Did the Sterling(10.25 or 10.5) rear ever have a 2.73-3.25-ish rear gear?

 

I don't know for certain but considering these are heavy duty truck axles I'd be surprised if they were ever factory offered with anything below 3.55. That's not to say you couldn't buy some lower ratio gears, have you done any shopping?

 

I looked on Summit, but all they had was 6.something down to 3.55's. The older Dodges 89-91 had 3.08s in their DANA 70. I just wanted to stay Ford pure in my build.

 

Check out Randy's Ring and Pinion on the web one of the best spots for info and parts htey offer a 3.31 ratio but with overdrive trannys why would you want to go lower {numerically} than 3.55 it is a good choice

 

That's the problem... No overdrive, Allison AT545. That's why I needed hiway gears, but 3.31s would do. To get overdrive with an SAE#3 bellhousing, I'd have to step up to an Alli 1000 Series, and that's at least trippple the price of a 545. Think engines from a 90s F600. I'm going with a Ford/ New Holland 6.6 for my F100, but that's not the issue right now. I need a stronger rear than a 9" with big brakes. I already got 3/4 ton spindles with dual piston calipers for the front. I just figured a Sterling rear would still be Ford, and a Dana70 would be a close 2nd.