My truck has 3.55 gears and I am wanting to put a small lift and 33" all terrains on it. My driving is mostly around town, dirt roads, and highway, but occasional off-road. Would my gears be ok, or should I consider something else? I don't want it to feel slower with bigger tires on it, or have it feel like it has lost any torque.

 

Your gears would be fine, you will lose speed and power and decrease gas mileage.I have 33's with each weighing at 75 pounds. I have t the 3.73 gear ratio. My truck is barely a year old and I really don't want to spend on the gears yet as they could be from 500-1500?? I have noted a loss of performance and mpg but improved traction and confidence is what I like. Your 3.55 is not that much different than the 3.73 I would go to 4.10 and no less. Don't go to 3.73 as you will not see a HUGE improvement. 4.10 or up if you REALLY want to see a difference in torque but your highway revs would be High. It's a compromise. I think you would be happy with 4.10.Good Luck.

 

I have a 2000 5.4 4x4 it came with 3.55 gears. I upgraded my truck to 33" tires and 4.10 gears and it is much better. However if I had to do it over I would get 4.56's.

 

Really, try the 33" tires w/ 3.55 gear. Some people don't even notice any differences. If you decide to swap gears, 4.10 min. Skip 3.73, only 5% difference from 3.55. Not worth changing gears for that little amount.

 

What is the cost of changing gear ratios front and back?

 

it varies from regions, but $300-600 per axle

 

I got lucky with my gear swap. Only had to spend about $800 total for the front and back. I bought the gears and then had a local ford dealer mechanic that works on stuff at home to do the gear swap. The dealership I bought my truck from put 6" lift and 315/75/16 tires on a truck with only 3.31 gears. I had 4.56's put in it and it was a major difference.