I have a 1994 reg cab long box heavy half f-150. It has the 5.0 engine with the 4R70W transmission, and 3.31 gears in the rear. I have 31 X 10.5 X 15 tires on it. I am unhappy with the performance of the truck and am looking for more power. The most obviouse choice would be to put smaller tires on it, but I like my big tires (It makes my truck look meaner!). Have any of you had experience with replacing the ring and pinion on a truck with a different size? I was thinking of putting in either 4.10 or 3.73 but am not sure which one to choose from.

Thanks

 

I had a 94 Lightning... I recommend one of them... good truck!

 

if you want to keep the tires then I think the 3.73 would be good. if you only care about power and dont put that many highway miles on it then the 4.11 might be a good choice. it just depends on how you drive it and what you want to get out of it. when you gain power you give up economy in most cases.



Bruce

 

I wouldn't go any lower than 3.73's. I have the same size tires as you on my truck, and I run 3.55 gears, which are fine. If I had an automatic tranny, I'd go with 3.73's, so they might be best for you.

My '69 Chevelle SS ended up with a posi 12 bolt with 4.11's, and that was a lot of fun to drive, but that's an entirely different story. lol.

 

The 3.31's aint helpin, but 3.55s are good for 31-33's. 3.75s would be fine too. A lot of highway drivin would start to hurt with 4.10s

Adrianspeeder

 

Well for starters Gears don't add power, but yes you will feel a difference in performance. 3.73's are usually a good choice all around. But if you are truely wanting power then try changing some things. First off is the truck Mass Air? Maybe do a quick cam change, or go for some after market heads and intake. What exhasut do you have, stock?

So to sum it up Gears help but not an aswer for more power
Look on Ebay or where ever. You should be able to snag up some performance parts for a SBF pretty cheap.

 

i have 3.73's and 31's with 5.8 and E4OD. I have good torque and still can do highway's good. I did notice a little drop in performance vs. the 235/75's but these look a lot better without much sacrifice for a daily driver.

 

Ok, everything on the truck is stock... so far. My buddy is getting rid of his truck and I will be putting on his K&N air filter, and when I do that I plan on cleaning my MAF Sensor as well as taking my Throttle Body off and cleaning that one (I found a step by step guide on www.fordf15.net under there "How to" section). I also would like to take out my crank drive fan and install an electric one. Just because I've noticed that my fan is made of metal, and throwing around that much weight I've heard can eat up a few horses. And then when I'm done with all of that, I plan on putting in a rear locker in the truck. And plus I looked at my front end, and I do not see an easy way to take the diff apart. So I am hoping that doing the things above will help increase my performance enough to where I don't think I'll need to put in a different gear ratio.

Thanks everyone for your input.

 

Gears would put more torque to the wheels, but the cost to do both ends adds up.

I have stock tires on my truck, 3.31s, 4x4.

There are quite a few things you can do to get more power out of the 302, but with the 3.31s you're only going to gain so much.

I've done intake mods, exhaust, ignition, and underdrive pulleys. The truck is a good deal quicker than it used to be, and gained enough low rev power that it pulls better without a need to get in the gas hard enough to cause a downshift.

I got a Jacobs ignition with the hot coil and multi spark box. It worked great, improved MPG, low end torque and allowed monster gaps. Having said that I've now fried two of them, both replaced under warranty as box failures. With the trigger type hookup it didn't leave me stranded, but if I had to do it again I think I'd buy another companies box the next time.

Underdrive pulleys straight from Ford Racing. Cheap (I think I paid a little over $100 at the local dealer for powder coated), easy to install, and some gain that you could notice. I got a little better mileage (about .5 mpg). No cooling problems, and for someone like me no charging problems. If you run extra stero gear, tow a lot or otherwise run extra lights and such, or make a lot of really short trips you might have charging concerns. On my truck with lights and AC on charge fell to just about holding it's own at idle. Once you even breathed on the gas pedal charge was up to the same point as before the pulleys.

Intake helped a little, no gain that I could find in MPG. I modded the factory box and put a drop in K&N in it. Kept the cool air tube and did some drilling on the box away from the heat sources.

Exhaust is a SS Gibson side swept single exit. Helped a little with midrange punch and a little in the MPG department. My stock exhaust was on the verge of needing some work so the stainless was simply a matter of not wanting to redo it later.


I might add that with current gas costs, some of these mods will pay for themselves in fuel savings over time, and eventually help keep money in your pocket.

 

You can snag up a set of headers from summit racing really cheap, under 200 for long tubes. If you are going to get more air into the engine you need to get it out. That would help. I did an electric fan swap on mine, good investment, I would recommend. If you are trying to keep decent MPG then the more efficient you make the engine the better off you will be all around. More power and better fuel economy. And definatly change out the stock exhaust, at least the crap on my 351 was pretty much junk, cramming all that thorugh a 2 1/4 inch pipe