Axle Swap

[KolbyMason]

I have a 1990 Ranger S the drivers side rear axle part is bent causing the truck to wobble really bad i was wondering if i could just slap a newer like an 02 7.5 axle or does it have to be from the same year

 

[RonD]

Welcome to TRS

1983 to 1992 Rangers were 2 inches narrower than 1993-2011 Rangers

But the axles from any year will FIT, bolt in, its just that the 1993 and up will stick out 1" farther on each side
7.5" or 8.8" Ranger axles will FIT your 1990

Look here: https://therangerstation.com/tech_library/Ford-7_5-axle.shtml

When looking for axles a Limited Slip(L/S) would be a good one to find

Read here to find out how to ID an L/S axle: https://therangerstation.com/tech_library/axle_codes.shtml

L/S means both wheels get power, OPEN means only the easiest wheel to turn gets power, which is why when you get stuck only 1 wheel spins
L/S is better

 

[Josh B]

Is it the entire axle or just the axle shaft? The shafts are easy to pull, just pull the differential cover and slip the C clamp out, then pull the axle shaft. You'll want new bearings, a bearing puller is usually among the loaners at some parts places

 

[Slowestranger88]

The other day I bought a explorer rear end out of a 97 I think it was, with a 8.8 4:10 lsd and I want to put it in my 88 ranger any info on what I’ll need or how complicated the project will be. The 3.73 weren’t cutting it with 31/10.5 tires. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

 

[Josh B]

The other day I bought a explorer rear end out of a 97 I think it was, with a 8.8 4:10 lsd and I want to put it in my 88 ranger any info on what I’ll need or how complicated the project will be. The 3.73 weren’t cutting it with 31/10.5 tires. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

You'll get better replies in time but for now, if i remember correctly the difference is in the width which is just split half and half

 

[RonD]

There are a couple of explorer axle swap articles here: https://therangerstation.com/tech_library/index-axles.shtml

The leaf spring perches are different for use in Rangers, if you want a taller stance then you will need to cut these off and reweld them on to Ranger position