33's on 15's

[Sage671]

I have a 1998 Ford Explorer Sport. I have 28's on it right now and I was wondering how much it would lift the vehicle putting 33's on it and what would I have to do to put 33's on it. I know I'll need at least a 2.5 inch lift on it and maybe wheel spacers. I'm not sure. Hoping to get some help. Thanks.

 

[RangerX]

Welcome to ththe forum.
The most important thing is you would have to regear the axle(s), otherwise you will kill your transmission.

 

[Sage671]

How would I re-gear? It's a 2X4.

 

[Big_Pezzy]

depends which gear ratio you currently have. look at your rear diff, there should be a metal tag on it with some numbers. There is a thread on hear that tells you what gear ratio you have based on those numbers

 

[joecrna]

33's generally require either a substantial lift or trimming. A few Explorers get away with a minor lift (TT and something equivalent in the rear) and very little trimming.

 

[96whitesport]

I have 33/12.50/15 Dunlop Mud Rovers on my sport. It has a 2" TT and 4 door leaves with AAL and shackles. I had to do MINOR trimming to the rear of the inner fender liners and the bumper. Each one of these trucks is a little different and it takes some trial and error for fitment. As far as regearing goes I ran mine with 327s on the 33s for a while, yea it was a dog obviously and I re-geared to 410 but had no real issues with the higher gears other than speed. Rim width backspacing is important also, mine are 15x8 with 3.75 backspacing. Good luck and lets see some pics when you're done! Here is a pic of mine

http://rs1303.pbsrc.com/albums/ag150/joeshinn/ex1_zpse23b992d.jpg~c200?t=1423660282

 

[deathtroll]

I have a 2001 xlt with 33x12.5x15 general grabber at2 's. Lifted about 6" still need to trim the plastic in the front fenders a bit.

 

[kindred4x]

Welcome to ththe forum.
The most important thing is you would have to regear the axle(s), otherwise you will kill your transmission.

I totally agree.... because i killed mine and had to rebuild it. i had a 3.27 ring and pinion and waited to long for the 4.10

 

[96whitesport]

I have had no issues with the trans with either ring and pinion set, ran 33s with both

 

[Sage671]

How much would it be to re gear?

 

[96whitesport]

Check the tag on the driver's door, under "axle" there will be one of these codes, that will help you determine if you need to re-gear or not.

Explorer
43 Open 3200 3.08
41 Open 3200 3.27
42 Open 4.10
46 Open 3.73
45 Open 3200 3.55
D4 Limited Slip 3200 3.73
D2 Limited Slip 4.10
L73 Limited Slip 3.73

 

[2TimingTom]

How much would it be to re gear?

About $800 for 4wd.

But depending on the terrain where you live and factory ratio, you may not need to.

 

[Sage671]

Check the tag on the driver's door, under "axle" there will be one of these codes, that will help you determine if you need to re-gear or not.

Explorer
43 Open 3200 3.08
41 Open 3200 3.27
42 Open 4.10
46 Open 3.73
45 Open 3200 3.55
D4 Limited Slip 3200 3.73
D2 Limited Slip 4.10
L73 Limited Slip 3.73

It's 41 Open 3200 3.27. Would I have to regear?

 

[RangerX]

It's 41 Open 3200 3.27. Would I have to regear?

Depends on what you mean by "have to".
You can mount up the 33s and drive around. It will drive. But, doing so will seriously shorten the life of your transmission. This is assuming you have an auto trans, I don't think you have stated what you have. If you have a manual trans, you will really do a new number on the clutch.
With 33s, you really should have 4.56 gears put in. 4.10 would be passable.

 

[96whitesport]

If I had to guess, with the 327 r/p setup, I would say this is a 4.0 ohv 4x4 base sport like mine. As I said I originally did the TT, AAL and shackles and kept the 327s for a while with no issues to the trans, it was god awful slow and had no real power. Not too long ago I regeared to 410 with a detroit and a pocket locker in the front, must say the 410s made the truck waaay happier, Rangerx is right, 56's would have been better!

 

[Sage671]

I was thinking of doing 3.73 because it's a higher gear than 4.10. Would I still be able to go the same high speeds(65 and up) if I regeared to 410 or even 4.56?

 

[2TimingTom]

4.56 with 33s is basically like factory tires and 4.10s. That's what I have. I think it's a great match for the 33s.

3.73 gears with 33s- your engine/transmission will be straining some to get moving. Once at speed, the RPMs will be low, but that may not be as efficient as you'd think. I still get 16 mpg with my setup on the highway (but I'm also SAS'd and sitting up higher than most Explorers).

 

[MAS Tequila]

OK, let me hijack this thread for a bit.

I just did the lift on my 00 Mounty, 2" up front and 3" in the rear.

I have a set of 18x8 Mustang rims that I'm going to use.

I'm trying to decide between the 265/65/18 which is 31.6" tall, and the 265/70/18 which is 32.5" tall.

Mine is a V8 AWD with LS 3.73s.

How much difference would there be between these two tire sizes?

I may regear later but not quite yet.

Thanks

MT

4.56 with 33s is basically like factory tires and 4.10s. That's what I have. I think it's a great match for the 33s.

3.73 gears with 33s- your engine/transmission will be straining some to get moving. Once at speed, the RPMs will be low, but that may not be as efficient as you'd think. I still get 16 mpg with my setup on the highway (but I'm also SAS'd and sitting up higher than most Explorers).

 

[CaliNick25]

im not running 33s but i do have 31x10.5x15 mud tires and have a 2" TT and 3" drop shackles and my stock gearing is 3.73. and this thing runs like a beauty. still got pleanty to out run my brothers 99 f250 with a 4.6. and crusin on the freeway im at 65mph at about 2100 rpm, my last trip was 560 miles round trip and i got about 20 mpg hwy, note also i have an og 4.0 sohc with 237k.

 

[Flash]

Check the tag on the driver's door, under "axle" there will be one of these codes, that will help you determine if you need to re-gear or not.

Explorer
43 Open 3200 3.08
41 Open 3200 3.27
42 Open 4.10
46 Open 3.73
45 Open 3200 3.55
D4 Limited Slip 3200 3.73
D2 Limited Slip 4.10
L73 Limited Slip 3.73

What does "3200" mean?