rearend swap questions??

[hddave1]

hey guys, i have a 85 ranger 2wd, 5speed manual trans 2.8L engine and it has the stock rearend with 3.08 gears in it..im wanting a little more pulling power so im wondering what rangers had the 3.55 gears in them that i could just swap out the rearends with out any mods..im want to just unbolt one and bolt in the other and go...im not looking to pull anything heavy or dragrace, im just looking for some better lowend and upper end power...thanks for any advice

 

[rangerstzz]

3:73 would be the simple solution for a 7.5, common to find and a direct bolt in, got one sitting here--$50

 

[hddave1]

well i thought about 3.73 gears but i figured they would raise my rpm up to hight at 55mph.. right now i would like to know what yrs ranger had a complete rearend and would be a direct bolt in for my ranger...

 

[4x4junkie]

You've got overdrive on that 5-speed, I might even go as high as 4.10 on that.

What size are your tires?

 

[hddave1]

ok..what year rangers had that gear ratio and would it be a direct bolt in on my 85 ranger..

 

[COPPERHEAD85]

What you need to start with is when they changed to the 8.8 (year wise) and go down in year from there.Should be a direct bolt in .
The best way is to buy springs and all,roll the whole works under it,4 bolts on the hangers,hook the brake lines up.bleed them,4 bolts in the drive shaft flange and your done.
Forgot the 2 sway bar bolts.(if you have them)

 

[AllanD]

1990 was the first year for an 8.8" but a 2.8 doesn't really need
an 8.8" axle.... unless you are insistant on 3.55 gears, because a
7.5 axle would come with 3.45 gears.

Personally if I were to recommend gears for a 2.8 I wouldn't recommend 4.10's
But 3.73's

AD

 

[hddave1]

did a pre 1990 ranger come out with a 3.73 gear ratio and a 7.5 rearend that would bolt right up to my ranger

 

[strvger]

go to the tech library and look up the 7.5/8.8 rear axles. all the info is there. you might be able to swap in a b2 3.73, but i think the rangers up to 1986 all had the 3.45 as the optional gear set. i know mine has the 3.45... for now. swapping them out in a few weeks.

 

[hddave1]

well if i understand the tech library correctly, i can use any rearend from a 1983-1992 Ranger..i assume that if i look in those years for the gear ratio i want then everything will bolt right up...is my thinking correct

 

[hddave1]

3:73 would be the simple solution for a 7.5, common to find and a direct bolt in, got one sitting here--$50

if you were only close to me .. i would give 50 bucks for a complete rearend with 3.73 gears...lol..my luck

 

[AllanD]

did a pre 1990 ranger come out with a 3.73 gear ratio and a 7.5 rearend that would bolt right up to my ranger

Yep, Look on the safety and compliance label on the end of the driver door.

you want a ranger with an Axle code of "F6" or "86"

those are for 7.5" axles with 3.73 gears the "F" denotes a limited slip axle.

a later ranger axle will also bolt directly in but is wider (by 2")
than the earlier ranger axle.

AD

 

[hddave1]

thank you very much for the info..i got one more question before i start my quest for looking for a complete rearend for my ranger. im concerned about very high rpms at highway speeds of 55 to 70mph..will i regret going with a 3.73 gear..what im after is a daily driver that will get out of its own way..lol..im using the gears to make the motor think its bigger than it is..im not looking to drag race or to tow anything major . i also dont want to kill the mpg on the truck. the truck runs great but it could use a boost so thats my thinking behind a gear change...thanks again for all the good advice

 

[RangerFabWorks]

thank you very much for the info..i got one more question before i start my quest for looking for a complete rearend for my ranger. im concerned about very high rpms at highway speeds of 55 to 70mph..will i regret going with a 3.73 gear..what im after is a daily driver that will get out of its own way..lol..im using the gears to make the motor think its bigger than it is..im not looking to drag race or to tow anything major . i also dont want to kill the mpg on the truck. the truck runs great but it could use a boost so thats my thinking behind a gear change...thanks again for all the good advice

actually, you will get better mpog because your engine is not struggling at 70 in 5th gear. the 3.73's will put your engine in its power ranger. right now im gonna guess at 70 in 5th you doing about 1800-2000 rpm, with 3.73's youll be doing 2500-2700 rpm, your engine is making better power at this, so it takes less effort on your motor to keep up at these speeds, therefore you will burn through less gas. go with it, will make a good bit of difference

 

[4x4junkie]

thank you very much for the info..i got one more question before i start my quest for looking for a complete rearend for my ranger. im concerned about very high rpms at highway speeds of 55 to 70mph..will i regret going with a 3.73 gear..what im after is a daily driver that will get out of its own way..lol..im using the gears to make the motor think its bigger than it is..im not looking to drag race or to tow anything major . i also dont want to kill the mpg on the truck. the truck runs great but it could use a boost so thats my thinking behind a gear change...thanks again for all the good advice

You still haven't stated what size tires you're running.

If yours are P215/75R14s (guessing), 3.73 would be a great match. MPG should be fine. Like blackwidow mentions, the engine won't have to struggle as hard, and you'll possibly get better MPG (Think of trying to pedal a bicycle up a hill with it in top gear, it takes a lot of effort)