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5.8 performance options?

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Old Feb 22, 2010 | 09:26 PM
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From: Grandy
5.8 performance options?

So i got a 92 F150 extended cab long box, 4x4, 351W with auto. I am wondering what size cam would be good for doing occasional pulling and frequent hauling of old sleds. I am putting headers on soon because of the typical cracked manifolds and a much better flowing exhaust. I also would like to lose the 3.08's and find myself some 3.55's.
 
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Old Feb 22, 2010 | 09:37 PM
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Oh sweet lord.. 3.08? Skip right over 3.55 and go right to 4.10, trust me you won't regret it.

Comp cam 35-255-5 is a great upgrade and it's SD EFI friendly.
 
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Old Feb 22, 2010 | 09:40 PM
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From: Grandy
what kind of mileage would i get with the 4.10's though, right now its 12 miles a gallon not great but dont want anything any worse
 
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Old Feb 22, 2010 | 09:54 PM
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Milage will improve, right now your the motor is under so much load all the time it's always in open loop and that's why the milage is so bad. The tuning system I have reports instantaneous fuel milage among other things, and with my truck at 55mph the motor uses more fuel in OD than it does in D... despite the fact the engine is turning more rpms in drive. I have 3.55 gears now and it's not enough, I'm getting 4.10's as soon as I have the $$ for it.
 
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Old Feb 22, 2010 | 10:13 PM
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I just bought a 94 F-150 4x4 with a 5.8. How do I tell what gears I have? Being a 4X4 are there two sets of gears? I no almost nothing about 4X4's.
 
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Old Feb 23, 2010 | 01:15 AM
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Originally Posted by cwelchy
I just bought a 94 F-150 4x4 with a 5.8. How do I tell what gears I have? Being a 4X4 are there two sets of gears? I no almost nothing about 4X4's.
Your Front and Rear will be almost exactly the same. Check the tage on the drivers door post. It will tell you your gear ratio, assuming no one changed it since the factory.
 
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Old Feb 23, 2010 | 10:52 AM
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So if I want to go with 3.73 or 4.10 I have to change both?
 
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Old Feb 23, 2010 | 10:54 AM
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Originally Posted by cwelchy
So if I want to go with 3.73 or 4.10 I have to change both?
You do if you ever want to use 4-wheel drive.
 
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Old Feb 23, 2010 | 11:05 AM
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I figured it was a dumb question, but the only thing I know about 4 wheel drive is that I can put power to all 4 wheels if I want to. Thanks. I will check the door tag, but I have the feeling that this truck has pretty high gears.
 
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Old Feb 23, 2010 | 12:14 PM
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I'm planning on going to 3.73 in a few weeks. I had a guy that owns a 4x4 in FL tell me that I should be able to get the labor for $400 - $500 for both. If you have a 2wd, the easiest thing to do is just find a truck with the gearing you want and use the whole axle.
 
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Old Feb 23, 2010 | 12:39 PM
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I got a quote from a rearend shop that regearing my truck would be $1200 minimum for the labour alone.
 
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Old Feb 23, 2010 | 01:12 PM
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Originally Posted by BCHauler
I got a quote from a rearend shop that regearing my truck would be $1200 minimum for the labour alone.
Wow! I really hope not. I'm planning on getting a quote once I have most the the money saved up. This same guy that has the 4x4 shop is supposed to be able to get me the gears/parts I need at a discount. But i don't know about walking into a shop with my own gears, and saying "here you go."

If this guy can really do a swap for that cheep, I might just take a vacation down to Florida, and deduct the money I save on the swap from the total cost of the trip. I might actually turn a profit on vacation.
 
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Old Feb 23, 2010 | 01:32 PM
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I know some would like to trust the rear end swap to the pros but it's pretty straight forward... If you want to swap why not get a truck before it heads to the yard or find someone parting one and get the gears for a couple hundred and do it yourself???
 
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Old Feb 23, 2010 | 01:34 PM
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Originally Posted by Farmboy46
So i got a 92 F150 extended cab long box, 4x4, 351W with auto. I am wondering what size cam would be good for doing occasional pulling and frequent hauling of old sleds. I am putting headers on soon because of the typical cracked manifolds and a much better flowing exhaust. I also would like to lose the 3.08's and find myself some 3.55's.

Farm boy I am doing the a 351w with a 35-255-5 comp cam and while I can't suggest it b/c it's not in yet I can say that a new cam will wake up your engine significantly! Also I have a local machine shop with a chassis dyno that is being built right now... I will have my 351w run on the dyno when it's done. So i'll have some numbers to share, with the HP improvements I obtained in the near future!
 
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Old Feb 23, 2010 | 01:48 PM
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Originally Posted by BCHauler
I got a quote from a rearend shop that regearing my truck would be $1200 minimum for the labour alone.

I think the main reason the labor charge is so high to do gears on these trucks is because the whole front axle must be stripped down to get the pumpkin off the D44, and even if everything comes off easy that will add a couple hours to the job for sure. In an effort to minimize this cost when I do gears I'm going to get another D44 pumpkin and swap that in myself once the gears are mounted.
 
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