gear axle ratio question

[noonenosthis1]

Hi all,

We got our Excursion back from the dealer with a new fuel pump. We have been talking about changing out the gears for better towing. Right now we have a V10 with a towing package and a 3.73 axle ratio. Our trailer is a 2017 Keystone Cougar 31SQWBE with an unloaded weight of 7260. We would like to beef things up a bit. We live in California so everything is up hill, big hills, ok mountains! What would you suggest going to as far as axle ratio?
Thanks in advance.

[Camper_G]

time2roll wrote:
Both are rated about 5000 max for towing. Good luck on that.

I believe sacarism was involved.

[time2roll]

Both are rated about 5000 max for towing. Good luck on that.

[noonenosthis1]

TUCQUALA wrote:
Yes, for only 30K you can go out and buy a Kia or Hyundai SUV, that is so capable you'd be shocked!!! OR, you can spend 70K+ for a "new" Suburban 3/4 ton if and when they become available to the general public!!! Or as stated, 100K+ for a "new" Excursion from a builder.

As for us, I am fine with spending $2500-3000 on my low mileage Excursion, a lot better than a $800-1200 monthly payment!! To me that ain't stupid!!!

A Kia or Huyndai could tow my trailer?

[TUCQUALA]

Yes, for only 30K you can go out and buy a Kia or Hyundai SUV, that is so capable you'd be shocked!!! OR, you can spend 70K+ for a "new" Suburban 3/4 ton if and when they become available to the general public!!! Or as stated, 100K+ for a "new" Excursion from a builder.

As for us, I am fine with spending $2500-3000 on my low mileage Excursion, a lot better than a $800-1200 monthly payment!! To me that ain't stupid!!!

[noonenosthis1]

See that is a bit of a problem. Between the 8 grandkids and 1 great grandchild and the Labrador, German Shepherd and Havanese, the Ex is THE PERFECT VEHICLE. It just works. There really isn't a good replacement for my situation.

[dodge_guy]

Tom (WE3ZS) is correct, The Ford SD/Excursion of this vintage does not need a speedo recalibration with a ring and pinion swap. And also as he said word for word, good luck in saving $1500-$2k for a replacement SUV that is capable of towing 11k lbs. there isn't one made anymore. unless you look at a new aftermarket Excursion build, but your looking at close to $100k!!!

4.30 or 4.56 gears and a tuner from 5 star will make your X tow like a completely different vehicle.

[WE3ZS]

BenK wrote:
The most accurate gauge in the dash is the speedometer...how else can the LEO's &a courts uphold the speed laws

The dash speedometer gets its input from one of the onboard computers, which can get its input from an ABS wheel (which one?), tranny tail housing, the tranny, our maybe the diff...*ALL* in concert in reference to the look up tables...why reprogramming on most is required

Or, be able to noodle the difference in your mind without reprogramming and adjust accordingly...

Different trucks, I drive the same Excursion as the OP, so my reply was in reference to how these wagons read the speed from the rear differential ring gear tone ring. A gear change will not affect the speedo as I said earlier. My comments were specifically directed to the OP as I have been there, done that with this modification on the same rig as the OP.

[WE3ZS]

RinconVTR wrote:
Change rear end gear for 2-3,000 dollars on an aging SUV for occasional towing?

Nope. Not wise.

Save that cash for a new SUV instead.

If it's not wise for you and your situation, then you should absolutely not do it. However other users may have different conditions that make it a very good idea.
I bought my '05 EX seven years ago and plan to keep it for another 7 or so years until we retire and upgrade to a Class A MH. It serves as our dedicated tow rig with virtually no daily driving, only running around unloaded sightseeing at vacation destinations. So for us and our use the $1500 I spent on regearing from 3.73 to 4.88 (and adding a locker in the rear diff) to make the big wagon a better tow vehicle was money well spent.
And what new SUV should I theoretically save my money for that will pull our 11,000lb TT as well as my modified Excursion?

[WE3ZS]

time2roll wrote:

WE3ZS wrote:

Yak wrote:
Remember to change the parameters in the PCM when you're done.

Changing the final drive ratio does not require any adjustments to the PCM parameters.

My truck required a reprogram to get the speedo right.

Different truck, My Excursion is nearly identical (different years only) to the OP's V-10 Excursion. These wagons do not need any reprogramming with a gear change, tire size yes.

[time2roll]

RinconVTR wrote:
Change rear end gear for 2-3,000 dollars on an aging SUV for occasional towing?

Nope. Not wise.

Save that cash for a new SUV instead.

People told me the same thing ten years ago. My money was well spent IMO.

[BenK]

The most accurate gauge in the dash is the speedometer...how else can the LEO's &a courts uphold the speed laws

The dash speedometer gets its input from one of the onboard computers, which can get its input from an ABS wheel (which one?), tranny tail housing, the tranny, our maybe the diff...*ALL* in concert in reference to the look up tables...why reprogramming on most is required

Or, be able to noodle the difference in your mind without reprogramming and adjust accordingly...

[RinconVTR]

Change rear end gear for 2-3,000 dollars on an aging SUV for occasional towing?

Nope. Not wise.

Save that cash for a new SUV instead.

[time2roll]

WE3ZS wrote:

Yak wrote:
Remember to change the parameters in the PCM when you're done.

Changing the final drive ratio does not require any adjustments to the PCM parameters.

My truck required a reprogram to get the speedo right.

[Yak]

WE3ZS wrote:

Yak wrote:
Remember to change the parameters in the PCM when you're done.

Changing the final drive ratio does not require any adjustments to the PCM parameters. The speed is read off of the tone ring on the ring gear, so it is actually reading the tire revs and uses the revs per mile to calculate the speedometer/odometer readings. Changing tire size (diameter/height) would need the revs per mile to be adjusted in the PCM to have the speedo read correctly. I have changed both gears (3.73 to 4.88) and tires (31.6' to 32" to 35.28") and verified speed with GPS, gears didn't affect speedo but tires did.

They also have a sensor on the output shaft. It's been a while but I'm thinking there are resetable parameters gearing and tire size