So I've finally got the rear end in the car and about 50 or so miles on it, both stop and go traffic and highway (60-ish MPH).
FoxMustangLvr I do think this is a great gear for the street, especially since I'm not driving around town flooring it all the time. I did a couple of quick runs shifting around 4,500 through first, second and third. There is definitely an appreciable difference in how quickly the car gets up and goes. Obviously I would have noticed a bigger difference if I had 2.73's in there before, but the jump from 3.08 to 3.73 is still worth it IMO. I can't say what 3.55's would be like obviously, but I imagine they really wouldn't feel a whole lot different than 3.73's.
Cruising around town (45MPH or so) I'm running around 2,200 - 2,300 RPM (according to the 22 year old stock tach). It feels high so I find myself shifting into 5th when I get much above 45mph.
What are other people usually running around town? Think common street, not a stoplight every 1/4 - 1/2 mile and steady traffic flow. I'm used to smaller displacement engines so running a 5.0 around town at 2,300+ just doesn't seem right to me, but maybe it is.
Of course, with everything, something doesn't go right or isn't quite as expected. For me, this rear is noisy. I hear a noticeable whine/howl from the rear end as speed increases and it is louder when you're on the gas (accelerating, not decelerating). It's most noticeable in 3rd and 4th. From what I've read a whine under load (accelerating) is due to the gears being too tight. Clunking or knocking occurs when the gears are too loose. Funny thing is, I've got some of that too, especially during parking lot driving (clutch in, clutch out, coast, clutch out, etc.) People that know me will confirm I'm very sensitive to noises, clunks, rattles, etc. If I can hear anything other than a normal engine sound and exhaust I fear something is wrong. I've also read that cars with higher gear ratios tend to have a bit of a howl/whine, but I've seen things disputing that. Also seems that a lot of people with aftermarket gears have some level of whine/howl, with less than the majority having perfectly quiet operation.
So, is it going to hurt anything to drive it with this whine/howl under load? I'd rather not swap in a new set of gears as that would completely defeat the purchase of this new rear end. As I also understand it, once the gears are installed and driven with (which happened way before I purchased this rear end) you can't really go in and adjust them to eliminate the howl or whine.
Thoughts, opinions, comments? Sorry to be long winded. Here's some pictures.
I removed the backing plates from the axle housing so I could just tie the brakes up out of the way when I swapped axles. I used a piece of 3/8" rope wound through the hole for the shock.
Old one out
New one going in
All bolted up
Used some flat black implement paint to freshen up the drums and hopefully prevent them from rusting as fast
