Stiff clutch on 3.0

[DennisH]

On my 94 Ranger its hard to take off without having to double clutch alot. it also excellerates rather slowly before it hits about 2,000 rpm's. last year i swithced tires from a 29' tall to a 30.5x9.5 R15. im not sure if that would make it harder to take off and would also make it excellerate slower. I replaced the clutch about 30,000 miles ago and i'm afraid it needs a new one maybe. is this normal or should i think about replacing the clutch and switching back to the smaller tires?

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

putting bigger tires on it will make it harder to get rolling.

the 3.0 in your truck is a high revver....it makes almost no torque below 2,000 rpm...so this is somewhat "normal".

i would start by checking your rear axle ratio. some trucks came with bad gearing from the factory....and adding larger tires just compounds the problem.

 

[DennisH]

i beleive it has 3.73 gears and 7.5" ring gear if im not misstaken. i thought about getting 4:10 gears but i would also have to find 4:10 for the front and didnt want to put that kinda money in it all at once when the rear end went. would you recommend finding some 4:10 gears out of a junk yard and replacing it with my 3.73's? this is a problem that i would like to fix the most on my truck becuase i do alot of city driving so its constantly stop and go. but wouldn't 4:10 gears slow my maximum speed as well? and can i just "drop in" the 4:10 gears into my existing axles? or would i need a totally new rear and front end?

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

3.73's with 31" tires (thats what they are likely "supposed" to be) are do-able...but not ideal. this is the same gearing i currently have in my truck and pickup from a stop is pretty lacking.

going to a taller gear ratio will technically lower your top speed....but you shouldnt be anywhere near your trucks top speed (90+ mph) anyway. you'll still be able to cruise at any legal highway speeds with ease.

what your "giving up" with taller gearing is highway RPM. most people like to keep their rpms at or around 2,000 while cruising. going to a taller gear will raise your rpm at the same given speed....so what you need to decide on is a gear that has the best balance between low end power and high speed RPM for you.

4.10's will bring your final gearing back to about what it was with your stock-sized tires. you'll turn about 2300 RPM at 65 mph. if you do a lot more city driving than highway driving, you might decide on an even taller gear, which will give you gobs of torque for stopping and going all the time. 4.56's, for example, might make you think you have a v-8 under the hood, but with that gear, you'll turn about 2500 RPM at 65 mph.

as for installing the gears themselves....4.10 was stock in many 4 cylinder trucks. so if you can find a 4x4 with 4.10's in a junkyard, you could steal the axles out of it and swap them into your truck for a lot less time and money than buying new gears for your axles. you can buy new gears for both your axles should you choose (either from a lack of junkyard axles, or choosing a higher ratio than 4.10's - the highest gear available from the factory), but installing them is NOT something a backyard mechanic can do. they require setting up and adjusting to within thousanths of an inch or else the gears will be destroyed. you can expect to pay a few hundred dollers in labor per axle to have the gears installed.

theres always the option of going back to stock size tires if you dont need the larger shoes. gearing is something people often overlook when slapping bigger tires under their trucks...but without it, performance suffers and transmissions and clutches experience more wear.

 

[DennisH]

Wow, that was actually a very well written reply. Thanks, you answered all my questions. I don't really want to put all new axles in it becuase thats frankly speeking a bitch. I allready repalced my rear end and I never want to have to do it agian. It wasn't too technically challanging, it was just every bolt was rusted FAST! and I did it while hosting a party but with no help basically. How country is that? lol As far as lessening the strain on the clutch what can be done about that without the use of gears etc.? Should I bleed it or just put a new one on?

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

i know all about rusted bolts....living in the northwest definitely has its drawbacks.

if your not experiencing any symptoms of a worn clutch (slipping, chattering, spongy pedal, ect), then nothing needs to be done to it. theres no adjustment for a hydraulic clutch. the only way to reduce wear and gain your trucks pep back is to go up with the gears or down with the tires.