New Mark VIII owner, 3.73 Questions

[KingJacobo]

Hi all,

I've had my Mark VIII for all of a week..already ordered Cobrastar badges it's actually in the shop because a lower ball joint snapped in my driveway and it was too low for my jack

Anyway, this 1993 car has 119k and will be my DD. It's bone stock, minus conversion to shocks and struts. I was thinking of doing a single mod that will wake up the car the most, bang for the buck without risk damaging anything or its daily driving abilities, and on my broke college kid budget.

I'm thinking 3.73, 4.10's a little high for DD duty to me, especially since it will see highway driving.

I've been doing research and some people say to get a 1 piece driveshaft because of more vibrations with a higher gear ratio. Is this necessary for 3.73s, or really only 4.10+?

What else is necessary for a SAFE 3.73 swap besides the physically gears and a tune to correct the speedo? Is 3.07 to 3.73 even worth the time and money? Some people on google don't think so.

Thanks!

 

[marked8]

You have a 93 which has a 1 piece drive shaft, so you are good. You should get a t-lok to go with it instead of the stock open rear. 4.10's would be the better choice, they are much milder than you think and easy on the rpms on the highway. A tune will not work with OBD 1 do a search for the mentioned solutions as this has been covered many times before.

 

[98LSC32V]

I think 3.90's are a decent compromise for a daily driver. I personally have never had anything less than 4.30's in any of my Marks.

 

[DieselDan]

Get a chip first, in my opinion. I got a chip from Reinhart, but I do not care for him or his customer service. Lonnie at Blue Oval Chips I hear is a good place to get them. It is about $325 for the chip, but IMO, was the best bang for the buck and you don't even have to get dirty. It changes te whole way the car acts, firmer shifts, higher shift points and a bit more power.

 

[joeynat]

+1 on blue oval chip.
You will definately notice the change.
I personally would not choose shifts:firmer than stock because my 1, 2 shift is a bit hard for my taste but thats just me.

 

[the1andonlyGR81]

4.10, trac loc and chip

 

[LaserSVT]

KingJocobo? Running a Nigerian scam here? LOL


Anyway, pay more attention to your research. 93 already has a one piece drive shaft and already has an agressive stock tune so the chip would add minimal peformance.

Gears are a good choice and cheap but installation is a few hundred or more. Would be a good idea to put in a TL at the same time to help the car hook.

Converted to struts and shocks? Car always had shocks on it and never had struts. I believe what you ment to say was its converted from air ride to coil springs.

 

[chris2523]

+1 on blue oval chip.
You will definately notice the change.
I personally would not choose shifts:firmer than stock because my 1, 2 shift is a bit hard for my taste but thats just me.

+eleventybillion. stock shifts and JMOD. the performance shift from BOC is a bit much. but i still like the chip for the improved shift schedule.

 

[Rich88LSC]

IMHO 3.73s are a waste, just go with 4.10s. Either way do a trac lok. More gear will only mae it easier to spin the tires.

I had a tune from BOC and was very happy with it. I don't know about shift firmness because I had Lonnie leave that stock as the car had valve body mods and shifted hard on it's own. I was happy with his customer service and shift schedule. With 4.10s, trac lok, 3500 stall and his tune the car picked up a full second at the track.

 

[LowLincoln]

.

 

[mikeskustomfab]

personally im glad i did 3.73s and not 4.10s in mine just recently. plus now my top speed before a chip is only 105 witch sucks nuts. but deffinatlly do a trac lok i got mine out of a 93ish ford ranger gears and all from a junk yard and only have 100 bucks and 2 hours in the whole swap

 

[ford nut]

IMHO 3.73s are a waste, just go with 4.10s. Either way do a trac lok. More gear will only mae it easier to spin the tires.

I had a tune from BOC and was very happy with it. I don't know about shift firmness because I had Lonnie leave that stock as the car had valve body mods and shifted hard on it's own. I was happy with his customer service and shift schedule. With 4.10s, trac lok, 3500 stall and his tune the car picked up a full second at the track.

^ what he said.
I went 4.10s on a DD 80 miles a day, wish I went 4.30s
Don't fear the rpm on this car.