Season 3: Episode 9
Ford F-150 Gear Swap
Aired: June 4, 2010
Posted in: All Episodes, Featured, Performance, Season 3, Trucks, Video
Motorz TV shows you how to a upgrade the gears on a 2005 Ford F-150 from 3.55 to 4.56 using products from Motive Gear, PML, Royal Purple, and DiabloSport.
This episode (S03E09) originally aired on MavTV on May 16th, 2010. This version contains the entire show, but with fewer commercials.
Links
Motive Gear
PML, Inc.
Royal Purple
DiabloSport, Inc.
Episode Notes
After 40 episodes of Motorz, we were bound to hit a more complex install. Sure, we’ve had a bunch of installs that have taken 2-3 days to pull off, bloody knuckles and all–but none have required this amount of preparation and tools, attention to detail, and heavy lifting.
My past two trucks had their gears upgraded, but I had a local shop handle it for me. I was always told performing a gear swap was difficult, but that still didn’t stop me from wanting to figure it out so I could do it myself. After consulting with my Technical Director, Jason Gillmore, about the install, and doing a ton of research on my own, we figured out which products and tools we needed.
There are many reasons to do a gear swap, but in our case it has been needed since the F-150 was lifted 6″ and 35″ tires were added back in S01E04. You see, when you lift a heavy truck like this and add on the extra weight of huge wheels and tires, the truck isn’t as quick off the line. It loses low-end torque because there’s much more mass for the engine to push forward.
That’s where new gears come in handy. In our case we went from a stock 3.55 gear ratio to 4.56, which means there are more teeth in the ring gear. As a result, the gears spin faster which helps when you punch the pedal from a stop. The downside is that your RPMs increase, which is why you need to get a programmer that connects to your OBD-II port and tells your vehicle’s computer about the gear ratio change. If you don’t do this, your speedometer will report a much faster speed than you’re actually going. You have to fix this problem immediately, as the side-effect to this is that your odometer will also increase faster and put more miles on your vehicle than you’ve actually driven!
As for the install, there’s too much to document here, so just watch the video! You are definitely going to need air tools for this job. We forgot to cover this fact in the tools segment at the top of the show, but that’s why we have this notes section here. You’ll need an impact gun for the pinion nut, as well as a chisel tool to remove the inner and outer bearing races. We tried using hand tools and it just wasn’t possible. Plus, having air tools will help you get the job done more quickly and this is a long install.
I had the help of three other people (including my camera guy, Jason) and it still took us the equivalent of two full days. So, if you take your vehicle to a shop and are shocked at the labor cost of around $1,000 you now know why–it’s a lot of work! But you can save yourself a lot of cash by doing it yourself… just do your research and take your time. It also helps to have someone around that’s done it before because you will have a lot of questions if you try to do it yourself. This install scores a 9/10 on the difficulty scale, but mainly due to the amount of labor. It’s not incredibly difficult, but there are a few parts that require some skill.
Before we decided to film this episode I couldn’t find anyone that had documented a step-by-step gear swap online on video, from start to finish. And those “how-to’s” that I found online in text format were missing a lot of details and covered the install more as an overview. Our goal for this episode of Motorz was to show each step as best we could within the confines of a half-hour TV show format. I really think we pulled it off, and I think this is our best episode to date. Please post your comments in the area below. We’d love to hear what you think!
Thanks a bunch to all the manufacturers who supplied products for this episode. Motive Gear supplied the ring and pinion gears, plus the kit which included extra bearings, RTV, paint, races, and more. Royal Purple supplied the 75W-140 gear oil, PML, Inc. sent us an incredibly cool rear differential cover (as well as a transmission pan which we’ll show you how to install in a later episode), and DiabloSport, Inc. supplied us with their awesome touchscreen Trinity programmer so we could tell our F-150′s computer about the change in gears (as well as our tire size).
This installation also wouldn’t have been possible without the help of my crew, including Jason, Jason and Andrea, not to mention the patience of my family. So thanks to everyone for your help. I’m very proud of this episode, and it was a huge learning experience for us all. I hope that everyone who watches this episode not only learns how to do a gear swap, but also becomes a little bit more educated about how rear differential gears work!
Note: According to Royal Purple, the friction modifier is not required. All of the necessary additives and then some are already in there! While it didn’t hurt to add it, that step was not necessary.
Product Information
For more information, just click the products on the right!
Music
This episode features music from COLDWEST. “Snakeskinner”, “Ignition”, and a custom song for the Motorz Intro.
Other Information
If you’re interested in a great overview of how gears and limited slip works, I highly recommend watching this old General Motorz video. It was produced by Jam Handy Pictures in the 1930s but still applies to today’s rear differentials. It’s a must-watch!
Disclaimer
THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THESE PROGRAMS AND WEBSITE ARE FOR GENERAL INFORMATION ONLY AND ARE NOT DIRECTED TO ANY PARTICULAR INDIVIDUAL OR FOR ANY PARTICULAR MAKE OR MODEL OF VEHICLE. MODIFYING YOUR VEHICLE CAN BE DANGEROUS. APPROPRIATE SAFETY EQUIPMENT AND PROCEDURES SHOULD BE USED. USE CAUTION WHEN OPERATING A MODIFIED VEHICLE AND REMEMBER YOU DO SO AT YOUR OWN RISK. THE PROGRAMS, DEMONSTRATIONS AND/OR PROCEDURES MAY NOT PROVIDE ALL NECESSARY OR RELEVANT INFORMATION. APPLICABLE LOCAL, STATE AND FEDERAL LAWS SHOULD BE CHECKED BEFORE ANY PROJECT IS COMMENCED. ADDITIONALLY, BEFORE COMMENCING YOUR PROJECT, YOU SHOULD CHECK A VEHICLE'S OWNER'S MANUAL, SHOP MANUAL, WARRANTY BOOKLET AND/OR WITH A MANUFACTURER'S REPRESENTATIVE FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND TO UNDERSTAND WHAT EFFECT, IF ANY, A MODIFICATION WILL HAVE ON THE SAFETY FEATURES OR THE MANUFACTURER'S WARRANTY COVERAGE OF YOUR VEHICLE. PLEASE GET PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE IF YOU'RE NOT SURE, AND, IF PROVIDED, ALWAYS REVIEW THE INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS OF ANY AFTERMARKET PRODUCT. DUKE NETWORKS, LLC MAKES NO WARRANTIES EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED AS TO THE COMPLETENESS, ACCURACY, NON-INFRINGEMENT, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OF ANY OF THE DEMONSTRATIONS, PROCEDURES, AND/OR PROGRAMS NOR DOES IT GUARANTEE THAT THE PROGRAMS WILL BE ERROR-FREE OR CONTINUOUSLY AVAILABLE. YOUR USE OF THIS WEBSITE AND THE PROGRAMS CONTAINED THEREIN ARE AT YOUR SOLE RISK.
The DiabloSport Trinity is simply put, one of the most advanced and user-friendly automotive dashboard tuners and diagnostic tools on the market.
Ring and Pinion gears are the differential's critical point of power transfer. Ring and Pinion gears are probably the simplest performance modification one can do to a vehicle.
PML's differential cover offers increased oil capacity for cooler temperatures, Sand-cast aluminum with raised fins, 3/16-inch thick wall construction to add strength to differential housing, 3/8-inch thick gasket flange will not bend when bolts are tightened, and more.
Royal Purple's Max-Gear is an ultra-tough, high-performance, GL-5 automotive gear oil designed to provide maximum protection to heavily loaded gears, while maximizing power throughout the drivetrain.Partner
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June 4th, 2010 at 9:30 am
Very in-depth…
June 4th, 2010 at 9:32 am
Always wanted to learn how to do this. Awesome job!!
June 4th, 2010 at 10:12 am
great episode !!
June 4th, 2010 at 10:40 am
Nice install guys, Glad we could help you out with the DiabloSport Trinity.
June 4th, 2010 at 10:49 am
probably the best video yet, very in complicated install but you did a great job showing every little step
June 4th, 2010 at 10:50 am
Hey Chris,
What kind of tires are on that truck? What is the tire size also?
June 4th, 2010 at 10:52 am
@Ahkomaton They are 35″ Mickey Thompson Baja ATZ and I love them. They are quiet and wear well. I highly recommend them.
June 4th, 2010 at 10:53 am
@biffnacid Thanks for the feedback! Glad you liked it!
June 4th, 2010 at 10:54 am
@DiabloSportInc Thanks again for helping us out!
June 4th, 2010 at 1:11 pm
Awesome install I learned alot from it!
June 4th, 2010 at 1:14 pm
@coolguy23448 Thanks for watching!
June 4th, 2010 at 1:35 pm
i supposed you probably should have mentioned that if you have a 4×4 you need to change both the front and rear gears. but if your truck is a 2wd pre runner just the rear will be all thats needed………
June 4th, 2010 at 1:39 pm
@08scionFM True, you have to make sure both front and rear axles have the same gear ratios if you have a 4×4.
June 4th, 2010 at 7:01 pm
what about the marking the bearing caps and the pinion bearing pre-load?
June 4th, 2010 at 7:27 pm
Another fantastic episode Chris! Keep up the awesome work!
June 4th, 2010 at 10:02 pm
do those m/t make lots of road noise
June 4th, 2010 at 10:13 pm
@Perazzi11 A little bit, but not much compared to something more aggressive like muds.
June 6th, 2010 at 12:05 pm
I may be blind, but i dint saw any posi in your diff you talked about when adding the oil?
June 6th, 2010 at 4:55 pm
there are a lot of trucks out there that the speedo has never been corrected.
June 6th, 2010 at 9:52 pm
Great show guys I wish there was more stuff like this on Youtube. Being around cars all my life this is one of the few things I’ve never attempted myself.
Only compalaint you guys put friction modifier on an OPEN diff so it doesn’t hurt anything but it sure doesn’t help. Thats not necessary unless you got a clutch type LSD and possibly some others.
One thing I do have a question about is if its necessary to reset the ring and pinion if installing a LSD unit? It seems unlikely
June 9th, 2010 at 7:08 pm
what rpm are you running at on highway with the new gears? How bad has it affected fuel consumption?
June 23rd, 2010 at 2:14 pm
Great step by step instructions and detail! I’m getting ready to do a similar swap on my mustang and this video is a huge help. Can you do a camshaft swap to show us newbies how it’s done?
July 8th, 2010 at 12:45 pm
Do the races HAVE to be removed/reinstalled? or are you basically just putting the same thing back in?
and do you know if my 97 f150 4×4 with 8.8 rearend would be identical to this one? or would there be differences between the two
July 8th, 2010 at 2:46 pm
and what about backlash? nothing was said about it
July 22nd, 2010 at 2:25 pm
just wondering but does having a higher gear ratio make your 0-60 times faster because i got a 98 expedition with 3.31 no limited slip and it’s fast as hell and it’s stock, somebody please explain for me
August 1st, 2010 at 10:58 pm
o yeah… o yeah…that smells wonderful. LOL
August 7th, 2010 at 10:04 am
FYI: dont ever use MOTIVE gears, you get what you pay for, i would recomend YUKON
August 7th, 2010 at 10:04 am
FYI: dont ever use MOTIVE gears, you get what you pay for, i would recomend YUKON
August 7th, 2010 at 7:05 pm
@fastvolvo1 I can’t say that we have ever had any problems with Motive gears. Their products are great!
August 7th, 2010 at 7:05 pm
@fastvolvo1 I can’t say that we have ever had any problems with Motive gears. Their products are great!
August 7th, 2010 at 5:01 pm
Great job,very informative.I,m swapping out my 3.73 for a 4.56 in my 2010 Mustang GT will also drop in a aluminum drive shaft and a shorter shifter at the same time
August 21st, 2010 at 11:33 pm
@spk9grsch the higher the number that ur ring and pinion is the lower of a gear
August 22nd, 2010 at 5:49 pm
What is the cost for parts and labor?
August 22nd, 2010 at 10:57 pm
@ps3fanboy1885 I’m not positive, but I’ve heard it’s around $1,000 — it’s a lot of labor!
August 24th, 2010 at 8:40 pm
thanks,I need to do this to my jeep 87,do you have any tips for that vehicle?I have 35″x14.5 tires.I bought it that way not knowing a whole lot about offroad vehicles and after braking a few things and falling in love with it,I’ve decided the tires either have to go our the gears need to change.bye bye gears…I;m shure i can do it,Ibuilt trannys and heads,this dosent look hard.Is dialing in the adjustment for the pinion gear the most critical step for my jeep?and should ratio be same 4 front?