3.0L needs help getting through the mountains.
 

I went camping this weekend and on the way there I had to go through mountains and hills and all that. My truck has a little bit done to it but it struggled really bad getting through these hills. OD obviously isn't going to get me anywhere in the mountains. 4th was useless going up anything even slight inclines and would have to kick in to 3rd and it still struggled in third. it would slowly accelerate but it would be running at like 4800RPM and continue up. I've got 32's and 4:10 gears. Catback JBA exhaust, UD pulleys, UD Coil pack, autolite double plats gapped at .065", UD plug wires, MAF mod, airbox mod...

I'm assuming its because of the gears. My buddy has a 4.0 and he has 3:27s and he was doing alright through the hills, not great but he wasn't having to scream in 3rd.

Well, partly the gears fault....4.56 would pull those 32's a lot better,
especially wtih a 3.0 engine. Your buddy has a 4.0 with considerably
more torgue, that's why he was eating up the hills.

I would go to 4.56 gears if you like the 32 inch tires, or you could
go down to 31 inch or even 30 inch and keep the 4.10 gears.
Not a perfect solution, for sure, but life's always a compromise.....

Lets see... 3.0 with an automatic and 32's. Yea its gonna be SLOW!

If you get your truck tuned you will notice a difference as well. Try to come across an 8.8 31 Spline axle, it's stronger then the 7.5 and worth modding. You can get a good one that has 4.10's and a L/S to help you out with some traction. Then later down the road upgrade to 4.56 if you think you would need it. Just my .02 cents.

i have an 8.8 28 spline with 4.10s now.

I would say gearing is the main problem. Assuming you had 235s stock, a 32 on your truck is the equivalent of a 34 on a stock 4wd. That's enough to kill anyone's power without a regear. You would benefit greatly from switching to 4.56 gears.

Really helpful post there.

lmao

Haha ok that post didn't help at all but I mean come on now. A 3.0 isnt the fastest to begin with and with an automatic its even worse. Then to throw on 32's doesn't help much just on flat ground. Then try to hit some mountains, you are going to have some troubles. 4.10's or not your truck is going to struggle a good bit on the mountains.

This is why i blew my motor. and This is also another reason i did the 5.0 mod

LoL, if you really want some extra power I know someone who is selling a Whipple supercharger!

I'd love to do the Ranger FX4 Level 2 mod that way I would have the 4.0. But I don't think my parents will let me get a new truck.

Get the Whipple mention above and you will be putting more horsepower to the wheels than a stock 4.0. With the mods you already have, you would probably put more to the wheels than a 4.0 does at the crank.

Mine did that too, I just kept the pedal down and delt with it. It hated to run 80 even more. Sucks driving from NC to TX and can barely keep up with traffic.

You were also running 32s with 4.10s. 32s are a big increase from 28.x 235s. 4.56 gears will put you extremely close to stock power.

well I would love to get the whipple but the FX4 would have 4wd and power everything...

dude im running into that same problem lol im running 31's and 3.73 rear end

and the whipple would be sweet since i have the 3.0 too but its just to darn expensive lol

correct me if Im wrong and please back up the info... but Ive always heard that 4.10's were more than enough for 32's.

Ive been up to our mountains here in Carolina and my truck didnt have a problem. it wanted to go into 5th the whole time but when I hit the right grade it would stay in 4th and Id pass people up the whole mountain.