Gear Change

[john.masce]

I have a 97 Ranger 2.3 5 Spd the gears are so tall that I hardy ever put it into 5th gear, and on the freeway its a dog. I would love to swap out the gears is it worth it, please help.

John

 

[scotts90ranger]

fastest and cheapest way is to just get a junkyard axle assuming you don't have 4.10 gears right now... you are unlikely to find an axle with lower than that in the yard..

 

[adsm08]

I'm with scott. The fastes way to do it is to find a JY axle with 4.10s. I really doubt that you already have 4.10s, 4.10 gears and "is a dog on the highway" don't usually go together.

 

[scotts90ranger]

they do with 31's and a 2.3... believe me, even with the turbo...

 

[strvger]

also try looking here on TRS and craig's list. and i would go for the 4.10's as well. assuming yours is 2 wheel drive, even if you have to buy a new set of gears, you'll find it well worth the investment... imho.

 

[scotts90ranger]

for stock tiny tires, I wouldn't suggest 4.10's, I've had several gear and tire combo's over the years, I had decent luck with the 3.73's and the 235 70 15 tires I ran for a while, but I also didn't mind the 3.08's and 195 75 14's.

 

[strvger]

my truck originally had 195/75x15 tires/wheels. with the 3.45 gears it sucked... big time, even with a 5 speed tranny! no power and crappy gas mileage. the change to the 4.56's and 31" tires made a world of difference. cruises easily in 5th gear and 21mpg.
i would think that 4.10's would be about right with the 5 speed, providing much better driveability and the option of going to a larger tire later on, if desired. just my $.02.