Ive been running 35 in tires on a 4.6 truck with 3.55s for about 4 months now and Ive decided I need to get serious about fixing it before i have transmission issues.

here are my questions:
-what brand do you recommend? why?
-what should i expect to pay for parts?
-is $1,100 too much for install ONLY
-would i be silly to do one axel at a time? (no 4x4 for a bit of course)

My Ford dealer really wants to do the install and they said if i brought the gears they would install both the front and rear gears, reprogram the pcm, and warranty the labor for one year/12000mi

It sounds steep compaired to other posts ive seen but i cant find anyone cheaper that i trust...

 

What brand? Yukon or Ford Racing. I have had both and had great success with them. Ford Racing dosen't make reverse cut sets for many ratio's though.

Price for parts? I think I paid 280 for the front and 300 something for the rear set. Ring and Pinion only. try this. they had the best prices that I could find. www.accuautoparts.com The Pinion bearings were around $40 and the crush sleeve $7. That's all I bought. Oh and the gear oil will run you around $50-75 for both.

That price seems a little high but with the warranty maybe not.

By all means do one axle at a time. I did the same thing. This way you can test out the new gear ratio and make sure your happy with it before you go to the trouble of doing the front axle also.

I just put some red electrical tape over my 4x4 switch so I didn't engage it by accident.
or you could unplug the switches.

 

i have been running 35's w/ my 4.6 for almost a year. i have the 3.73 LS. i did an intake (k&n 63) and a vmp tuned xcal 2. truck is almost as fast as a stock 5.4 other than low end (below 2k-2300 rpm) truck is much more drivable w/ the tune and does not shift in and out on hills nearly as bad as it used to. i would try a tuner before spending all the money on a regear

 

Are you able to use o/d right now at all? Gears are definitely the only way your truck will regain its low end torque. Programmer and intake are good but dont provide the same power difference that gears will. Doing one axle at a time is not a big deal and i also recommend ford racing or yukon brand gears. With 35's i would run 4.56 ratio.

 

A regear is more expensive but it will make a bigger improvemnet than a tuner.

Just my experience.

It will be worth it.

 

I Got Motive Performance Gears in mine and i havent had any problems with it. i Also Paid 1000 for my install and $600 for all my parts, i got front and rear 4.88's and master install kits shipped to my house for $600 flat. I Bought them from Ron's Machining Service, this is my Third time buying from him, i bought two sets for my ranger before and now this set. He is an awesome guy to deal with and it takes him about 2 days to get you your stuff. Shoot him a call and tell him Matt From Chicago sent you. his number is 1 800 694 3098.

I have absolutely no noise from the gears or anything. They are wonderful

 

i have motives too with no problems, they are much cheaper than most other brands. if you do the fronts and rears seperately, you may end up paying more for the labor in the end, but if money is tight now then you may not have a choice

 

damnit, now you guys have me wondering about doing the 1 axle at a time thing


but I really would prefer to do 'em both at once...might go shopping around this afternoon at the install shops

 

I've heard good things about Yukon and Precision.

I've had shops quote $1600 for everything, when I called Ford they wanted $2400, so yours doesn't sound too bad. You can get the gears for around 500 from reiderracing.com.

I would do both axles at the same time and be done with it. Don't have to worry about forgetting you don't have 4wd. Don't have to be without your truck for a 2nd time. Both will be under warranty for the same time period. But that's up to you...

What are thinking of going with, 4.56's?

 

its great at about 55 or so but if i go any faster than that it slips out of overdrive a lot....i'm not really interested in a programer. i know most people do fine with them but with my luck i dont want ANY risk. i do plan to run 4.56 gears.

 

it sounds like motive is my most cost effective option. they told me they would honor the price all at once or one at a time , but with it being winter now, i may just wait till spring and do it all at once. then i can keep my 4x4 and save some money

 

ya if your going to keep the 35's the 4:56's are your best option.

Just FYI 05_sprcrw has a set of ford racing 4:56's for sale. rear only.

 

i got my motives from nationaldrivetrain.com and it came with a free mini install kit. im not sure if they are still doing that but they still have decent prices. summit also has motives in stock.