new rear end

[sloth69mustang]

If it were me, I would keep the axle you have.

lol i would blow it up too fast. but thanks for the info guys. i guess i am going to fab it in. and welding isnt an issue. i have a welder at the house so just some measuring and careful welding i guess will get it in.

 

[4x4junkie]

lol i would blow it up too fast. but thanks for the info guys. i guess i am going to fab it in. and welding isnt an issue. i have a welder at the house so just some measuring and careful welding i guess will get it in.

Yeah, its not that hard to do, just make sure you have the pinion angle lined up properly.

I put a '99 Explorer 8.8 in my BII.
For the parking brakes I fabbed up a linkage using a couple of the old parts & some threaded rod to hook the main Ranger p-brake cable to the Explorer cables. Works great, and the threaded rod provides some adjustment for it as well.

Your cable bracket that's attached to the leafspring bolt may need to be modified or replaced though, as the Ex p-brake cables are shorter than the Ranger ones. I made the bracket for mine out of some scrap steel.

click for big

 

[sloth69mustang]

Yeah, its not that hard to do, just make sure you have the pinion angle lined up properly.

I put a '99 Explorer 8.8 in my BII.
For the parking brakes I fabbed up a linkage using a couple of the old parts & some threaded rod to hook the main Ranger p-brake cable to the Explorer cables. Works great, and the threaded rod provides some adjustment for it as well.

Your cable bracket that's attached to the leafspring bolt may need to be modified or replaced though, as the Ex p-brake cables are shorter than the Ranger ones. I made the bracket for mine out of some scrap steel.

click for big

nice i like it i will prolly do something close to the same

 

[rickcdewitt]

even my 2.9l was able to kill an 8.8.i'de definately get rid of the 7.5.the later rangers had the wider stance of the exploders if im not mistaken.93 and up i think.

 

[AllanD]

even my 2.9l was able to kill an 8.8.i'de definately get rid of the 7.5.the later rangers had the wider stance of the exploders if im not mistaken.93 and up i think.

No, your 2.9 did not "kill" an 8.8" axle you MAy have had an 8.8" axle die in a 2.9 truck, but that isn't the same thing...

The later rangers '93-up do have a wider stance than the '83-92 rangers, but still not as wide as the explorer.

the 31-spline axle shafts while desireable aren't strictly necissary, but the larger diameter axle tubes are another matter....

The Disc brakes aren't necissary regardless of how fast
anyone thinks their ranger is going to be, because stopping
like acceleration is limited by traction.
HOWEVER the internal drum parking brake is nice to have, unlike the
standard ranger/explorer drum brakes which are technically
described as "single anchor point SERVO actuated brakes"
The Explorer parking brake is "NON-servo".
To make a short explanation out of it Servo
actuated brakes function by the cylinder applying pressure mainly to the "lead" or "primary" shoe and that shoe forces the "secondary"
or "trailing" show into harder engagement.

The problem with this is that Servo-type drum brakes while providing mechanical advantage above and beyond the hydraulic force applied
do not work as effectively when backing up.

Ever notice that while you can back up fairly easily
with the parking brake applied, you can't go forward as easily?

The explorer parking brake doesn't suffer from this deficit

Lastly, many people have difficulty assembling the springs and levers
that the drum brakes use, while replacing brake pads on discs can be
done by a stoned chimpanzee on a tequila bender.

BTW, a "Flip kit" does NOT make putting an explorer axle into a ranger easy, because you still won't have shock mounts on the axle.

Perhaps I shouldn't mention this, but I'm making a fixture for Axles to facilitate welding Ranger spring and shock mounts to them without having
to have the axle partially fitted into the truck.

And 28-spline Ranger 8.8" rears aren't NEARLY as common
as explorer axles. Remember that (for practiucal purposes)
only 4.0 Rangers came with 8.8" rears, while ALL explorers did...

And I believe Ford actually made more Explorers most years than Rangers.

AD

 

[rickcdewitt]

i'm well aware that a 2.9 doesn't have the power to shear parts in an 8.8. i think he understood i was saying the 7.5 is junk without you mincing up words and regurgitating them for me. thanks for the width heads up but keep the high and mighty s*%t to yourself i'm no newb.we're all just trying to help each other out and that crap ruins threads faster than anything.

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

wow dude, little defensive eh? he was just saying it wasnt the "powerful" 2.9that ruined the axle. you could destroy an 8.8 with a 2.0 if you tried hard enough.

the 7.5 is weak, but its also underrated by a lot of people. ive carried over a ton in the bed and towed around 3,000lbs with 31's on my 7.5 and its survived.

 

[rickcdewitt]

wow dude, little defensive eh? he was just saying it wasnt the "powerful" 2.9that ruined the axle. you could destroy an 8.8 with a 2.0 if you tried hard enough.

the 7.5 is weak, but its also underrated by a lot of people. ive carried over a ton in the bed and towed around 3,000lbs with 31's on my 7.5 and its survived.

yeah i definately tried hard enough to kill it. what can i say,a guy quotes and corrects you enough times in one day he'll hear about itthe tech advisors have to wade through a lot of shit and i respect them but their attitudes can get a little old after a while.

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

ya, allan grinds everyones nerves...hang around long enough and youll get used to it

the way i see it, if the 31 spline 8.8 can hold up to 320+ft-lbs in a mustang GT, its good enough for anything that came in a ranger

 

[rickcdewitt]

the way i see it, if the 31 spline 8.8 can hold up to 320+ft-lbs in a mustang GT, its good enough for anything that came in a ranger

yeah thats how i feel.i set mine up with a crush sleeve eliminator and nice tight bearings and backlash.i'm not too worried about it,it should last another 180,000 miles if i don't wrench an axle tube out of place.the way things are going for the rest of the truck it might wind up in a b2 though.a long bed ranger can have a hard time following jeeps around overgrown redwood forests.the old girl hill climbs way better though.

 

[sloth69mustang]

you guys dont have to keep stressing that a 7.5 sucks. trust me i know. i am not a newb either. i just wanted to know if i should try to get a rear end that bolts directly in or use the other one i have. i think i am going to sell my exploder rear end i have now and get a direct bolt in for my 97. and the 8.8 can handle more than just the 320 torque lol. i am going to be putting a hell of a lot more than that tho mine lol.