call ford with your VIN and ask 'em what gears you have originally

 

try this vin decoder.
http://www.ford-trucks.com/vin-decoder/index.php
If it doesent work there are lots of others... google.

 

The axle ratio is not in the VIN. Crawl under and read the tag attached to the diff, post what you see.

 

A gear swap will probably be the best mod you can do for towing.

2WD - 4.30
4WD - 4.56

 

35157w L101050A25

 

What! You have an F250. Did I miss that? Oh duh, it's in the title of the thread, my bad.

 

You have 4.10 limited slip.

 

get a procharger p-1sc, they come intercooled, you can find them used for 2k bucks give or take and they're bolt on....can put it on in half a day and will add alot more power then the hot eaton off the Lightning. The 5.4 isn't enough motor for a super duty....they don't like to tow....its common...gears won't help a ton....its a heavy truck towing a 23' trailer with 260hp.........

 

don't just slap a sc w/o a custom tune-lack of towing power won't be your only problem

 

No no no lol.

I'll take a roots eaton blower over a procharger any day for towing. Power and torque is just above idle. With a pc, you have to wait for it lol.

Where do these guys come from??

 

What are your towing performance expectations? Is it because it drops down to 2nd gear on the grades? Is it that it can't hold speed in OD? What speed do you expect to cruise at? How much does this 23' 5th wheel actually weigh?

I don't recall off the top of my head when the SD's got the 'PI' headed 5.4's?? The F150's got them in 1999, but I think the SD's got them later? (230hp compared to 260hp)

Actually, I like my 1997 5.4 more then a 1999 'PI' headed 5.4... Not sure why, but when I drove a buddies brand new 1999 F150 with the 5.4 it was nice and made me really want one, but I ended up with my current 1997 model and while we never went head to head with each other, I couldn't really tell any difference in power?? (yes, it's very subjective, and was a looooong time ago, but I'm just saying.... )

I know when I hitch up my #5000 TT, my truck works a lot harder to tow it... I cross over the Cascades on I5 a lot with it and I'm in 2nd gear, but I expect it, so I'm fine with it...

What have you towed with in the past to make you think your current rig is lacking? Granted, a 5.4 equipped F250 is not going to tow like a V10 or oil burner equipped rig, but it'll hold it's own for what it is....

If you want to bomb up the grades @ 70 mph, then you need a Turbo Diesel plain and simple... No add on power adders is going to make your 5.4 do that....

Just sayin'....

Mitch

 

does this truck have larger than stock tires by any chance???

 

Horse & Torque

Non PI - 235 @ 4250 RPM ~ 335 @ 3000 RPM

The PI - 260 @ 4500 RPM ~ 350 @ 2500 RPM

PI with "Roots" Blower - 360 @ 4750 RPM ~ 440 @ 3000 RPM



Hey Mitch

Hey Jer

Hey Jer, isn't there something you can do with a PC to make it compatible with the Eaton off the line, from a towing aspect ?

BTW- The F250 wasn't PI'ed until 01 I believe. I think the E vans were as well ? Well, the 4six was, -that's a positive.

 

Hey Brew

Your DJ stickers are real interesting! I mean, your 98 has a lower GVWR then the 01, but has a higher Front GAWR and a slightly lower Rear GAWR...

And.... compared to my 97, your 98 has the same GVWR and same Front GAWR as mine, but I only have a #3250 Rear GAWR!! (I wonder if they were setup to be snow plows???? Mine did originate from Canada.... Humm...)

I've got the same 9.75" rear end, so I wonder what the difference is between all the years? How many leaf springs does your 98 have? My 97 only has 3... That's probably the difference right there!

I just know that when I did try to load about a 'ton 'o' bricks' in the bed when I first got the rig, it totally went to the rear bump stops! That's when I added the overloads and never looked back!

I'm sure my 9.75" rear is the same as all the others, but I've always wondered about the low rating on it.....

I'm sure I exceed it by a tad when I'm towing the trailer, but what the heck... It's got over 200,000 miles on it and no issues... Can't argue with that!

Mitch

 

mitch the front weight may be from the longer torsions on 97-98