'99 Rear Axle

[GreenMachine4.0]

Hey all, forgive me if this isn't the right place, but I have a question that I specifically registered here to ask.

I have a '99 Ranger, 4x4, 4.0L V6, and every piece of media I've read states that in the 4.0L V6 Rangers after 1998 all have the 8.8" rear axles with disc brakes. My issue, however, is my truck is equipped with the 7.5" rear axle with drum brakes. Does anyone have any insight as to why my truck has seemingly the wrong rear axle? The guy I bought it from had to do some front end work after a collision with a deer, but the truck was otherwise a farm truck, so I'm fairly certain the rear axle wasn't swapped.

 

[ericbphoto]

What’s the axle code in the door sticker? That will tell you for sure what the truck was built with. If it was changed later, only the person who did it could tell you why.

here is some info about axle codes.

Ford 7.5 & 8.8 Inch Axle Tag & Door Codes - The Ranger Station

Identifying Your Axle From The Axle Tag: You can identify which axle you have by the tag attached to the inspection cover. Here is an example of an axle tag: Looking at that tag, you can see the gear ratio … Continued

www.therangerstation.com

 

[2011Supercab]

Only the 2010 and 2011 Rangers have disc brakes on the rear.

 

[00t444e]

Hey all, forgive me if this isn't the right place, but I have a question that I specifically registered here to ask.

I have a '99 Ranger, 4x4, 4.0L V6, and every piece of media I've read states that in the 4.0L V6 Rangers after 1998 all have the 8.8" rear axles with disc brakes. My issue, however, is my truck is equipped with the 7.5" rear axle with drum brakes. Does anyone have any insight as to why my truck has seemingly the wrong rear axle? The guy I bought it from had to do some front end work after a collision with a deer, but the truck was otherwise a farm truck, so I'm fairly certain the rear axle wasn't swapped.

I don't know where you are reading that at, Rangers never had rear discs until 2010, and all 4.0 Rangers came with the Ford 8.8 rear.

 

[Shran]

All 4.0 powered trucks should have come with 8.8 rear axles from '90 on up. Some early 2000's FX4 Level II's had 31 spline shafts, everything else 28. Everything up to 2010 had 10" drum brakes, as mentioned '10 and '11 had discs.

My guess is that if you're SURE it's a 7.5, someone swapped it in. These trucks are at a minimum 12 years old now, yours is 24 years old, a lot can happen. It's almost impossible to say "all original" unless we bought our trucks new and know for sure.

 

[RonD]

Welcome to TRS

As said above you have the wrong info on Rangers, Explorers did get rear disc brakes earlier

Good page to bookmark for Ranger info: https://www.therangerstation.com/tech/
Check out the AXLE section

50% of 4x4 Rangers came with Limited Slip(L/S) rear axle
Previous owner may have swapped in a 7.5" L/S axle which would be better than an 8.8" OPEN axle
Jack up the rear wheels and spin one, if the other wheel spins in the same direction its an L/S axle, if other wheel spins in opposite direction then its an OPEN axle

You are better off with an L/S than OPEN axle regardless of the size

If you are going to replace rear axle then hold out for L/S model and it MUST match front axles ratio

 

[00t444e]

Previous owner may have swapped in a 7.5" L/S axle which would be better than an 8.8" OPEN axle
Jack up the rear wheels and spin one, if the other wheel spins in the same direction its an L/S axle, if other wheel spins in opposite direction then its an OPEN axle

You are better off with an L/S than OPEN axle regardless of the size

In what world is that true? I would want an 8.8 open axle over one with the crappy factory limited slip, and I would never want a 7.5 no matter what is in it.

 

[cbxer55]

My 98 has a 7.5. With 4.10 gears. It does no wrong. Supposedly an Open axle, but it doesn't act that way. With both wheels int he air, when I spin one, the other spins in the opposite direction, just like my 04 LIGHTNING with a L/S axle. If I only lift up one wheel, I cannot turn it. Prior to my friend's shop doing the 4.10 swap, that was not the case.

 

[tinman_72]

My 98 has a 7.5. With 4.10 gears. It does no wrong. Supposedly an Open axle, but it doesn't act that way. With both wheels int he air, when I spin one, the other spins in the opposite direction, just like my 04 LIGHTNING with a L/S axle. If I only lift up one wheel, I cannot turn it. Prior to my friend's shop doing the 4.10 swap, that was not the case.

The clutches in your 04 LIGHTNING limited slip are worn.

 

[ericbphoto]

My 98 has a 7.5. With 4.10 gears. It does no wrong. Supposedly an Open axle, but it doesn't act that way. With both wheels int he air, when I spin one, the other spins in the opposite direction, just like my 04 LIGHTNING with a L/S axle. If I only lift up one wheel, I cannot turn it. Prior to my friend's shop doing the 4.10 swap, that was not the case.

With LS or locker, they should spin same direction. Opposite direction is what open does.

 

[00t444e]

My 98 has a 7.5. With 4.10 gears. It does no wrong. Supposedly an Open axle, but it doesn't act that way. With both wheels int he air, when I spin one, the other spins in the opposite direction, just like my 04 LIGHTNING with a L/S axle. If I only lift up one wheel, I cannot turn it. Prior to my friend's shop doing the 4.10 swap, that was not the case.

If one wheel spins the opposite direction then you don't have a limited slip or the clutches are very worn out if you do have one.

 

[RonD]

+1 ^^^

You can make an OPEN rear differential act like an L/S if you ever get stuck, assuming you have a working E-brake system
OPEN differential powers the easiest to spin axle/wheel

So the wheel with the least traction just spins happily while the other wheel which might have more traction just sits there, lol
While the one wheel is spinning hold out E-brake release and slowly push down the E-brake pedal
What happens is the easiest wheel to spin now becomes harder to spin and the differential will start to transfer power to other other wheel, yes even though E-brake is also being applied to both wheels
The other wheel will start to turn and if it has traction you may just get out of being stuck
Its a bit of an art, but has got me unstuck a few times, in cars and trucks
Hand E-brakes are way easier to do this with, lol, especially with manual transmissions


Clutch pack L/S has both axles locked full time, so you have to add a friction modifier to allow the clutches to slip when cornering, otherwise rear end will "clunk" when cornering

Gear only L/S act like OPEN differential until one wheel starts to spin faster than the other, then they will transfer more power to the slower spinning wheel and away from the faster spinning wheel, you might notice the delay on snow or ice as the vehicle slides one way or the other until power is equal at both wheels

The clutch pack L/S do need the friction material changed, but not all that often
Gear only L/S just needs regular fluid changes(same as clutch pack) so one less thing to worry about in replacing friction material

 

[GreenMachine4.0]

Thanks for the information everyone, you've all been a big help.