Re: [VAC] Towing with a Ford manual transmission

[Rob Super <rms@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Here's the thing. The calculations assume that changing the axle ratio 
will proportionally change the towing capacity of the vehicle. Obviously 
this can be true up to a point, but there is some limit beyond which that 
simple relationship will fail: there are many components of a tow vehicle 
(engine, gears, brakes, frame, hitch...) *each* of which must be up to 
the job. You couldn't tow the Great Pyramid with even a billion-to-one 
rear end because, if nothing else, the hitch -to-frame bolts would shear.

It appears from the original post quoted above that the 3.55 is the 
highest ratio Ford made available in the subject vehicle. Maybe there was 
a 3.73. But the 4.10 and 4.56 are beyond anything the factory put on. 
That could be for marketing, emissions, or other reasons; it could also 
be because such ratios would make it possible to bend the frame, or put 
into motion things that can't be stopped, or.... Before random 
strengthening any one link, I'd want to know how strong the other links 
are.


Rob