I see guys talking on here about wanting to re-gear from 3:31 to 3:73 because of a little mileage plus, a little bit better "get up" and when pulling heavier loads. I having a brand new eco screw with the 3:31 (i had an '04 with 3:55). Is it really worth the money to re-gear? Is there really that much of a difference when it comes to towing. I'll be pulling an uploaded enclosed that'll weigh in at about 7k fully load. I'll be taking it from nebraska to oregon, a TRUE test for this new engine. Let me know what you guys think!

 

I personally would not consider towing anything over about 4K with anything but the 3.73's.
I DO think that your gears will tow what you want them to, but you will notice much more downshifting, and where the 3.73's might pull a hill in 4th at 2,900 rpm, you might be a gear lower and at higher rpm's to pull the same grade.

 

Do you think ford would re-gear my truck for me so I don't void any of the warranty?

 

I don't know if this is still the case, but the 3.73's used to require a bigger differential housing, so this swap does get expensive -- more so than just the gears alone. Check with your Ford dealer and see what they have to say.....

 

The dealership will but it will cost a good penny.l especially it you have 4x4 as the front gearing would need to be changed too.

 

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm......I am just guessing here, but I would think that the 4X4 would be approximately twice as much as the 2 wheel drive?

 

That's nuts man.

With the 5.0 I'd say the maximum weight I would tow cross country with 3.31 would be #7000 and that would be great except at elevation. Even there it would do fine but it would drop a few gears.

An eco with 3.31 tows every bit as well as a 5.0 with 3.73. This is where the low end torque comes in. I think 3.55 would be better but it will pull just fine with 3.31 in 5th on all but the most extreme grades. Especially in mountains where it doesn't lose power like na engines.

If this is the primary reason you got the truck then sure, regear. But if you will only do this a few times per year drive it and enjoy. Having torque below 2500 rpms make gearing much less noticeable. Anybody that says they wouldn't feel comfortable towing 7,000 with a 3.31 eco hasn't towed with one.

Just be careful. The engine braking sucks with the eco so make sure the trailer brake is set well and keep it slow and steady on the way down. Don't let the brakes overheat.

 

Well, that is true if you only tow a few times a year, and don't do mountain passes that are miles long and a 7% grade. I love my EB's capabilities with my 3.73's and I've also never tried to tow the same weight up the same hills with the 3.31's -- and don't think that I would want to.
Towing in Kansas and through the Rocky Mountains are two different things.

 

Thanks for the helpful words. For the most part I figure any truck with the eco was made to pull a heavy load! Yes, I would love to use my truck to pull things all the time, but unfortunately I only pull things a hand full of times a year. But as for down hill, yes I learned the hard way on my first mission driving my 915 tractor trailer in the army about 5 years ago. Going down a 7% downgrade weighing 50K is scary as s*** especially when you're only 18 years old at the time(I did turn on my jake breaks though) thank GOD! Only way to learn is to watch, and then DO! Thanks!!

 

Yeah, the only thing I miss about my previous 5.4 was the MUCH better engine braking than the EB....the poor little thing tries like heck, but there just is not much cubic inches there to slow a heavy load.