gearing?
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Junior User
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From: Florida
gearing?
how can i tell what gearing a Bronco has in the front? the rear has 4.10s but i dont know bout the front. i got it from my cousin and he dont know either. he said its never been messed with. is there any way to tell withoug disassembling it?
New User
Joined: Oct 2007
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From: Cheyenne, WY
If it has 4.10 gears in the back, it'll have them upfront as well.
Have a buddy/significant other present to help:
Put it in 4x4, lock the hubs, jack it up (front and rear since it's 4x4) and put all appropriate safety equipment in place (jack stands/wheel chocks/etc) to keep it from rolling/falling on top of you (it happens more often than you'd think). You'll rotate the front driveshaft by hand while keeping track of how many times you're turning it. Your helper will count ONE full tire rotation. The way to figure out what gearing you have : If you rotate the driveshaft just over 4 times per 1 full rotation of the tire, you have 4.10s. If you rotate the driveshaft about 3.5 times per one full tire rotation you have 3.55s.
This is the easiest method I know of to find what gearing you have and you can use it for the rear as well. Hope it helps.
Have a buddy/significant other present to help:
Put it in 4x4, lock the hubs, jack it up (front and rear since it's 4x4) and put all appropriate safety equipment in place (jack stands/wheel chocks/etc) to keep it from rolling/falling on top of you (it happens more often than you'd think). You'll rotate the front driveshaft by hand while keeping track of how many times you're turning it. Your helper will count ONE full tire rotation. The way to figure out what gearing you have : If you rotate the driveshaft just over 4 times per 1 full rotation of the tire, you have 4.10s. If you rotate the driveshaft about 3.5 times per one full tire rotation you have 3.55s.
This is the easiest method I know of to find what gearing you have and you can use it for the rear as well. Hope it helps.
Post Fiend
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 19,402
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From: Bonita Springs FL
The problem with that method is that with an open differential, both tires aren't going to necessarily rotate at the same speed while they're both in the air.
This is why I tell people to only jack up one side if it's an open differential and divide the tire rotations by two to get an idea of the ratio.
This is why I tell people to only jack up one side if it's an open differential and divide the tire rotations by two to get an idea of the ratio.
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Junior User
Joined: Oct 2007
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From: Florida
Originally Posted by andym
The problem with that method is that with an open differential, both tires aren't going to necessarily rotate at the same speed while they're both in the air.
This is why I tell people to only jack up one side if it's an open differential and divide the tire rotations by two to get an idea of the ratio.
This is why I tell people to only jack up one side if it's an open differential and divide the tire rotations by two to get an idea of the ratio.
Post Fiend
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 19,402
Likes: 38
From: Bonita Springs FL
I'm not saying it won't work, but you can't guarantee it will, either. An open differential by definition easily allows wheels to spin at different speeds. It wouldn't be that hard at all to get one side to spin at a different rate than the other. One side might have looser bearings, a stuck caliper, or in the case of drum brakes, a stuck wheel cylinder or shoes that are tighter on one side than the other.
If you only jack up one wheel, you eliminate all of those possibilities.
In a vehicle with a working limited slip then yes, you *have* to jack both wheels up.
If you only jack up one wheel, you eliminate all of those possibilities.
In a vehicle with a working limited slip then yes, you *have* to jack both wheels up.
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Thread Starter
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Junior User
Joined: Oct 2007
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From: Florida
Originally Posted by Nate81camaro
If it has 4.10 gears in the back, it'll have them upfront as well.
Have a buddy/significant other present to help:
Put it in 4x4, lock the hubs, jack it up (front and rear since it's 4x4) and put all appropriate safety equipment in place (jack stands/wheel chocks/etc) to keep it from rolling/falling on top of you (it happens more often than you'd think). You'll rotate the front driveshaft by hand while keeping track of how many times you're turning it. Your helper will count ONE full tire rotation. The way to figure out what gearing you have : If you rotate the driveshaft just over 4 times per 1 full rotation of the tire, you have 4.10s. If you rotate the driveshaft about 3.5 times per one full tire rotation you have 3.55s.
This is the easiest method I know of to find what gearing you have and you can use it for the rear as well. Hope it helps.
Have a buddy/significant other present to help:
Put it in 4x4, lock the hubs, jack it up (front and rear since it's 4x4) and put all appropriate safety equipment in place (jack stands/wheel chocks/etc) to keep it from rolling/falling on top of you (it happens more often than you'd think). You'll rotate the front driveshaft by hand while keeping track of how many times you're turning it. Your helper will count ONE full tire rotation. The way to figure out what gearing you have : If you rotate the driveshaft just over 4 times per 1 full rotation of the tire, you have 4.10s. If you rotate the driveshaft about 3.5 times per one full tire rotation you have 3.55s.
This is the easiest method I know of to find what gearing you have and you can use it for the rear as well. Hope it helps.
New User
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 21
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From: Cheyenne, WY
Andy - I was once told that whatever gears a 4x4 has in the back it will have the same numeric gearing up front. Why the difference of .01 (from 4.10 in back to 4.09 in front) ??
Yeah, it's easy enough to turn by using your hand on the driveshaft.
Originally Posted by andym
It would be easier to turn the wheel, but you'd be surprised how easy it is to turn the driveshaft with the gearing reduction working for you.
Posting Guru
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 1,757
Likes: 2
From: Florida
You can't necessarily get the same gears front and rear because of clearance or backlash issues with the ring gears.....as long as your gears are within like 4 teeth of each other you'll be good and won't screw anything up but as he just said...the rear gears have been messed with......and since most people are too cheap to do both the front and the rear...the fronts are probly different.....Luck
JR
JR
Lead Driver
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 9,182
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From: Gateway to the West
Originally Posted by Nate81camaro
I remember a guy telling me that on his 4x4 mud truck he had 4.88s in the rear and 4.10s in the front