mkirsch wrote: All I was trying to demonstrate was that 4.10 is not always the right choice. I suspect that it is not the right choice in far more cases than my little corner case here, too.
The point of re-gearing is to give you the ability to run in overdrive at highway speeds without shifting.
If you still can't run in overdrive after going to a 4.10, you wasted your money, and you're going to waste a lot more down the road in higher fuel bills and wear and tear on the engine.
Not necessarily. When towing I don't use OD with 4.10s because I want to be able to have reserve power available to set the cruise and not have it shift at every little hill. Yes it may decrease mpg a smidgen but makes for a more relaxing drive. The 4.10 axle actually puts my engine at an rpm while in OD not towing to improve milage.
On my '94 I almost never used OD even when not towing because it decreased my mpg and was a powerless slug yet did fine towing -without OD.
Rubiranch wrote: I have two 3/4 ton pickups, one with 3.54s and one with 4.10s.
I live at 4200 ft and and sedom if ever camp any lower so everything is up hill from here.
I much prefer the 4.10s for towing.
Are both diesel? What is the fuel mileage difference between them? I have 3:54's and am contemplating either 3:73's or 4:11's
I have an 01 Dodge CTD auto that I switched over from 3.55's to 4.10's. I don't do much with it other than tow so I never check the mileage running empty. I haven't noticed much if any difference towing. Doesn't matter as for me it is a tow vehicle first and foremost. Because I can't go anywhere without climbing a mountain where I live, 4.10's are the way to go. Also the 4.10 ratio allows me to tow comfortably at 60 mph in OD without lugging the engine and putting more stress on the tranny. My truck is stock and I see you have an upgraded TC and VB, but you are also running an EZ so it is probably a wash when it comes to stress.
"Never trust a man who has not a single redeeming vice" WSC
mkirsch wrote: All I was trying to demonstrate was that 4.10 is not always the right choice. I suspect that it is not the right choice in far more cases than my little corner case here, too.
The point of re-gearing is to give you the ability to run in overdrive at highway speeds without shifting.
If you still can't run in overdrive after going to a 4.10, you wasted your money, and you're going to waste a lot more down the road in higher fuel bills and wear and tear on the engine.
Not necessarily. When towing I don't use OD with 4.10s because I want to be able to have reserve power available to set the cruise and not have it shift at every little hill. Yes it may decrease mpg a smidgen but makes for a more relaxing drive. The 4.10 axle actually puts my engine at an rpm while in OD not towing to improve milage.
On my '94 I almost never used OD even when not towing because it decreased my mpg and was a powerless slug yet did fine towing -without OD.
If you can tow a fiver with a Ford Ranger V6 in OD, I'd be surprised....even with 4.10s.
BenK wrote: I don't tow in OD, even with the 4.11's.
any automatic tranny's OD is weaker than the direct drive (1:1) gear.
Okay when not heavily loaded, but when towing heavy, I want it in the strongest
gear set, not one of the weaker ones.
I find this hard to believe since to my knowledge that's not the case with the Ford 4R100 tranny which I have. Of course I also have the best performance tranny made and the smoke test for one right out of the gate was while the owner was driving around 40 to 50 mph the builder reaches over and says "hang on" and slams the tranny into first. Once the rear tires stopped squealing the builder says "YEP, IT'S WORKING FINE".
Larry
2001 standard box 7.3L E-350 PSD Van with 4.10 rear and 2007 Holiday Rambler Aluma-Lite 8306S Been RV'ing since 1974. TRAILER MODS
mkirsch wrote: All I was trying to demonstrate was that 4.10 is not always the right choice. I suspect that it is not the right choice in far more cases than my little corner case here, too.
True, 4.10 was NOT the right choice for me. For me, 4.56 was the right choice. Actually, 4.88 would have been better, BUT, my truck doesn't have OD!
mkirsch wrote: The point of re-gearing is to give you the ability to run in overdrive at highway speeds without shifting.
If you still can't run in overdrive after going to a 4.10, you wasted your money, and you're going to waste a lot more down the road in higher fuel bills and wear and tear on the engine.
That is not the point of changing the gearing. My truck doesn't even have an OD gear and it benefitted greatly from changing axle gearing. Axle gearing is torque multiplication. With only 325 ft-lbs available from the motor, my truck needed all the torque multiplication it could get, and it got it.
The secret to towing is called a turbo diesel engine. I have the Dmax with 3:73 and it handles our 10K # 5'er (re: signature) without breakin a sweat (shifting). Reasonable fuel mileage at 14-15 MPIG would suffer if I geared up to a 4:10 ratio. If your truck works with what you have don't fix it....................
Rubiranch wrote: I have two 3/4 ton pickups, one with 3.54s and one with 4.10s.
I live at 4200 ft and and sedom if ever camp any lower so everything is up hill from here.
I much prefer the 4.10s for towing.
Are both diesel? What is the fuel mileage difference between them? I have 3:54's and am contemplating either 3:73's or 4:11's
They are both gas and the engines are within 10 ci of each other.
The 4.10 gets a little over 1 mpg than the 3.54s, the big difference is pulling long grades while towing. Most of them I cN go up in high gear with the 4.10s but with the 3.54s I have to knock it down a gear half way up the hills.
TV: Mint 1972 Ford F-250 XLT
TT: 1969 19' Excel; entertains 6, feeds 4, sleeps 2 You don't shoot to kill, you shoot to stay alive.
I don't carry because I have to, I carry because I get to. I like new things-
- when they're 40 years old! My pictures
Here's my rule of thumb and I appreciate knowledgeable replies on it:
If you are going to be near maximum gross weight, you are very likely to be towing in a lower gear REGARDLESS of what rear end you have.
In that case go with the lower 3.whatever rear end, as that will allow your engine to spin a little bit slower.
If you are towing at that magical 80% of max figure, then the higher 4.whatever rear end helps the TV shift into high gear where you can cruise along fat, dumb and happy.
I'm not afraid to make my engine work, but driving straight through for 12 hours in third gear makes me think I'd save a LITTLE gas and a LITTLE wear and tear if I could let the motor spin a couple of hundred RPM less.
But to be honest, the rear end gears are a relatively small change compared to the different gears in the transmssion.
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