im getting ready to do some maintenance to my f150, gonna do the spark plugs, all the fluids the works and was thinking of re gearing it but im kind of a noob on how to do it...im wanting to go 4.56 i think...i do mainly highway driving and will eventually have 37's on it right now i have 33's though, im not sure what gears i need though...do i have to put a new diff in now or can i do it later when i have more money and upgrade to a posi?

this is the website i was looking at, ive never done this before but ive got a couple friends who are mechanics so im sure with there help i can do it..i just wanna learn more about gears first and know you guys on here can help me..do i also need a bearing kit also? thanks

http://www.americantrucks.com/ford-t...-0408f150.html

 

also its a 04 fx4 5.4l with k&n cai and magnaflow exhaust, there is alot of extra weight inside the cab that is in there every day and performance has suffered since then so gears is the next upgrade i wanna do

 

I would stay with what you have right now. Then get 4.88 when your ready to put 37s.
Get some quotes an start saving.

 

is it so hard to do that you cant do it yourself? would it hurt me to have them now versus waiting? when i say i have extra weight in the truck its about 1400 pounds of extra weight in there at all times and acceleration and what not has suffered pretty good

 

this is that "if you have to ask" you cant do it phenomenon. You also need a couple hundred dollars in tools. If you have done a couple dozen gear swaps, then you can claim expertise on the notebook paper shim method, but in short......Pay someone. If the gears are too loose, your truck is a paper weight, if too tight, the gears will bind and the truck is a paper weight. Ford Motorsport has a rebuild kit for the diff, you might want to put in new clutch packs while the rear is apart. Also, stick with fomoco gears, the stuff made at Sterling is some of the best money can buy.

 

Gears are a lot like engine and different components. If you have too little or too much something bad is bound to happen. If you are going to run 37s then definitely go for the 4.88s. I would have a shop install gears because they are rather difficult, and as crazy as I am I wouldn't even attempt them haha.

 

alright thanks for the advice, ill definitely let someone else do it..thanks guys