I am getting the 3:73s put in my L as we speak but they (installers) said that there is something unusal about the housing. They said that the gears (ford parts) are for 99.5-02 Ls and mine (1999L) was made with an earlier rear end. They said that I have to get a kit that will make it so the gears will fit but I was wondering if there is anyone out there that has done the gear swap that has run into this problem.

Thanks
Damon

 

ttt

 

I haven't heard of any problems with the 3.73's. I just had the 4.10's put in and that did take a few extra shims etc... but the 3.73's should not be a big problem.

 

When I bought gears for my fathers 99 the place where I bought the gears said there were 2 different types of pinion bearings?? I really don't remeber but one was smaller than the other.

 

there are two different types of pinion spacers or crush sleeves.
one is a collapsable crush sleeve and the other is just a solid pinion spacer that slides on the pinion instead of the crush sleeve. ford carries both and they both give you a different pinion depth depending on which housing you have. this is probably where your problem is at.

 

My 3.73's should be arriving today! How long would it take an experienced mechanic/shop to do the complete install on these? Just wondering how many hours I should be expecting to pay for. Thanks

 

I had the same problem. I got mine done at ford. They gave me the right set up under warranty