how do i change the gearing and where do i get wheel spacers

[cloakrider]

hello there fellas
i have a 94 e250 sportsmobile 5.8 gas motor,2wd with a fabtech 6 inch liftkit which i have been doing up for the last year and its looking real good nowadays...i love this van and am new to the forums so im looking for advice on a couple of subjects!!
have recently had some new wheels and tires fitted 8x10 procomp alloys with a 8x 6.5 bolt pattern all around which i had powdercoated satin black and a set of 325 micky thompson baja tires and yes they fit and it looks great!!!!
so now the van is way overgeared, this thing ways a ton, i would like to go to a lower ratio than stock as i live in L.A. and its stop and go all day here,whats the lowest you can go,where do i get the parts and what is involved in changing them?
also where do i get wheel spacers from?i cant seem to find them anywhere

thanks

adrian

[LeadDoggy]

Welcome aboard!

Check out 4 Wheel Part Wholesalers for the gear change. They do many gear changes and should be able to set you up with the right ratio. They may also have lead on the spacers/adapters.
I have seen a few places on line for the spacers/adapters and E-Bay comes to mind right now. I'm also in the market for spacers and have though of contacting SportsMobile for them.

[Ford_6L_E350]

I would suggest:

http://www.wheeladapter.com/

His stuff is first class, unlike some of the eBay stuff. And you can have what you want, not just what they have.

You might check wrecking yards for an axle. If you exchange your axle, it will probably cost less than replacing a gear set ($700-1000)

Mike

[stanton]

I second Ford_6L_E350's suggestion.

Wheeladpter.com is run by Fred Goeske a big old school SoCal drag racer and hot rod builder. When you call to order, he will talk your ear off telling all kinds of great stories from his glory days.

He is really knowledgeable, builds your spacers to order in his own shop, and does great work. I believe he supplies spacers to various class c manufactures now.

[jage]

Randy's Ring and Pinion is well known in the Jeep world for gear changes. There are also charts around for tire size to gear ratio.

Here is a good example:
http://www.4lo.com/calc/geartable.htm

Your "factory ratio", e.g. your green, may be different. My Jeep started with 3.73 & 30s and I run it with 3.73 and 35s, so I went from 2715 stock to 2215 RPM. To get back near stock I could pick 4.27 and be a little underpowered, or 4.56 and get a little more punch. I doubt I'd notice the difference between 4.27 and 4.56 because the jump from 3.73 is pretty big, which is good because 4.11 and 4.56 are probably my only choices for the Jeep.

The limit is your axle, all the ratios aren't available for all axles. I believe the SMB4x4s have 4.10 and 33" tires "stock". Does anybody know what stock Ford, Quigley, Quadvan or any others are?

[Switchfoot]

With the cargo vans, I believe you could get rear axle ratios in 3.55, 3.73, and 4.10. Each engine had a standard ratio offered and the others were options.

Our Quigley came 4.10s. Our 1995 E150 Chateau (passenger van) came with the 5.8 liter motor and a 3.55, but we ordered the tow package that included the 3.73 ratio.

Cloakrider - are your new tires size 325/60-18? If so, they should be about 33.5 inches tall compared to 29" or so stock. You need to find out what rear axle ratio is in your van. The ID plate on the driver's door will have a code that you can decipher with some Internet research. There also may be a metal tag or stamp on the rear axle with some numbers on it. If not, you can do the old jack up the rear end and rotate a tire and count how many times the driveshaft rotates for one complete tire revolution.

You're actually under-geared going to bigger tires. Is your off-the-line acceleration pretty slow now in comparison? Can the tranny hold overdrive on the freeway easily?

Putting your axle ratio back as close to stock will probably give you the best combination of performance and fuel economy. My guess is you'll need 4.10 gears which should fit your axle.

[carringb]

4.10 is not enough for those tires. Go at least 4.30 or even 4.56

I have 4.56 gears on my van and it has 265 tires.

[jage]

Originally Posted by carringb

4.10 is not enough for those tires.

Not enough to haul what you haul, probably not. But seriously, it bring up a good point, this becomes subjective somewhere in the discussion. You have an opportunity to change how the van works. With the V8 I might be inclined to agree that 4.10 might not be aggressive enough- but "aggressive enough" is subjective.

I suppose you could always get some take offs from a tire store to simulate a gear change, but in all likelihood you'll be fine with whatever you choose based on more aggressive vs. better economy.

[Bones_GSXR]

I am going to 37in tires and may end up with 4.88 (found a F550 front axle with the big 14.5 Rotors) but might regear to 4.56 if possible as that is better for my daily driver. Got to weigh your options.