Has anyone has any experience with these rears. They come with disc brakes, 31 spline axles and posi centers they would seem perfect for our use in a late 30's up car. Does anyone know how wide they are mounting flange to flange?
try The ranger station .com they got everything you want to know and more when it comes to those rears. Axle codes, ratios , etc
not all explorers are posi and have rear disc,you may need to make sure if the rear your looking at had a 3.0,4.0,or 5.0,3.0 is the base explorer engine,non posi and drum rears on most,and a few 4.0 had drum rears
They have very small caliper pistons, around 1-3/8" or so, and not a good match for normal front calipers.
they are around 59", i can walk out to the shop and measure one tonight if you want, it's drum brake rear.... really late model exploders are IRS too....
The 8.8 rears in the rangers are 56 1/2, Mercury Mountaineers are 59 1/2 and the explorer is 59 3/4 The easly awy to till the 8.8 from the 7.5 is the rear cover is 10 1/2 by 11 inches on the 8.8 and the cover on the 7.5 is 10 9/16 by 10 9/16
The Ranger pickup rear is very similar. Rangers built in 91 or before are the narowest, I found one in a Super Cab 4X4. it had 3.73 Traction lok. Be very carefull you dont get the axle with the small brakes, the biggest truck with the big V6 for whatever year always had the big brakes.
I plan on using a 8.8 from a 97-01 explorer in my F-100. Ford Truck Enthusiasts' web site has some really good tech info on this kind of stuff... go to ford dash trucks dot com. swiped from their site: 1989 – 2001 - Ford Explorer – 59 ¼ - ½” flange to flange. - All explorer rear ends are the same 5 on 4 ½” bolt pattern. - 8.8” rear end - come with 3.25, 3.55, 3.73 and 4.11 gears. - 89-94 drum brakes only. - 94-97 drum or disc. brakes - 97-01 disc. Brakes only - Can use an 8” rim with 3 ½” backspacing and P235/75R-15 tires - Number 3 choice for ease of installation and price.
95 or 96 and up all had rear discs, most v6's had 3.73, few had 4.10's and v8's usually 3.55. Lockers are a hit or miss say about 50-50 chance. really stout rear ends 3.5" tubes I believe, big pinions. good stuff
I want to replace the 3:73 gears in a 94 explorer rear with 3:08 gears from a mustang , any problems ? Ken
I just measured the disc-brake Explorer rear I bought for my shoebox. The spring pads are approximately 39-3/4" apart and the flange to flange is approximately 59-1/2". One point no one has made yet is the Ranger spring pads are on TOP of the axle, like a truck. The Explorer spring pads are UNDER the axle, like a car. I hope this helps you.
My 89 Ranger 4x4 w/V6 had a locker. Leads me to believe that all of the 4x4 Rangers have a locker. May be true with the Explorers as well.
It should be a straight forward swap. No 3 or 4 series carrier to worry about If Im correct. Just set your pinion preload and backlash to spec.
I'm found a 86 ranger 4x4/v6, pulled the axle, I hoped it had a locker, but no. Its still a really good axle.
Ford didn't make a 3.25 R&P for the 8.8. It's 3.27. Not that it really matters, but for accuracy's sake....
Thanks guys I was thinking of using one in my next project, a 40 ford pickup with a 401 Buick or smallblock. I have to finish my current project first my 39 ford coupe.
The Ford Truck website has great info on those rears, I put one in my 48 F1, perfect width. The calipers are alittle small, but everything else is sturdy enough. Lots in junkyards, you should be able to find a posi easy enough. When mounting it, remember the axle tubes are 3 1/4 inches, not the more common 3 inch, so you likely have to modify spring mounts.
Be careful though, having Explorer parts on your rod might make it want to unexplainedly flip onto its top.
That's exactly what I'm going to put in my '39 Ford coupe. I just ordered the suspension parts last night. I'll try to remember to post back after the parts arrive. My axle is out of a 2001 Explorer and has 3:73 gears and posi. Not to mention, disc brakes and emergency brakes built in. Looks like it'll work out fine. Mike
Another thing that might be helpfull to some is the speed sensor on Explorers is in the axle housing on the upper drivers side of the center section above the pinion input. If you wanted to run an electronic speedo it'd be easy.
I am pretty sure that the axle tubes are different lengths though. I think its like a 2-3" offset. Someone correct me if Im wrong. Also need an adapter for the pinion flange or go to the dealer and order the flange off the driveshaft.
It is offset to one side. Not sure how much, but I believe it's set so the pinion is in true center. No idea what you are talking about for an adapter pinion flange.
They're not like a 12 bolt or 9" yoke, its a big circle with like 8 bolt holes in it. No ujoint straps
There are 2 different pinion yoke's measure the bolt pattern before you get two of them. Have the one with the smaller pattern left over from the 46 ford truck swap just finished. Another good thing is the pinion yokes still use the standard size ford u-joint.
Yes, provided both are 8.8 rear ends. Why are you switching to a higher rear gear in the explorer? Or, is the EXP rear being used in something else requiring a freeway flier gear? If it's for gas mileage in an Exploder, it will only get worse. the 3.73's are the best gears for an Exploder.
Just installed one in my S10 53 chevy . the center section is off set about 3" and you will need a flanged type u joint. and in my case a changed out uni for the chevy drive shaft I believe napa 372 u joint. Ed ke6bnl.
if you just wan't a basic rearend without all the bullshit check out a toyota truck rearend. they are narrow, they have ford car pattern, the axles are BIGGER dia. than a 9" ford and best of all they are cheap! stout and light.
Here's an installed shot of the '01 Explorer rear in my '39 Ford coupe chassis. Seems to work out real well on these. Big thanks to Ahotrod and Wyle E Coyote for all the help. Mike
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