Need Help Choosing Truck

[miramadar]

What you did not mention that I am sure you are aware of, is there are other gears besides those available. Just would be aftermarket. There is actually a wide range of gears out there. A ring/pinion change is ~$500 proposition.

FWIW, my old gasser('89 F250 351 manual 4x4) did a lot better towing and hauling my slide in camper when I switched from 3.55 to 4.10 gears.

So, I could change the ring/pinion gears in my '98 Ram 1500 (automatic tranny) and maybe get some better towing performance? That might be an option, but my truck doesn't have a transmission cooler and so wouldn't it still be lacking there?

 

[Soundguy]

do you have a tow/haul mode? do you use it?

soundguy

 

[RobertN]

A ring/pinion change on a 2wd is about ~$400-500. When I had mine done in my old Ford, it took them(4x4 shop) about an hour or two. It requires a ring/pinion/ seal kit, and oil. There is a small gear that is changed in the tranny, so the speedometer read correctly.

It is really a pretty simple and relatively inexpensive mod(at least for just one axle in a 2wd).

I would still add an aftermarket tranny cooler. They are not very expensive. And, while at it, probably change the tranny fluid and filter just as good general maintenance.

3.73 or 3.90 gears are a nice compromise.

So, I could change the ring/pinion gears in my '98 Ram 1500 (automatic tranny) and maybe get some better towing performance? That might be an option, but my truck doesn't have a transmission cooler and so wouldn't it still be lacking there?

 

[miramadar]

A ring/pinion change on a 2wd is about ~$400-500.

Mine is 4wd...

do you have a tow/haul mode? do you use it?

soundguy

No tow mode. OD/Off switch is all.

Thanks for the help guys.

 

[dodge man]

It's pretty pricey to switch gears on a 4wd because you have to do the front and the back. Probably not worth the money. I towed with my 98, maybe a 5000 pound load, and it worked a little bit to get up to speed but wasn't bad at all. Does it run O.K. ?

If you want to get a rough idea on the gear ratio, jack up the rear end and count the driveshaft turns compared to the tire turns. Its hard to get the exact number but you can get close, such as 3, 3.5 or 4. My guess is you have something close to 3.08 rear end.

Edit: Did a little research and it looks like 3:21 was maybe the stock gears.

 

[RobertN]

Ya, that means two axles, ~$800-1000 for a basic gear change.

I did mine partly for towing and hauling a big cabover camper, and for four wheeling while hunting.

One thing of note, you have not mentioned tire size. Any time you go up in tire size, you effectively lose gearing. If you have big tires, then you will have poor towing performance.

That was part of why I changed my old truck from 3.55 to 4.11; I went to a 35" tall tire too. Without 4.11's, the performance was really pretty mediocre. 4.11's with the 35's worked out real nice though.

Mine is 4wd...

 

[RobertN]

I forgot to ask, has your tranny been kept up for service; ie fluid and filter changes, band adjustments? How many miles are on it?

It's just not heavy enough and the transmission was getting really hot (no cooler).

 

[Diamondpilot]

All good advise here. Changing the gearing on a 4x4 that age is not worth the money.

Tranny coolers are cheap. You can get a generic one for under $50.

Chris

 

[miramadar]

I forgot to ask, has your tranny been kept up for service; ie fluid and filter changes, band adjustments? How many miles are on it?

Well, yes and no. I had a gasket leaking in the trans fluid pan and let it go for a while. Started to slip, so I got the tranny flushed, new gasket and filter. Has worked like new since. No band adjustments.

One thing of note, you have not mentioned tire size. Any time you go up in tire size, you effectively lose gearing. If you have big tires, then you will have poor towing performance.

I have the stock tires, P245's, on it now. Had larger tires on it for a while, but the ride suffered and ended up having to replace a CV joint. Performs much better w/ the stock tires.

Does it run O.K. ?

Yes. The engine runs fine. I have regularly maintained it.

In pulling that heavy load a few months back, I had to pull a pretty steep grade for about 3 miles. The truck couldn't get out of 2nd gear. It would go to 3rd, lose RPM's, and switch back to 2nd. So, I just found what sounded to be a comfortable RMP for the truck and pulled the mountain like that. Once at the top of the mountain, the transmission temp light came on. Luckily there was a gas station at the top of the mountain and I pulled off for about an hour and let it cool. It did okay the rest of the trip (about 20 miles down the mountain and on mostly level ground), but I could tell it was really taxing the truck. It had no acceleration and braking wasn't very good either. I did about 25 MPH the whole way. I was hauling about 145 cement blocks (about 4350lbs at 30lbs per block).

So, in regard to my original question, whether or not the truck listed on Craigslist could tow up to 6000lbs (F-250 4x4), I seem to get the impression from this forum that the 302 ci motor really isn't powerful enough, but a lot depends on the gear ratio. Right? I asked the seller about the gear ratio, but he didn't know. So, buy or no buy?

 

[Diamondpilot]

Like I said, I would pass. I would want nothing less than a 351 in a Ford. I would take your truck to the tranny shop that you had perform the work and have them install a cooler asap. They are cheap. I would think you could have it done for under $150.

As for Dodge trannys, they are the weak spot. I had a 2500 Hemi that had to have the tranny replace 3 times in 3 years. First time was under warranty and Dodge did it. Second time I put a Jasper in it. Funny thing is Jasper will not warranty it without the installation of a larger cooler which I did. The last time it went out I traded it in as is and took a bath.

We also had a Dodge Dakota at work as a run around vehicle. The tranny went out on it also but it had about 80K on it. Never pulled a single thing in its life. Anyway we put a Jasper in it also and once again it required a larger cooler.

Chris