How hard to install gears?

I can totally relate to what you're thinking. I have both a 66 Convertible and 95 GT (the 66 since '79) and other than the engine machining work and a trans rebuild, I've done everything else myself. If you want it done right, you do it yourself has always been my experience through the years.

The '66 has always been easy, 8 bolts to pull the axles and then swap the pumpkin out. Unfortunately the '95s 8.8 is the same cheap PITA design that GM etc uses - you're stuck working under the car.

I've had a set of 3.55 and 3.73 gears sitting in the garage for the '95 all summer. Can't make up my mind which to go with. They want $350.00 to $450.00 to install them around here so $200.00 sounds like a good deal for sure but what will you get in the end quality wise - that's the big what if.

I'm planning on doing them myself. I don't mean to knock on the service techs, but I don't think any of the local service guys around here that do gears had to get college degrees first. If you take your time, how hard can it really be? I think there's a lot of hype put out around gears. If I had listened to all the "you can't do that" stories, I never would have attempted the welding, bodywork, painting, suspension, engine,upholstery, etc work I needed to do. I have a whole shelf and wall full of 1st place trophies from over the last 20+ years and never once had any training on how to work on cars. If you're mechanically inclined, read a book (ie. do your research) and take your time and you can do anything!! And probably better than the guy rushing to get it done so he can get paid and move on to the next job.......!

Couple of notes:
1) Get Ford gears. I've been told by a couple of techs that Fords mfg specs are tight and 95% of the time you can just use the original pinion shim with no worries on the pinion depth. After that, get a dial indicator and base to set your backlash and you should be good. If you want to be more high tech about it, Summits last flyer had their p/n RAT-10006 pinion setting tool available for only $29.95.
2) If you have ABS you'll probably need new sensors. They're plastic and almost impossible to remove w/o breaking. (Another $120-150.00 to add to the project - partly why I've put off doing mine, the cost keeps escalating...)
3) The pinion takes like 140 ft/lb to crush the pinion collar. Make sure you have a big enough torque wrench.

Let us all know how it works out. Maybe it'll give me the incentive to get on the ball and get around to doing it this winter!

3.55 Gears = 39 tooth ring, 11 tooth pinion

3.73 Gears = 41 tooth ring, 11 tooth pinion

Again, what many techs have told me, stick w/ Ford gears.

Also keep in mind your speedometer gears and what changes will be rerquired. The 3.55s will work with a 23 tooth driven gear in the trans and be accurate. The 23 tooth is the biggest driven gear you can get. For the speedo to be correct (this varies through the years but most of the time ) you will need to change your transmission speedometer drive gear for the speedo to be correct with 3.73 gears.

This means pulling the shifter out, dropping the H-pipe (hopefully no rusted bolts on the headers, oxygen sensors, or the air tube to the converters to break) and pulling the tailshaft off the trans in order to slip the $10.00 plastic gear on the output shaft of the trans!

Part of the reason I keep procrastinating and putting off deciding between the 3.55s and 3.73s and don't get around to making the gear swap...........