Resource to determine rear axle crossovers?
#1
12-12-2018, 09:12 PM
#2
12-13-2018, 03:15 AM
Cargo Master
#3
12-13-2018, 07:33 AM
Hotshot
#5
12-13-2018, 07:55 AM
3.08 gears in it now per the door sticker, looking to tow a car on a trailer and consensus is I need lower gears - I'm a towing newbie and this is my first pickup. Seems it would be simpler to find a complete rear end than swapping out the internals. I ran across a 3.73 rear out of a 2001 but don't know if it would fit.
#6
12-13-2018, 08:14 AM
Lead Driver
All three full size trucks I purchased over the years (‘87 & ‘94 Broncos, ‘89 F-150) had 3.55 gears. Maybe I was just lucky or it was more common around my area. All three had a 302 so that might have also been a factor. The pickup and ‘94 do a decent job with those gears. Personally I wouldn’t want to go any lower for how seldom I tow something.
#7
12-13-2018, 08:35 AM
I pulled several cars with a 00 f150 Sport with stock 4.2 V-6 and 5 speed manual several times. Got tough up and down a serious mountain once, I know I was in 2nd by time I reached the top. Really pulling never fights me as much as GETTING PUSHED down mountains by the weight chasing you and BRAKING. I have never had the benefit of towing with anything with brakes on it, but would say surely that helps improve the white knuckled effect of something weighing as much as what you're driving hooked to you and shoving you from behind (down a mountain). I can pull with just about anything, stopping or steering is a different matter.
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#8
12-13-2018, 08:40 AM
Hotshot
#9
12-13-2018, 07:09 PM
I’m thinking there is a cut off in that carrier, for gear swaps, and it might even be 3.08? Might be more into the range of 3.23 or so. But, at 3.08 you’re at the upper end of carrier for continuing on lower in geari swap without carrier changeout. So, you can fairly cheaply, and if you wanted to learn or had a buddy who knows or you can pay, that can put in the gears and get your wear pattern and stuff set. You could move the opposite way you wanted to go fairly inexpensive progressing I think all the way to maybe even 2.56 or so using your existing carrier. But to go the way you need or want to go, you’d have to change the carrier to move down toward 3.42, 3.55, 3.73. Or so. Then I think it changes again around there and you get into another carrier for 3.89 or so, maybe 3.91, which you get series you can swap into 4.11, 4.30. I don’t recall how low you go in that series of carrier. Maybe 4.56, no clue.
so, if you can changes gears and set your carrier up, you’ve got ranges of gears that’ll fit your current rear end if it’s a 3.08, and you’re about as good as you can go easily or cheaply short of a swap. I don’t think if you have a 3.08, you cannot easily or cheaply have a 3.73 or 3.89 or along in there. If you did have a 3.55 rear, you could buy gears in 3.90 or so range and they could be retrofitted into your carrier.
so you may have to stay in the looked and do a whole rear end swap. Which isn’t cheap or easy. And, I maybe wrong in everything I just typed and might be misremembering so I hope m corrected if I am. I wouldn’t want to intentionally steer you wrong.
and, I do understand wanting to be prepared to safely tow.
so, if you can changes gears and set your carrier up, you’ve got ranges of gears that’ll fit your current rear end if it’s a 3.08, and you’re about as good as you can go easily or cheaply short of a swap. I don’t think if you have a 3.08, you cannot easily or cheaply have a 3.73 or 3.89 or along in there. If you did have a 3.55 rear, you could buy gears in 3.90 or so range and they could be retrofitted into your carrier.
so you may have to stay in the looked and do a whole rear end swap. Which isn’t cheap or easy. And, I maybe wrong in everything I just typed and might be misremembering so I hope m corrected if I am. I wouldn’t want to intentionally steer you wrong.
and, I do understand wanting to be prepared to safely tow.
#10
12-14-2018, 06:45 AM
Ford 8.8 rear ends don't have any of that gear cut off nonsense. Most any gear will fit in the case.
I want to say the available gears from the factory in F150s were 2.73, 3.08, 3.55 and 4.10. Optional Trac-Lok. Finding a complete axle assembly with the desired gears might be the easiest, with less downtime. Or you could get a spare axle fully rebuilt and ready to install.
The tone ring serves as the speedometer source, and the programming counts rotational speeds, so reprogramming the computer is not necessary when switching gears. Switching tire size requires reprogramming for proper operation.
Later on Explorers came with 3.73 gears, but not a direct swap (unless you are installing into a Ranger).
I want to say the available gears from the factory in F150s were 2.73, 3.08, 3.55 and 4.10. Optional Trac-Lok. Finding a complete axle assembly with the desired gears might be the easiest, with less downtime. Or you could get a spare axle fully rebuilt and ready to install.
The tone ring serves as the speedometer source, and the programming counts rotational speeds, so reprogramming the computer is not necessary when switching gears. Switching tire size requires reprogramming for proper operation.
Later on Explorers came with 3.73 gears, but not a direct swap (unless you are installing into a Ranger).
#12
12-14-2018, 09:47 AM
Lead Driver
#13
12-14-2018, 10:02 AM
Cargo Master
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