Looking for some Education.

[Harpo]

Hello Everyone,

My son and I have been busy getting our 91 X EB ready for goodies. The last time we posted we asked some questions about off - road gear and some odd things our X was doing. We took your advice and have been working every weekend to get the vehicle in excellent working order(tune up, fluids, fuel regulator, brakes, exhaust, manual hub locks). It runs like a top now and we are ready for some goodies.

After reading and looking at what it takes to add lifts, fender mods, tires, gear ratios ?, lockers and other assorted goodies I have decided to find a someone locally who does these sort of things.

I'm a bit confused on a couple of items. I hear the term LOCKERS quite a bit and I assume this keeps my differentials from slipping ? If anyone has the patience to edumakate me I'd appreciate it. I'm also a bit confused about the differential gear ratios.

I have a Dana 35 in front and a Ford 8.8 in back. Stock stuff.

Any info on the tranny would help as well. For example we are thinking a 4-6 inch suspension lift and 33's(I think we have to shave the fenders a bit). I have a A4LD 4sp Auto now. I know we need a different gearing ? or Ratio ? in order to get the 33's to work properly but I'm clueless.

I'm in San Diego so if anyone has info on a mechanic who can help me with above items I would love a great reference.

Won't be long now before we can hit the trails.

BTW I searched for basic info on the above items and found only intermediate to advance info. I may have searched wrong so any help is appreciated. Thanks

 

[Jason_25]

Go with 4.56's for the 33's.

Also when you regear, go ahead and do a rear locker. The locker forces both axleshafts to spin at the same speed and not differentiate from each other. This is useful because many times offroad, one of your wheels will begin to spin faster than the other due to low traction. A locker will double the offroad ability of your rig. I recommend either the Eaton E-locker or the ARB air locker.

 

[Alec]

There's a great 4 Wheel Parts store in Escondido. They were very helpful when I was on vacation out there, and RangerX gets parts from them all the time. Bill (RangerX) lives in Carlsbad and often helps out members with their projects. He works for beer and pizza.

4.56 will be a good ratio with 33s. These are differential gears, nothing to do with the tranny. And Jason is right that you should go ahead and get a locker for the rear when you do gears to save on labor costs.

If you need help understanding gearing and differentials, try www.howstuffworks.com

 

[RiverRat]

Like everyone else said, 4.56. I'm in SD if you need any advice/help.

 

[Ray Lobato]

Do you know what gears you have in your truck right now?
What kind of offroading are you going to be doing? Light, moderate, or bid dawg stuff?
Have you thought about what kind of armor you will need for your offroading adventures?
Will you be venturing out at night?
Everyone know that you are not supposed to wheel alone, but we all do it, therefore if you wheel alone, will you need a winch system.
There are many questions that you need to ask yourself because this will tell you what kind of equipment you will need for your truck.
For instance, lights are nice, but if you never go out at night, then you are wasting your money. Do you have a hi-lift jack yet? if you play in the rocks, then don't get anything smaller than a 60" jack. I have a 48" jack and many times have to stack rocks because it's not high enough.
As far as gears are concerned, I have 410's, but then I also have an Atlas II transfercase, which has a lower gear ratio than the stock T-case. I can run 33's just fine with them, and even with all the armor and stuff I have added to the truck, I can still get about 16MPG, hiway.
Tell us alittle more about what you are going to do with your truck and we can help you out a little better.

 

[Harpo]

More Info !

Good stuff, thank you.

So the Lockers are only for the rear ?

Will the ones you mentioned work in a Ford 8.8 ?

Didn't see any responses regarding the Tranny A4LD 4sp Auto (Stock), can it turn them 33's ?

With 4.56's will I be able to go over 50 MPH ?

I'll be on the phone with 4 Wheel Parts today.

Thanks for the responses.

 

[Alec]

There are lockers available for the front, but unless you get a selectable one, don't get one (an automatic one would make road driving not so fun).

There are many available for the 8.8, you just have to do some research.

With the right diff gearing the tranny will be fine. Just be aware the Explorer trannies tend to be weak. With proper gearing the larger tires will put no more strain on it than stock.

4.56s will be fine on the highway, and you'll be able to get up to 100. You'll just have a bit higher RPMs than stock.

Good luck!

 

[Harpo]

Super

Thanks for all the info. I won't get snowed now when I go to get the work done or at least I'll know a little of what they are talking about.

Thanks