Hey everyone, im just looking for a little help, i have a 1997 Ford Ranger XLT 4.0 with stock gears (idk what size) with 31x10.50 pro comp mud terrians and i want to move to 33x10.50 BFG mud terrains, but i don't know what size gears to run, to get a little better gas milage out of it, what should i do?

 

4.10 is great for 33's......your fine with 3.73s. Best thing to do is determine your current ratio. And you do that by looking at that rear axle tag located on one of the differential cover bolts. Write down what you see, and we'll tell ya what you have.

 

well i took a look and the tab was pretty rusty and was hard to read , but it looked like 5354f 73887008, how do i determine what my gear ratio is from this?

 

I seem to not even be able to decode what you typed....



http://therangerstation.com/tech_library/Axles.html

 

i looked at mine and i dose not look like that either

 

Isnt it in the door as well.

Just write down what the tag says and let us know.

 

not their either

 

4.10s will be ok if you have a manual trans, if you have an automatic i would go with 4.56's.

3.73's will also be ok if you have a manual, but it will be somewhat slow from a dead stop.

 

you got to be jokin 4.56s would be over kill for a 4.0 on 33s

 

I'd love to have 4.56 with 33's... Even though I have 35's I'd still love to have 4.56s!

 

its called an automatic trans.

they get hot if they are not geared properly, as as everyone SHOULD know, heat/friction kills automatic clutch packs.

 

i still think it would be overkill

 

read the whole thing.

http://www.4lo.com/calc/geartable.htm

 

so according to that chart were both wrong, your one over and im one under but to my knowledge i dont think you can get 4.27s for a ranger

 

and if he wants better gas milage 4.10s would be better

 

I sure hope you are joking

My 4.0 w/ automatic transmission NEVER got hot with 33's and 3.73 gears. The hottest it ran, even in August, was 190*. Granted I had an aux cooler, but still.

My 4.0 w/ automatic transmission NEVER EVER got hot with 35's and 4.56 gears. The hottest it ran, even in August, was 150*.

Don't give advise like that again.



If you have the stock gearing at 3.73, it will be fine; just add an aux transmission cooler. The difference between 3.73 and 4.10 is marginal. Granted 4.10 gears are prime for 33's on a 4.0. I would suggest if you have 3.73 gears waiting to upgrade the gearing when you go to the next size tire. You should NOT run 35's on 3.73 gearing, that is just bad.

 

That's what I was waiting for... Some freakin numbers!

 

ok well please tell me why ford puts 4.10's on the autos and 3.73's on the manuals from the factory, i am talking about stock tire sizes also(29's).

 

There are more 4.0 automatics that have 3.73 gears from the factory than have 4.10's. My STOCK '97 Ranger had 3.73 gears and STOCK 31" tires. If anything, there are more 4.10 geared manual transmissions that roll off the assembly line than do auto's with 4.10s.

 

i got 4.10's and auto and a 31 spline axle and 31 inch tires! from what ive understood mine is kinda rare...

 

Most, if not all, FX4 ('02) and FX4 Level II ('03+) have 4.10 gears, no matter what transmission they have. However, the XLT, XL, Sport, Edge all had 4.10 gears as an option, espically with a 4.0 engine.

 

3.73's suck...i got em with my 33's, i cant go on the highway in 5th

 

Ok, w/e you say.

its not like you ever abused your truck anyways, so would you really know?

by abuse i mean towing things that are heavy and offroading(not splashing around in a mud hole, im taking about real offroading).

the lack of gearing will cause it to heat up super fast.

 

Then you had other problems, like the engine size. This thread is about a 4.0 with 3.73's and 33's, not a 3.0. Please keep your comments out of the thread.

 

wow way to sound like an ***, this is a public forum.

last time i checked any member could openly post in this part of the message board.