• Mustang Forums
  • 1979 - 1995 (Fox, SN95.0, & 2.3L) -General/Talk-

Am i the first EVER to be unimpressed with a gear swap??!!!

  • Thread starter Thread starter bloopbloob
  • Start date Start date Sep 26, 2007
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
Next
1 of 4 Next Last

bloopbloob

Member
Sep 27, 2006
578
4
16
Alberta
Sep 26, 2007
#1
  • Sep 26, 2007
  • #1
Finally got my 3:73's in today, and i have to say i am somewhat dissapointed! I notice it revs a bit faster, and can spin 'em a bit easier, but nothing too drastic! Maybe i was just expecting too much? Put in new axle bearings, trac lock rebuild (modified stack), swapped speedo gear (white driven gear), and royal purple synthetic. i didn't put friction modifier in also....
other than watching rpms, i can't really notice much difference as far as SOTP accelleration goes....
also, whats the break-in procedure for this? don't launch hard and give it a few hundred miles and heat cycles? or does it really matter?
 
M

MustangOwner

Banned
Dec 13, 2006
160
0
0
Sep 26, 2007
#2
  • Sep 26, 2007
  • #2
bloopbloob said:
Finally got my 3:73's in today, and i have to say i am somewhat dissapointed! I notice it revs a bit faster, and can spin 'em a bit easier, but nothing too drastic! Maybe i was just expecting too much? Put in new axle bearings, trac lock rebuild (modified stack), swapped speedo gear (white driven gear), and royal purple synthetic. i didn't put friction modifier in also....
other than watching rpms, i can't really notice much difference as far as SOTP accelleration goes....
also, whats the break-in procedure for this? don't launch hard and give it a few hundred miles and heat cycles? or does it really matter?
Click to expand...

You didn't? Your suppose to have it. Its like a whole 5 dollars at the ford dealership. Spend some of your money, you can't take it with you! Its just gears, its not a supercharger. Its not a engine mod, it just helps take offs so you can run it at higher rpms. Its not gonna shread off 3 secs on your time slip. Yes, they make a big difference, but you can't expect to much from it
 

bloopbloob

Member
Sep 27, 2006
578
4
16
Alberta
Sep 26, 2007
#3
  • Sep 26, 2007
  • #3
MustangOwner said:
You didn't? Your suppose to have it. Its like a whole 5 dollars at the ford dealership. Spend some of your money, you can't take it with you! Its just gears, its not a supercharger. Its not a engine mod, it just helps take offs so you can run it at higher rpms. Its not gonna shread off 3 secs on your time slip. Yes, they make a big difference, but you can't expect to much from it
Click to expand...

i still have the bottle. I talked to a guy that does only performance ford work for the last 20+ years, and he talked me into the idea, saying for the kind of driving i will be doing, the benefits of no FM far outweigh the negatives. He said the only time you'll notice is at higher speeds on corners you will hear a noise in the diff for the first while. The royal purple has some FM in it to begin with i believe, and the clutches were also soaked.
I was just expecting the swap to throw me back into the seat at least a LITTLE harder, but i don't really notice a change at all....
 

HISSIN50

"How long does it take to get help in here?
15 Year Member
Nov 29, 1999
31,179
34
129
Sep 26, 2007
#4
  • Sep 26, 2007
  • #4
I'm with Bloop^2.

It's easy to add FM but hard to remove it. If you don't get chattering, I agree that leaving it out isnt a bad idea (I don't use it with Redline LSD gear oil, for instance, as it has modifiers in it already IIRC).

There is a break-in for gears - I'd probably follow it after all that work was done. Some guys do a burnout leaving the shop but why not play it safe.
 

Grn92LX

Fidanza Man!
Founding Member
Jan 14, 2001
6,819
64
129
New York
Sep 26, 2007
#5
  • Sep 26, 2007
  • #5
Maybe its possible you had gears in it already? Count the teeth and do the math and see what ratio you had.

You don't break in gears, but if you changed bearings you can give them a heat cycle or 2.

I swapped from 3.73's to 4.30's and there was a diffrence but it wasn't earth shattering either.
 

gtcobra302

Member
Sep 6, 2005
118
1
16
Centra Florida
Sep 26, 2007
#6
  • Sep 26, 2007
  • #6
What gear ratio did you have before, if you went from 3.55 or even 3.08 to a 3.73 then you wont notice that much difference. I went from a 2.73 to a 3.73 and almost **** my self. It depends on how drastic the change was, and it is worth the money to do it right, especially here.
 

JKidd

Member
Aug 21, 2007
164
3
19
Suffield, CT
Sep 26, 2007
#7
  • Sep 26, 2007
  • #7
Certain synthetic gear oil does not require friction modifiers to be added...so that doesn't sound too crazy.

As far as break in, I'd give them 200 miles. Maybe not necessary but I'd want any wear patterns to be settled in to gently as opposed to banging the crap out of them.

When I went from 3.08s to the 3.73's I noticed a huge difference. It felt as though I added at least 50 hp to the motor. Maybe you had 3.55s in there already...maybe you're expecting too much. Not sure...but there was a very noticeable difference in acceleration...IN ANY GEAR. That's what was nice. No matter what speed/gear I was in, acceleration improved noticeably.

Give them time to get settled (physically and mentally) and then see if you still feel the same.
 

Strype

Cuthbert catcher
Founding Member
May 11, 1999
61
34
104
Huntsvegas, AL
Sep 26, 2007
#8
  • Sep 26, 2007
  • #8
bloopbloob said:
Finally got my 3:73's in today, and i have to say i am somewhat dissapointed! I notice it revs a bit faster, and can spin 'em a bit easier, but nothing too drastic! Maybe i was just expecting too much?
Click to expand...

Dude the previous owner of your car probably had 3:55's in it already cause I've never heard someone say they weren't impressed with a .2 second difference in the 1/8 mile for $200- I don't even know what they add in the 1/4
 

bloopbloob

Member
Sep 27, 2006
578
4
16
Alberta
Sep 26, 2007
#9
  • Sep 26, 2007
  • #9
i went from 2:73's to 3:73's, but it sure doesnt feel like i added 50 hp! maybe 10....
 

bloopbloob

Member
Sep 27, 2006
578
4
16
Alberta
Sep 26, 2007
#10
  • Sep 26, 2007
  • #10
car was COMPLETELY stock when i bought it, and i checked the code on the diff tag a long time ago. it was 2:73, but i'll have to go count the teeth i guess. At 120km/h, in 5th i'm about 600 rpm's higher than before.....
 

rj95svt

Member
Jan 11, 2007
422
0
16
Hayden, AL
Sep 26, 2007
#11
  • Sep 26, 2007
  • #11
I went from 3.08's to 3.73's and it's noticeable but not drastic. If you can feel a difference then it did something because most bolt ons will not do much for seat of the pants feel I think you was probably just expecting a little to much.
 

Strype

Cuthbert catcher
Founding Member
May 11, 1999
61
34
104
Huntsvegas, AL
Sep 26, 2007
#12
  • Sep 26, 2007
  • #12
bloopbloob said:
car was COMPLETELY stock when i bought it, and i checked the code on the diff tag a long time ago. it was 2:73, but i'll have to go count the teeth i guess. At 120km/h, in 5th i'm about 600 rpm's higher than before.....
Click to expand...

Then congratulations are in order- you are the first person I've ever met who actually was disappointed


 

stykthyn

I want to measure mine. It doesn't look that tall.
15 Year Member
Jul 6, 2006
5,232
2,652
223
gainesville
Sep 26, 2007
#13
  • Sep 26, 2007
  • #13
should have spent the money on a ketchup induction system
 

Strype

Cuthbert catcher
Founding Member
May 11, 1999
61
34
104
Huntsvegas, AL
Sep 26, 2007
#14
  • Sep 26, 2007
  • #14
 

Dean85GT

New Member
Nov 27, 2004
502
1
0
Thorold, Ontario, Canada
Sep 26, 2007
#15
  • Sep 26, 2007
  • #15
I can agree with this...I went from 2.73s to 4.10s and I was also unimpressed. You guys hype it up way too much
 

GT Drifter

New Member
Mar 26, 2003
386
0
0
Ontario, Canada
Sep 26, 2007
#16
  • Sep 26, 2007
  • #16
Grn92LX said:
You don't break in gears, but if you changed bearings you can give them a heat cycle or 2.
Click to expand...

Um...yes you do.

Your supposed to drive the vehicle from 30 mins to heat the gears and oil up. Then you let it cool down. Do this 3 or 4 times then change the oil out, check out the gears and pull it back together with new oil. Then you drive it conservatively for 500 miles. After the 500 mile mark passes you change the oil and inspect the gears again. Put it back together and put new oil in.
Now you can beat on it like you normally would.
 

Strype

Cuthbert catcher
Founding Member
May 11, 1999
61
34
104
Huntsvegas, AL
Sep 26, 2007
#17
  • Sep 26, 2007
  • #17
GT Drifter said:
Um...yes you do.

Your supposed to drive the vehicle from 30 mins to heat the gears and oil up. Then you let it cool down. Do this 3 or 4 times then change the oil out, check out the gears and pull it back together with new oil. Then you drive it conservatively for 500 miles. After the 500 mile mark passes you change the oil and inspect the gears again. Put it back together and put new oil in.
Now you can beat on it like you normally would.
Click to expand...

+1 but you can go w/o the oil changes
 

fiveohwblow

Official Member
15 Year Member
Jul 21, 2005
2,169
145
155
Sep 26, 2007
#18
  • Sep 26, 2007
  • #18
Strype said:
+1 but you can go w/o the oil changes
Click to expand...

Thats what I did.

As for the SOTP difference, it wasnt there for me, but I went from 3.27's to 3.55's and I certainly wanted more...
 

25thmustang

Mustang Master
Sep 5, 2003
2,021
85
99
Montgomery, NY
Sep 26, 2007
#19
  • Sep 26, 2007
  • #19
GT Drifter said:
Um...yes you do.

Your supposed to drive the vehicle from 30 mins to heat the gears and oil up. Then you let it cool down. Do this 3 or 4 times then change the oil out, check out the gears and pull it back together with new oil. Then you drive it conservatively for 500 miles. After the 500 mile mark passes you change the oil and inspect the gears again. Put it back together and put new oil in.
Now you can beat on it like you normally would.
Click to expand...

Hmm, never did that on a single gear swap, and have a bunch of Mustangs that run fine, make no noise or clunking, and nothing out of the ordinary.
 

Grn92LX

Fidanza Man!
Founding Member
Jan 14, 2001
6,819
64
129
New York
Sep 26, 2007
#20
  • Sep 26, 2007
  • #20
GT Drifter said:
Um...yes you do.

Your supposed to drive the vehicle from 30 mins to heat the gears and oil up. Then you let it cool down. Do this 3 or 4 times then change the oil out, check out the gears and pull it back together with new oil. Then you drive it conservatively for 500 miles. After the 500 mile mark passes you change the oil and inspect the gears again. Put it back together and put new oil in.
Now you can beat on it like you normally would.
Click to expand...

Oh so wrong. You give fresh bearings a heat cycle or 2, you are not breaking in gears. Been there/done that 500 miles for a gear "break in" rofl
 
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
Next
1 of 4 Next Last
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

A
95 Gt intermittent backfire
  • A_A_Ron
  • May 26, 2025
  • 1979 - 1995 (Fox, SN95.0, & 2.3L) -General/Talk-
Replies
0
Views
429
1979 - 1995 (Fox, SN95.0, & 2.3L) -General/Talk- May 26, 2025
A_A_Ron
A
Drivetrain Rear end clunk
  • seanmahoney
  • Oct 13, 2025
  • SN95 4.6L Mustang Tech
Replies
3
Views
425
SN95 4.6L Mustang Tech Oct 13, 2025
nickyb
SN95 Desktop 363 Engine Combination - Looking for input
  • WhiteCobra95
  • Sep 8, 2025
  • 1979 - 1995 (Fox, SN95.0, & 2.3L) -General/Talk-
Replies
11
Views
1K
1979 - 1995 (Fox, SN95.0, & 2.3L) -General/Talk- Oct 6, 2025
Habu135
SN Mustang Magnum T56 swap
  • revhead347
  • May 24, 2024
  • 1994 - 1995 Specific Tech
Replies
15
Views
6K
1994 - 1995 Specific Tech Jun 28, 2026
GearHeadGuy
H
T5 swap do i need to switch rear end gears
  • Hunterb302
  • Mar 6, 2022
  • 1979 - 1995 (Fox, SN95.0, & 2.3L) -General/Talk-
Replies
13
Views
2K
1979 - 1995 (Fox, SN95.0, & 2.3L) -General/Talk- Mar 20, 2022
manicmechanic007
Share:
Bluesky Email Share Link
  • Mustang Forums
  • 1979 - 1995 (Fox, SN95.0, & 2.3L) -General/Talk-
Menu
Log in

Register

  • Forums
  • What's new
  • Media
  • Resources
  • Contact
  • Sponsor
X

Privacy & Transparency

We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:

  • Personalized ads and content
  • Content measurement and audience insights

Do you accept cookies and these technologies?

X

Privacy & Transparency

We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:

  • Personalized ads and content
  • Content measurement and audience insights

Do you accept cookies and these technologies?