3.73 with 33's.. what to expect
 

I've been searching the forums here for awhile now, and have searched up some pretty good information about gearing with different set ups. I just want some personal input on what 33's will be like with factory 3.73 gears. Here is what i have.. 99 4x4 XLT with automatic transmission, factory 3.73 8.8 L/S differential. It's basically a stock 4x4 Ranger for now but my plans were to Superlift it with 33's, I'm about all ready to buy the lift kit and wheels/tires. I already know the 33's will bog the 3.73's some, but exactly how bad? and is it okay to run this set up, honestly? I'd appreciate whatever information you guys have.. Thank you

I should have mentioned in the first post, and I'd like to add.. that my truck won't be used much for wheelin' or offroad use. It's just a driver, not my daily driver but will see mostly the road. I hoped mine had the stock 4.10's in it but when i crawled under my truck to check the tag unfortunetly found out that it didn't have 4.10's.. let me know what you guys think

what motor?

4.0L V6

shouldnt be to bed

like I said in the pm's it wont be to bad. fine in town slightly slower on freeway.. if your not wheeling you wont be to upset about the loss in power

you aint gonna see a big difference. i have the same engine, 31s and steel wheels with 3.55 gear and im really not complainin. didnt loose too much power at all. although when i do upgrade to 33s ill be going to a 4.10 or 4.30 gear.

i have a 3 liter turning my 33s T 3.73 ratio. not too nad daily driving. not to hot on the freeway and im afraid to break something if i beat on it

welcome to a 3.0L ;)

shouldn't pose much of a threat to my transmission?

no. get a trans temp gauge anyways always good to have to know whats going on with the trans. i like mine nice knowing whats going on

Do you have the tow package (i.e. a transmission cooler)?

to be honest, i don't know about the trans cooler. how do i find out?

look into the front grill if you see a small cooler on the passenger side you have it

i'll have to look in the a.m. when it's light out here. what benefits does the trans cooler give? just keep it at more adequate temperature?

This is good to know I should check for this myself, But Ya I have pretty much the same setup as you 33s and a 3" body lift, except mine is 3.73 open diff. Its not to bad but it gets annoying after awhile, You definitely can tell the engine has to work harder to get up to speed, and highway driving stinks with this setup IMO going up any slopes is not fun. but around town its fine. I'm getting ready to regear to 4.10 L/S, which should pretty much bring me back to a stock feel, and the L/S will be nice. I can't wait!

Go 4.56 L/S you wont be dissappointed !

I'm already in line to get some 4.10 axles. plus 4.56 would be crazy on the Highway. your rpms will be very high and annoying at speed. with just 33s

you will be fine

i checked, i do have a trans cooler up front. do they help quite abit?

If your setup were to work your engine significantly harder, which I seriously doubt it will, I expect the load to take itself out on the transmission, overheating it and increasing wear. The transmission cooler will help keep the temperatures down when you run extra power through the transmission (i.e. towing).

I have a '98 4.0l 33'' tires 3.73 open diff and I personally think 4.10s would be better but entirely its not that bad. hums at about 2800 rpms on the freeway doing 70 which isnt bad, usually has to upshift 2 gears if your going up a decent hill though....but hell we dont have 350's in our trucks! What do you expect!

I have 265/75/16 (32") destination mt's on mine with 2" shackles and keys turned up, 3.73 open and I do about 2000 @ 70ish, and about 2500 around 75ish. according to a gearing and tire height calculator if I go up to a 4.56 on the highway it will boost my rpm by about 500, as if i were doing 75 with a 3.73.
To be honest I like the way my truck runs at 75 better than 70, because it has enough hp and torque at 75 to hold the OD nice and solid, where at 70 its drop out of it on every moderate hill. So if you have an auto-OD even a 4.56 should be more than livable on the highway.
Now when it jumps out of OD, or around town, the numbers say it will be a little more radical. I know with a 3.73 out of OD at 70, it jumps up to between 2800 and 2900, and the calculator says with a 4.56 that will go all the way up to 3440, which on the throttle I'm sure would be around 3500ish.
It might suck some more gas and be a touch less conservative, but nothing that I would call radical, considering fx4's have an inch shorter tire than I do with a 4.10 ratio stock!
A 4.56 gearing on 33's would be only slightly quicker and revier than a stock fx4. I know if I'm going to spend a grand or whatever it runs nowdays to change out my gearing, I wouldn't waste my time doing a 4.10 on 33's which is still a taller gearing than the shortest stock offering, the fx4. A couple miles per gallon and a few more rpm is a small price to pay for the kickass acceleration and easier load on your tranny.

just my 2 cents,
Brett:gluck[1]:

As a matter of fact, a guy has a set of 4.56 front and back in the classified for 500+shipping, yukon with yukon master install kits

go 5.13s front and rear. mark my words, you wont regret it!! its so awsome!!! just got mine in today and i love it!!