GEAARS

[Billings Lee]

What are the best gears for 35inch tires with the 351? How much do they cost? And whats the difficulty level for self installing???

Thanks

 

[green streak]

i think 4.10's would be good for you. if you tow or need more low end grunt, you could step up to 4.30's or 4.56's. i've installed gears in the rear end of an 8.8 on a mustang, but never in the front axle of a truck. i had a ford mechanic guide me step by step through the process so i would know how to do it if i ever wanted to again. the best piece of advice i could give is to let a reliable mechanic do it for you. i know what to do now and i think i could do the install myself, but even if you do everything by the book, if you set them just a hair off, you'll get whining and howling after the install and won't be happy. also, i bought frpp gears from ford and used ford friction modifier. maybe i'm just doubting my abilities, but if i ever put gears in another car or truck, i'm just gonna pay to have it done right the first time by someone who knows what they're doing. i'm looking through a 4wheel and off-road magazine right now and Genuine Gear has a special going on with front and rear gears with master kits for $429.99 with free shipping. i would say expect to pay somewhere around this amount for both front and rear ring and pinion. good luck.

 

[johnski]

the best piece of advice i could give is to let a reliable mechanic do it for you.

I'm with you on this one. Swapping gears is no easy task if you're going in blind. And, if you ***** it up, it'll just erase more money outta your wallet. Ask yourself this, do you have a hydraulic press, bearing puller or plate, dial indicator, lb.ft. and in.ft. torque wrenches? Do you know how to identify a proper wear pattern, and set preload and backlash? If this seems pretty foreign to you, have a shop do it.

 

[Bully Bob]

4:11's will get you 2,165 RPM @ 55 MPH.

 

[Justshootme84]

I recently bought 4.56:1 Genuine gears front and back from 4WheelPArts for just under $460. The ring & pinion sets are about $130 each, then add the install kits. Remember that you will need a new carrier for the ring gear up front for 4.10's or 4.56's if going from 3.54:1 stock gears. That adds another $80-$90. For the rear Ford 9", I pulled the center section (chunk) out of the axle as a whole unit, which you cannot do with the Ford 8.8". For that one, you pull the ring gear and carrier out the back, and the pinon gear separate. THe front axle chunk is rather heavy, and I had to remove the brake rotors, hubs, spindel and axle shafts. While I am experienced mechanically, I had a pro gear installer set up the new gears. I then re-installed the new "chunks". And after doing all of this work, I'm swapping to 1-ton axles from the F-350. Got to do all of the work again ,as these are now 3.55:1. JSM84