I'll gladly trade you my 4:10's for your 3:73's. The previous owner of my truck pulled a fifth wheel and claimed an average mpg of 16 but I don't know the full weight he was towing.

Just racing around town taunting the PSD guys I get 17.8 according to my overhead, but anything over 65 mph forget it the mileage tanks with my 4:10's.

Just my 2 peso's though.

 

how much does it cost to buy the parts and install them?

 

Aamco transmission quoted me just over $2,300 here in Denver but I know for a fact that I could get it done for about $1,800 if I just searched around at some 4x4 performance shops.

 

i don't know about where you are, but a local shop gave me a rough quote of $1500 parts and labor to swap out my 4.10's to a 3.54 or lower (if possible) for both axles, and offered to put any kind of locker in while they were at it at no additional labor charge, just cost of parts... also getting 17mpg not towing with my 4.10s and anything over 60 drops the economy pretty fast. i'll take lower gears any day...previous owner set up my 2500 for heavy towing...has a flip up goose neck in the bed, overload springs, and 4.10's w/a 6-spd. Swapping those gears out as soon as possible...heaviest thing i'm ever gonna tow is a 19' boat, or a few bikes/quads on a trailer and in the bed.

 

For $1,500, and if they do quality work I'd jump on that. I'm in the same situation....biggest thing I will tow is a 16ft Tracker boat.
The low gears are nice if you never drive cross country but try driving through Kansas at 60 mph...it is insane.

opcorn:

 

thanks for all of the info, just talked to my dodge dealer and they said it would drop my mpg in half! so I think I'll stick w/ what i've got.

 

The best part about the 4:10's is the ability to make up some of the high end loss by combining the right tire size with your load. I think you might be impressed with 4:10's and a larger tire diameter.

I would have to question his claim of a %50 reduction in mileage if you go to 4:10's...maybe someone else will join in here that tows your weight and has 4:10's.

 

when the funds permit...as far as gearing...the 6 speed has enough gears to make up the difference in axle ratio's for stretching its legs out, 5-spds and auto's might have more issues with it. hell i don't think i've ever had a need to use first gear...i just start in second without touching the throttle...been borrowing an 03 ISB dually with stock tires 6-spd and 3.54 gears while mine is waiting for another ac compressor, and i like its rpm:mph ratio a lot better than mine. but even in that truck i dont touch first gear...its useless unless your pullin something extremely heavy.

 

4:10s are nice when i have to tow my dads 22ft centerconcole but i have moved from home and thus they do nothing but hurt my mileage. and lower my top speed.

 

lol like i said rough idea....they have charts for tire differences too, and the differences between auto 5 and 6 spds, as you can see on my sig i don't have those tiny tires...

simple rough metric to english they are 35x12.50R16's

 

why does it cost so much to switch gears in our trucks... i could swap the rear end gears in my stang like 5 times for that much.. does it cost the same to swap them out in a 2nd gen was looking at swapping my 4.10's for 3.73's

 

my price was refering to a second gen, but it would be the same for early 3rd gen too..and it costs more because its a 4x4 which means changing 2 rear ends, not just one...that alone raises the cost, as well as parts cost more because they have to handle far more torque than a stang could ever dream of putting out. more specifically swapping gears in the dana44(front) and dana60(rear) if you have a 1 ton truck you most likely have a dana70 and i dont know if that would make the price higher or not. its usually parts that make it cost more. fwi ford 9" is the most common flexible cheapest rear end to work on/swap they are dime a dozen... too bad they cant take diesel torque and weight lol

 

oh yea, why go for 3.73's why not 3.54 (the other factory option for our dana 44/60's) ?? the lower the number the better the fuel econ....hell i want 3.43's like my camaro had, or a lower number yet...i got more than enough torque and gears to pull it hard. might make first gear worth something other than a parking brake lol

 

I couldn't live without my 373's on 37"s, our trucks are the only ones w/enough grunt to get these gears rolling on BIG tires. My 02...

 

I've towed heavy with my 97 w/ 354 gears and now towing with the 06 w/ 410's, all I can say is what is us gear's phone number? Seriously, I see no need for these slow low gears. Maybe if I routinely towed dozers or really serious weight that the truck is not designed for they may come in handy. Some of my friends have them and have never experienced the 354's so they are happy. Me, I like to cruise faster than the 410's like I guess. 2500 rpm and up in 6th is getting tight on long trips. I got the truck last Wednesday and Saturday went to Nashville towing empty trailer. I avg. 11.9 mpg. Same going on to Memphis on Tuesday. Picked up a parts truck there and back to Nashville at 10.8. From Nashville to Roanoke, VA yesterday yielded a whopping 9.8 mpg. And to think I was complaining about the 12 mpg the 6.7l got towing. Mods are definitely in the 06's future.

 

I switched from 3.73 to 4.10's because of the strain on my drivetrain, I used to run 37's and with the 3.73's you can forget about towing, just ask my last 2 trannies......now I have 35's and it drives the same as my dads truck and his is stock.....when you do change you might have to get the computer reflashed for the new gears, my abs light stayed on for like 2 months after the gear swap and my brakes would act up every once and while.....then I got it reflashed and it has never shown up.

 

ATS performance makes heavy dutied trannys with billit shafts and guts. they claim they will hold up to the abuse and hold together...i might go that route if i push the engine past the 600hp mark

 

gear change

eelout it will take over 2 years to break even on the cost of a gear change. gaining 2 mpg for the the cost of an $1200.00 gear swap at 15000 miles per year and diesel at $4.50 a gallon. it will be even worse if drive less milage per year. a 315 series tire if you have the clearance, will change the 4.10 to almost a 3.73 just another option, but still expensive. i have a 05 qc long bed nv5600 with 4.10 i have thought about it . i get 19-20 mpg. drive under 70 mph and give your life a little less stress and be in no big hurry, it sure worked for me.:thumbsup