7.5 and truckin' into winter weather

[valver]

Hey everyone. I know this has been beaten to death, and I've read many posts, but I've put together a solid plan and would like some solid opinions on my specific situation.

I have an '07 Duratec, 2WD, single cab, manual Ranger.

Love it to death. It's equipped with the regular old 7.5 rear end, 3:73 open rear end.

With winter coming, my plan is to get some Motive 4:10 gears and a Ford Trac Lok 7.5 differential (meant for an early Fox Mustang GT) and some larger winter tires.

I can get the gears and diff for about $400 shipped, and the local repair garage (run by a Mustang fanatic) will install them for me on the cheap.

I may go 235/75 r15, or even 31x10.5x15. Either way, I drive mainly in traffic, and enjoy low geared vehicles.

Any thoughts? Thanks so much for your time.

 

[dangerranger83]

Get a disk brake explorer 8.8 rear end and put the money into that rear end rather then the 7.5. You get 31 spline upgraded shafts and the bonus of disk brakes. You just have to relocate the spring perches and shock mounting points.

My buddy has the same rear end, engine, tranny and truck size as you and his engine loves the 373's it has and he is lowered and runs 17 inch low profile tires in the summer. He plans on doing the same swap but plands on keeping the 373s that most exploder rear ends have.

 

[dla]

Hey everyone. I know this has been beaten to death, and I've read many posts, but I've put together a solid plan and would like some solid opinions on my specific situation.

I have an '07 Duratec, 2WD, single cab, manual Ranger.

Love it to death. It's equipped with the regular old 7.5 rear end, 3:73 open rear end.

With winter coming, my plan is to get some Motive 4:10 gears and a Ford Trac Lok 7.5 differential (meant for an early Fox Mustang GT) and some larger winter tires.

I can get the gears and diff for about $400 shipped, and the local repair garage (run by a Mustang fanatic) will install them for me on the cheap.

I may go 235/75 r15, or even 31x10.5x15. Either way, I drive mainly in traffic, and enjoy low geared vehicles.

Any thoughts? Thanks so much for your time.

When you put LT235/15's on it with the stock 3.73s, 5th gear will be all but worthless until you are doing 75mph. The 4.10' gearing is a 10% change and will make it better. Better yet would be 4.30 - a 15% change. The jump from 4th to 5th is 20%, so driving around in 4th would give you an idea of what it would be like to run 4.56's (22% change). I personally feel that the 4cyl Rangers should be geared lower.

Whether or not you want to go 8.8 should be determined by what you want to do with the pickup. Junkyard 8.8's are a crap shoot quality-wise and you can easily top $1000 by the time you are done. Most of the guys who drive POC 1980's Rangers put in junk yard stuff for an improvement - in your case you would be going backwards unless you did a thorough rebuild.

 

[valver]

Thanks for the input. That makes sense. My truck currently has 18k miles on it, so I'm not in a huge hurry to start hitting up junkyards just yet.

I also like drums, they're light, minimal drag, good parking brakes.
I bought this truck as a parts hauler and bad weather companion to my Rabbit GTI. It's light, durable, zippy, good on gas, simple, parts can be found everywhere, and it has a bit more ground clearance!

Also, it sounds like 31's will be a bit much, so I'll likely be sticking with 235's.

 

[dangerranger83]

You can also get exploder rear ends that have drum brakes too and still have the upgraded 31 spline shafts. Or find yourself a newer 8.8 too.

 

[Gotta_gofast]

For what you intend to do a 31 spline explorer axle is a little overkill. lol

 

[four100d]

If you go with 31s, definitely go for the 4.56 gears. That's what I have with my 2.3 5spd and it drives just fine. You are thinking right now that you just want 235's, well if you later decide to go with 31s, you will almost need to re-gear again. I guess what I'm saying is make absolute sure what tire size you want, it would suck to change your mind 6 months down the road and have to re-gear, or regret your decision...

 

[valver]

Great feedback everyone!

Okay. So I'm staying with the 7.5, adding a Trac-Lok, and have found Motive and Richmond both make a 4:56 ring and pinion.

So tires. I like the BFG All Terrains, looked at some today, and with my new low gears I can choose from 235/75 R15, 30x9.5x15, and 31x10.5x15.

I would entertain the idea of lift spindles and shackles, blocks, or add-a-leafs in the rear if needed, but I would prefer not.

Again, I use this truck mainly for hauling car parts, getting around in bad weather, and city driving.

Any new thoughts? You guys are great, thanks again!

 

[Earl43P]

Sounds like you have a good plan.

I have 235/65-16s (28") on my 2000 2.5 5 speed with 4.10 open.
It's peppy but the 16" tires/rims are noticeably heavier than the stock 215/75-15s, which I think improved the ride.
I KNOW they improved the handling. If you don't already have a rear swaybar, grab one from any Ranger, any axle. Big improvement to your handling for dirt cheap.

No reason that 7.5 shouldn't last a good long time, locker is a bonus.

I wouldn't want any taller of a tire than what I've got on this rig. 4.56 with 30" may be a good combination. Use this Dakota tire calculator and play with the numbers. http://www.dakota-truck.net/TIRECALC/tirecalc.html

I also think 235/75-15s will fill the wheelwells up more to your satisfaction without compromising much in mpg and pep. In your case, it isn't worth going from 3.73 to 4.10. I'd go with the 4.56 just for the quick acceleration, since you city drive.

Git some. You'll be power-shifting into second, sliding expertly around corners, gittin' it.

 

[atrussell4]

Me Too

I'm doing the same mod for the same reason. Just joined the group and it's paying off on day one...

My nephew recommended I look as Summit Racing for the limited slip parts...but after reading your post...I'll pick up where you left off and see what I can find.

I have a 99 Ranger, 3.0 5 speed, 2-WD with 3.73 and 7.5 inch as well.

I live at 7000ft and there is 2 feet of snow in the driveway...

I need a better solution to dealing with random snow fall, and very light off roading...with 95 percent highway commuting...bigger snow worthy tires and a rear end upgrade from stock...

Tom
Albuquerque, NM