Ok guys...as i have said before i am wanting to lift my truck 3" and probably some 32s(maybe swamper SSR Radials or TSL Radials) and i am sure i am going to have to re-gear for optimal driveability since its my dd. my truck is a '99 3.0 2wd w/the 7.5" w/3.73 gears. can i re-gear this rear end, what gears do i need(4.10s maybe?) and around how much will it run me...

i know yall are gonna tell me to search but i have SATs tomm and dont have the time. thanks

 

I say 4.10's would be good. Gears alone would be about $130. Then you need the master install kit, which is about $70. If you can install and set them up yourself, you can save yourself about 3-4 hours of shop labor at about $75-100 an hour.

 

thanks...and for lack of time to search the web....where could i order these from?

 

I recommend either www.summitracing.com or www.jegs.com or www.randysringandpinion.com

 

ok thanks...whenever i can get a summer job, this is goin on there lol

 

swapping in an axle will be easier. I did the explorer axle swap with 4.10's I still have to re-gear the front end (the 9th I'll be getting my locker) but its cheaper and easier to do than changing out gears. Plus the 7.5 isn't thats strong compared to the 8.8.

 

what all would i have to do as in like custom fitting or does it bolt up? just wondering

 

You better know exactly what your doing if you plan on installing them yourself. Gears is something I dont mess with.

 

ok but what is involved in swapping to an 8.8. tools is no problem b/c my dad owns a mechanic shop and i have a lift there to jack up my truck as well so anybody???

 

you have to know how to set the backlash or some **** i dont know but its not somthing you should do unless you really know what your doing, i mean unless you have money to keep rebuilding the rearends your gona blow up.. either find some one that really knows what they are doing or pay a shop to do it (that way you can blame then when it blows up lol).

 

his dad is a mechanic cant you read holy crap give the kid a break i dont really think you need to regear for 32s but if your guna i wouldnt go any lower than 4.10s. it would save you some money if you wouldnt have to buy gears

 

i would do 4.30s(i think thats only in a 8.8) though.
but swapping axles from a 7.5 to a ranger 8.8 shouldnt be more than disconnecting the drive shaft, brakes, springs and shocks, and then bolting everything back up.

with the explorer 8.8 you will get 31spline axles, 1.5" wider rear end(per side i think), and possibly 4.10s and a limited slip already installed.

but regardless of which axle you use, i would replace all the seals and bearings so everything is new.

i have a 4.0L 33"s and 4.56 gears, at about 75mph im pushin 2800rpm... seems high, but believe it or not i am getting 17-18mpg still.
with 4.30s i would have been at a lower rpm at highway speeds and possibly getting better highway mileage.

 

4.30?? i have never heard of that and he is only running 32s he doesnt need more than 3.73 or 4.10 are you trying to kill his gas mileage go with 4.10 like maurice said or keep your 3.73s and drive it like that for a while a see if you like it. i have 3.27s in my truck and i get 20 to 21 with a mix of highway and city driving. if you do the math for new gears. i currently have 235/75/15 and i want to goto 33s so its 33/28.9 = 1.14148x3.27= 3.73391 so when i get 33s im guna run 3.73 gears so you shouldnt have to change out your gears if you want to save some extra cash. i know for me its all about saving money and if i had 3.73s stock i would run 32 or 33s and not touch them if your doing alot of highway driving you will like the increase in gas mileage.

 

4.30s is for 2wd 8.8s

 

but he can someone agree with me he doesnt need to change if he wants to save some money

 

He doesn't have to change, but it won't hurt anything if he does. Gears aren't that expensive, its the labor to install them thats pricy.

 

3.73 n 32's are alright
4.10 would be better but its not gonna make a huge diff.

 

Back to your 8.8 question . All you have to do for the explorer 8.8, is put the spring perches on top of the axle tubes, the ranger 8.8 is a bolt in swap. The explorer has the 31 spline axles though. The swap really isn't that difficult. You will also have to fab some new shock mounts, if you use a 8.8 out of an explorer. I ran 3:73's in my Explorer with 32x10.5x15 TSL Radials for a while, and it wasn't too terrible.

 

ha running a 4.30 gear wouldnt kill his gas mileage at all.. he has a smaller v6, putting a lower gear in the rear end would take some stress off the transmission and get up to speed quicker and still be close to factory rpms at freeway speeds.