I bought a used 1985 E350 25' motor home. A few people said these usually came with 4.10 ratio but mine has 3.54 (door sticker 53 code, big 7400 lb capacity). I got good power now (460 with hi perf exhaust and intake) but worried I might cook the tranny if I tow a bass boat or a car. Should I worry? Is this easy to do (yeah it's heavy)? With the gas prices so high might get a deal on the 4.10 on a swap??? This is low milage, if I do it I might get a worn one, do they wear out or get noisy? Dave
Swap Dana 3.54 for 4.10 on E350?
May 10, 2005
Last reply: 21 years ago
4 Replies
Gear swaps are best done by those with experience doing them. I've done a couple ring & pinion jobs over the past 20 some-odd years, but I much prefer letting the pros do 'em these days. Getting the lash and preload right is CRITICAL to reliability and longevity.
No need to swap out the entire rear axle. Any driveline shop should be able to swap in a set of 4.10s for you.
.first off, it's going to increase your RPM at whatever-speed-you-normally-cruise-at by about 16 %
( 410/354 = 1.16 approx)
and may increase gas consumption by about that much
This will have a C-6 in it, put a BIG external cooler on it + a 4WD pan and filter
Thanks for replies- I like the ideas alot. The milage don't bother me it gets 8mpg now so I am already over that- have also heard that it might not change much-probly depends on driving habits somewhat. It does run quiet though and might miss that. Now for the hard part $$$$- does need trans service now and will check out 4wd pans. Dave
Dave. I also have a 460 in a Motorhome,'87, 21'. Not sure what the ratio is but mine turns just under 2500 rpm at 60 mph It has 115,000 miles on it and the original owner towed a car. You might want to ask the question on rec.outdoors.rv-travel. Geoff.
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