Axle and gear swap

[F84R]

Hey guys so My buddy has a 2wd 2000 ranger supercab with 2.5 and 5spd with 4.10 and stock tires and he has a really bad rear end noise. Narrowed it down to bearings but the cost to have the bearings done isnt something he can afford. So we are looking at rear axle assemblies to swap in because we can do that much. However, We have located a couple of diffs for 250+ tax but they are 3.73 ratio. How would this change his rig as far as economy and power? He currently only gets about 20mpg. He tows at most a 14ft starcraft aluminum boat and trailer so nothing terribly heavy but as it is tough to get up to speed.

Also curious about switching my gears out too. I have a 2002 2wd 2.3 5spd supercab and @ 70mph im sitting right around 3k rpm. What would it change if i went to 3.73? I currently have stock tires at 225 70 15.

 

[YungICY]

This is a complete guess but I would think that his mpgs would go increase slightly with that higher geared diff. But as I'm sure you're aware of it will through off his speedometer. As far as towing he should be fine. I have the 3.08 diff (which I hate and am planning on swapping for a 3.73) and I can tow up 500lbs decently (mines an 85 2.3l with maybe 80hp and my tires are 4.5 inches taller than stock.)



As for yours it just depends on gears you have right now. Gear down (higher number eg. 4.56) the engine has to turn faster. Gear up (eg. 3.08) engine turns slower. But keep in mind that the higher you gear it the harder your engine has to work to get up to speed and maintain speed.


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