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How much hp can the ford 7.5 handle?


adsm08

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Dirtman

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Georgia is so damn cool. We shot guns every day, blew crap up, used stuff you would be arrested for looking at in NJ or even PA. No one cares down there.
 

85_Ranger4x4

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I've owned 4 different 7.5s and they are all still in working order. Never been rebuilt or needed to be taken apart. I know its nice to have the bigger breaks on the 8.8 though I'm sure you could put em on a 7.5 as well. The main reason To switch is if you are running 35" tires. The bigger ring gear is stronger then the 7.5. Relatively speaking. And I think the hp rating isnt as relavent as the GVWR. Which is the one of only reason the explorers run 31 spline 8.8.
And 160hp 4.0 Rangers warranted the 28 spline 8.8 with the same shafts/bearings as a 7.5 why?
 

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I'm not even sure what were fighting about anymore but I wanna say @PetroleumJunkie412 has the answer.
 

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85_Ranger4x4

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Jim Oaks

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I've never seen anyone destroy a 7.5
 

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I’ve seen the axle tubes spin, the axles snap, the spider gears blow a hole in the rear cover (that one was my fault... but in my defense, it was a glorious burnout!!), a pinion snap, and a carrier crack in half. That’s just behind the 4cylinder and 6 cylinder.
I've seen 8.8s suffer pretty much the same fates behind v8s.
Anything can break... It all depends on how hard you beat on it.
 

85_Ranger4x4

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I’ve seen the axle tubes spin, the axles snap, the spider gears blow a hole in the rear cover (that one was my fault... but in my defense, it was a glorious burnout!!), a pinion snap, and a carrier crack in half. That’s just behind the 4cylinder and 6 cylinder.
I've seen 8.8s suffer pretty much the same fates behind v8s.
Anything can break... It all depends on how hard you beat on it.
They all break, 30+ years of who knows what maintenance and care doesn’t help.
 

scotts90ranger

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I broke a tooth off a spider gear on a 7.5" back in the day, but that took low range first gear with the hubs unlocked pulling a garage over and the rope broke...
 

19Walt93

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I don't know if I've ever seen a 7.5 fail catastrophically, I just don't like them after dealing with so many early ones with ring gear runout and failed wheel bearings chewing up axles. I never liked working on them. I pulled a thoroughly worn out 8.8 out of my Ranger and am replacing it with a dinosaur 8" in a Mustang II housing with custom 5 lug axles from Currie. The stock Mustang II axles are bigger diameter than the 8.8 axles, the Currie axles are bigger still. If you didn't know, an 8 inch is the same basic design as a 9 inch, the center drops out, it has 3 pinion bearings, the axles aren't held in by C clips, and it's easier to set up than a 7.5 or 8.8. After seeing the 8.8 apart it doesn't look a bit ruggeder than an 8.
 

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And 160hp 4.0 Rangers warranted the 28 spline 8.8 with the same shafts/bearings as a 7.5 why?
I'm going to go with...the increased torque and larger stock tires?
 

don4331

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19Walt93

Doesn't that 8" have a pinion of <1" diameter? Achilles heal.
.
 

85_Ranger4x4

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19Walt93

Doesn't that 8" have a pinion of <1" diameter? Achilles heal.
.
7.5/28 spline 8.8 1.21"

31 spline 8.8 is 1.34"

8" from what I can see uses 1.1875" shafts from the factory.

IMO the diff is the weak point of the 7.5 moreso than the shafts.
 

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