lbs+/- and I get extremely crappy gas mileage. So if you tow a lot I would get the 3.73 gears
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From: Outer Banks, NC
I was looking for a used one and my prefrence was the 3.73's because all of the talks about the two. I ended up getting one that was everything I needed and was a great price but it had the 3.55. We have a general contracting buisness down here and tow all kinds of trailers and the 3.55's really do not do that bad at all. Now I have a diesel for towing the tractors and equipment but this truck does not do bad at all towng 5k+. We also have 3 other work truck F-150's that tow all the time to with the 3.55. If I was going to order a truck right from the factory yes I would probaly order 3.73 just to help the engine out with towing constantly but I do not think it is as a difference that everyone speaks of.To me if you found something that you liked I dont think it would be that big of a deal with buying it with 3.55's or 3.73's unless the truck is always hooked up to a 6K+ trailer. That just my 2 cent
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Last edited by DaMole; Apr 18, 2007 at 10:51 AM.
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Mountain Pass
Joined: Aug 2006
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Originally Posted by obxredneck
I was looking for a used one and my prefrence was the 3.73's because all of the talks about the two. I ended up getting one that was everything I needed and was a great price but it had the 3.55. We have a general contracting buisness down here and tow all kinds of trailers and the 3.55's really do not do that bad at all. Now I have a diesel for towing the tractors and equipment but this truck does not do bad at all towng 5k+. We also have 3 other work truck F-150's that tow all the time to with the 3.55. If I was going to order a truck right from the factory yes I would probaly order 3.73 just to help the engine out with towing constantly but I do not think it is as a difference that everyone speaks of.To me if you found something that you liked I dont think it would be that big of a deal with buying it with 3.55's or 3.73's unless the truck is always hooked up to a 6K+ trailer. That just my 2 cent .
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From: Outer Banks, NC
Originally Posted by Skeeter94
I did not say it was bad, I just said that I get really crappy gas mileage which is probaly normal.
Originally Posted by Skeeter94
I am sure the two are not too different from each other. Just get the truck that has the best deal to offer you.
Senior User
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From: Newark, Delaware
Yeah i would love to have 3.73s in my truck. It came stock from the dealership with 3.55s and a tow package, kinda weird i would have thought the tow package would come standard with 3.73s. But i have 3.55s and i towed a 8,500lbs trailer over the weekend and to my surprise she pulled good, way better than i thought. it really didn't down shift that much and had alot of acceleration, and the truck did not feel under powered with all that weight, i love this truck!
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Mine's got the 3.55's with the tow package too, and I agree I thought the 3.73's were the gears for the tow package. But apparently the 20" wheels on mine make the ratio 3.55 by default. So said the ford website anyway.
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From: Maple Grove, PA
Originally Posted by FXForistell
Mine's got the 3.55's with the tow package too, and I agree I thought the 3.73's were the gears for the tow package. But apparently the 20" wheels on mine make the ratio 3.55 by default. So said the ford website anyway.
thats stupid...they should make the 3.73's standaard and offer the 4.10's as an option...
MMNC (SS)(Ret)
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From: SE Georgia
Originally Posted by gui88ford
thats stupid...they should make the 3.73's standaard and offer the 4.10's as an option...