I need some advice.

I drive a 2001 Supercrew XLT 4 x 2 4.6 L engine 3.55 rear axle with trailer package. According to Ford, my trailer tow capacity is 6350 lbs. What can I do to increase the Towing capacity to say 8000 lbs? Please don't say I should have bought the 5.4 l engine, because you would be right. Is it worth my while to have the 4.6 removed and the 5.4 installed? Is it worth the trouble to get a new differential with the higher gear ratio of 3.73? What type of money am I looking at? Quote in US dollars accepted. I live in Toronto Canada, so I know the bottom line if I get this done will be expensive. - But probably cheaper than buying a new truck.

Don't get me wrong, I love my truck, It tows my tent trailer and car top boat at 110 kilometers all day and has delivered 19 - 20 MPG. I just purchased the extended warranty and intend to keep this truck until 2008. The price of gas has never bothered me as I knew I would be spending extra money to fill the tank when I first bought the truck. I paid $1.05 per litre in Northern Canada back in 2001.

I know that anything is possible if you have the time and money. What I want to know from you experts on this board, is it worth it to do the upgrades, or would I be better off to save my money and buy a larger truck. I am very interested in the new F250, but won't be in a position to buy one until at least 2008.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for your replies.

 

A new set of gears would help out, but not get you 8k towng cap. They are fairly inexpensive as well.

 

you can do whatever you want to get more horsepower but unfortunately you will never be registered to pull that type of weight. this isn't a problem until the MTO pull's you over, and yes they do pull over regular pickups to check just like the big semi's. i would just buy a supercharger and change gears and go from there. good luck

 

sorry to post twice, but the more i ithink about it the better you would be to just sell it or trade it on a bigger truck. because by the time you fork out all that money to upgrade the truck you could have put that money towards one that would work for you. a lot less headaches that's for sure.

 

I won't fluff this up or try to blow smoke up your pie-hole, save your money and get another truck if you want to tow 8k lbs.

For that weight, you will want a F-250 minimum with a P-Stroke and make you sure you get nothing smaller in number than 3.73 gearing.

Sorry, but you wanted a straight answer...

For your current setup - a gear swap would help, but then what about your tranny? Your suspension? Brakes? Why pour all that money into something that will only make it capable of doing the job?

I always recommend the 75% rule. That rule is very simple and goes like this, Don't exceed 75% of the max towing capacity for a vehicle and you can never go wrong..

Later,
Chris