33's on a 2003 trac

[cart trops]

howdie folks,
have a stock 2003 trac 4x4 xlt. Want to go to 33' ers, but figure I do the lift and gears first. Thinking about a 2-3" bodylift to keep it simple and keep away from additional stress suspension lift kits may put on front drive. Am a little lost when it comes to the gear swap .. don't know what gears I am running now, and don't know what gears I should swap to for 33's. Any suggestions on the gear swap or any other I should be aware of?
Thanks!

 

[JohnnyO]

A 2" or 3" body lift will clear 33's and a torsion twist with Warrior shackles will get you another 1.5". Downside to a body lift is that you will have to lose the front tow hooks or cut some ugly notches in the valence.
15x8 wheels with 3.75" backspace is the way to go.
If your Trac was factory equipped with 255/70-16 tires (most are) it will have 4.10 gears.
If it came with 235/75-15 or 235/70-16 tires then it will have 3.73 gears.
With 33" tires 4.56 gears will keep the rpm vs. road speed close to stock.

 

[cart trops]

Thanks Johnny ... appreciate the quick & to the point answer.
Wonder if you would mind commenting on the following. I had been thinking about wheel spacers before to increase the tire to tire width and decrease body roll, but I learned from reading other posts that spacers will greatly increase stress on the wishbone front suspension and may in fact cause the ball joint to pop/break. Any chance of that when not using spacers but running those 33's? Any other ways to reduce body roll?
Thanks!

 

[JohnnyO]

A lot of people run spacers without problems although personally I'm not a fan of them. Just get wheels with the right offset and backspacing to begin with. Problem is a lot of flashy aftermarket wheels, especially 16" diameter and larger, have a GM-type offset which is too much backspacing to properly fit on a Ford. Hence spacers. Assuming you are getting the common 33x12.50 tires and 15x8 wheels, you don't want more than 4.0" backspace. If you get wheels with 5.0" backspace and put a 1.0" spacer on, then you effectively have 4.0" backspace, so I wouldn't worry about it breaking anything. OTOH, if you get the 15x10 Mickey Thompsons with 3.75" backspace, then they look purty with that deep dish but you've got 6" of wheel and tire hanging on the outside of the hubs and that can cause issues.
Body roll. Get new shocks if you haven't already, the stockers are way too soft. Either Monroe Sensa Tracs or Reflexes are good. You can get a 1.25" front swaybar from Addco and a bigger rear bar from Explorer Express. www.explorerexpress.com

 

[cart trops]

Thanks Johnny, that is excellent advice and really much appreciated! Pretty sure I know where to start and how to go about this now. One last question, do I ask the Ford dealer for the 4.56 gears or am I better off shopping somewhere else? Thanks again!

 

[corkey]

yikes, gears from the dealer is not a good idea, , try one of the affiliated links in the new thread,

 

[cart trops]

Hi Corky,
I am still pretty green, and obviously not afraid to ask dumb questions. Maybe one more for good measure ... my trac is a 4x4, so I would be swapping gears in the front AND back diffs to prevent tires getting out of sync when driving 4x4? Never done a gear swap, front or back, any tips on what to expect?
Thanks!

 

[JohnnyO]

Yes, you will have to swap both front and rear gears. Don't bother with a dealer because they will likely only install Ford parts and Ford never offered 4.56 gears in Explorers.
Look for an axle shop or ask around for a mechanic with the proper equipment to set up an axle.
Cost in the U.S. is aboot $1000 in parts and labor for both.

 

[cart trops]

Thanks JohnnyO,
I got locked out and couldn't log in for a while, therefore the late reply, but again, your answers are a great help to a newbie like me. Not sure if I can find an axle shop local, but luckily not far from MN so I can look there.
Will let you know how I make out.