Rear end idea

[kenosobby]

I was thinking about the off center explorer rearends..I was thinking about picking up an explorer rear end and an extra short side axle..have the long side cut down to center the the pumpkin..install the short axle and of course a lil fab work and have an axle that should be close to stock length.. oh and this is a 65.
Has anyone tried this? and does anyone have an 90's explorer that could take a measurement of the center of the pumpkin to the the drum face on the shortside?

Heck if I get bored this weekend I may have to make a run to the junkyard and pick some stuff up!!!

 

[Decurion]

Yep, its been done. From what I hear it works good, but I didnt feel like doing it to my Exploder axle, so I just found an 8" to fit and sold my Ex axle. I think its pretty heavy, but the explorer diff is really the perfect rear end. Its got posi, 3.73 gear was the most common I think (with 3.55 and 4.10 optional too), 31 spline axles, disk brakes, and even has the right bolt pattern, and all for 100-200 bucks.

 

[kenosobby]

well it seems I am on the right track..and you are right on the money..price is right..posi..good ratios..and minor fab work it is off to the junk yard this weekend looking at 8.8 rearend codes!!

 

[spirockp]

Would the rear end of a 97 Mercury Mountaineer be the same thing?

So could it be used to replace the rear end of my 66 Coupe?

What's the main difference. Longer and the spring perches need to be moved?

Thanks.

 

[mrmustangman357]

i did the explorer swap. it is great and very cheap. i narrowed the LH side and bought another RH axle and swapped it in! it works perfect! you will need to get your driveshaft shortened, plus its a 1310 u joint instead of the normal 1330 on a mustang

 

[PJx5x]

I have an Explorer housing and 2 axles sitting in my garage back home... however Im at school right now, so I cant measure it. But if you do need another short axle, let me know and Ill sell you it if you want...

 

[kenosobby]

I have an Explorer housing and 2 axles sitting in my garage back home... however Im at school right now, so I cant measure it. But if you do need another short axle, let me know and Ill sell you it if you want...

I'll let you know ..depends on what I dig up here locally.

 

[Z06killinSBF]

Is there a specific year to look at? And do all have the 8.8"

 

[D.Hearne]

Not all Explorer/Mountaineer 8.8's are equal. Some have 3.08's with drum brakes, the 3.73's do have drums too. Not all have traction loc either. The 4.11 rear is the rare bird. If anyone wants to do one, I too have an extra short side axle to sell. As for the U joint, all you need there is either a combination joint or swap the joint yoke-flange to a larger or smaller size.

 

[kenosobby]

For anyone looking for the codes...here ya go

Model Code Description Capacity Ratio

Bronco II
42 Regular 2640 3.45
44 Regular 2640 3.73
47 Regular 2500 4.10
D2 Limited Slip 2500 3.45
D4 Limited Slip 2640 3.73
D7 Limited Slip 2500 4.10
Ranger
72 Regular 2200 3.08
74 Regular 2200 3.45
82 Regular 2700 3.08
84 Regular 2700 3.45
85 Regular 2750 3.55
86 Regular 2700 3.73
87 Regular 2700 4.10
96 Regular 3200 3.73
F4 Limited Slip 2700 3.45
F5 Limited Slip 2750 3.55
F6 Limited Slip 2700 3.73
F7 Limited Slip 2700 4.10
K6 Limited Slip 3200 4.10
Explorer
43 Open 3200 3.08
41 Open 3200 3.27
42 Open 4.10
46 Open 3.73
45 Open 3200 3.55
D4 Limited Slip 3200 3.73
D2 Limited Slip 4.10
L73 Limited Slip 3.73

 

[D.Hearne]

For anyone looking for the codes...here ya go

Model Code Description Capacity Ratio

Bronco II
42 Regular 2640 3.45
44 Regular 2640 3.73
47 Regular 2500 4.10
D2 Limited Slip 2500 3.45
D4 Limited Slip 2640 3.73
D7 Limited Slip 2500 4.10
Ranger
72 Regular 2200 3.08
74 Regular 2200 3.45
82 Regular 2700 3.08
84 Regular 2700 3.45
85 Regular 2750 3.55
86 Regular 2700 3.73
87 Regular 2700 4.10
96 Regular 3200 3.73
F4 Limited Slip 2700 3.45
F5 Limited Slip 2750 3.55
F6 Limited Slip 2700 3.73
F7 Limited Slip 2700 4.10
K6 Limited Slip 3200 4.10
Explorer
43 Open 3200 3.08
41 Open 3200 3.27
42 Open 4.10
46 Open 3.73
45 Open 3200 3.55
D4 Limited Slip 3200 3.73
D2 Limited Slip 4.10
L73 Limited Slip 3.73

Good info to have, I'll have to print this out and keep it for future reference. The last time I went looking for Explorer rears, I went to one junkyard and they had about 7-8 vehicles, 2-3 had 3.08's with drums, 2-3 had 3.73's with discs, 1-2 had 3.73's with drums. Never found a 4.10 geared one. or the 3.27 & 3.55's either.

 

[D.Hearne]

dbl post

 

[Decurion]

So whats the difference between a D4 and L73 code? Year? Both appear to be limited slip 3.73 gears. The early Exploders up to 95 had drum brakes, and 96-up Explorer/Mountaineers have disk, as far as I know. And yes, 4.10 cogs are pretty rare. I could be wrong, but if I was a bettin man, I would say most of the v8 diffs had posi, with most of the v6s not having it.

 

[D.Hearne]

Posi vs no posi had nothing to do with the engine choice. The V8's are more likely to have 3.08 to 3.55's due to their having more torque output. And drums vs disc had no correlation to year model.

 

[Decurion]

Posi vs no posi had nothing to do with the engine choice. The V8's are more likely to have 3.08 to 3.55's due to their having more torque output. And drums vs disc had no correlation to year model.

I beg to differ. I personally have not seen a later explorer with drums, or an early explorer with disk. The 95/96 models could possibly be a carryover deal, but I havent seen any. My guess about v8/posi v6/open was only based on the fact that the v8 was obviously a more optioned vehicle, so in theory, more likely to have the limited slip as well.

 

[mrmustangman357]

okay, heres how it goes. go under the vehicle of any ford/merc/lincoln suv and it should be an 8.8. what you want is 95-up axle. check it for disc brakes, and all is good. check the tag on the diff cover. on the lower left it will read "3L73" meaning 3.73 gears and the "L" is the most important letter meaning limited slip when you go to teh yard just tel the folks there that you are looking around and not sure what you wat for an axle, they'l let you in and you can check all the rear axles there. engine choice is not necessarily a precursor to nice gearing and or limited slip. mine came from a v6 base model mercury suv. just make sure it has discs, in good shape, and the tag with the proper marks you are looking for. the suvs had 3.55, 3.73, and 4.10 gears. most popular was the 3.73 axle, and alot of them have limited slip, so go ahead and get this. if they charge you ver $300 for one, laugh in their face and go somewhere else. many yards have MANY MANY of these vehicles in their yard which they will eventually destroy. you can negotiate here.

this is my axle:

View attachment 335860

that's my drivetain guy ryan setting it up. as you can see, I had just the LH side narrowed and I found another rh axle to stuff in there. you should stuff a rag in the axletube to make sure you dont get junk in the pinion gear when it does get narrowed. i didnt and had to set up the ring and pinion fresh with new bearings because debris got in there. i also rebuilt the trac lok. 31 spline axles are plenty beefy. I also mocked teh axle in and had new perches welded in. I also had my axle guy weld the axletubes and eliminate the traction control sensor. you will need a new driveshaft and master sylinder for the rear discs. also you need the spring pate mounting holes redrilled for the 3.25 axletubes and have to buy u bolts as well. alot cheaper than a 9" i have found thus far. my costs are totalling $610 fully built without driveshaft or m/c yet

 

[mrmustangman357]

oh yeah and his camaro in the background has 1000 hp on nitrous with stock suspension and with a 12 bolt so needless to say he knows how to set up axles lol

 

[D.Hearne]

I beg to differ. I personally have not seen a later explorer with drums, or an early explorer with disk. The 95/96 models could possibly be a carryover deal, but I havent seen any. My guess about v8/posi v6/open was only based on the fact that the v8 was obviously a more optioned vehicle, so in theory, more likely to have the limited slip as well.

You can differ all you want, but when it comes to axle applications and selection, Ford never did stick to any "set" set of rules as far as what got drums, discs, trac-loc or open diffs. Just when you think you've got it figured out, you get thrown a curve ball. The bunch I looked over at the one yard were all 95-98's. I didn't look at the actual year models vs what was under them, but they were all similar year vehicles as to body styling.

 

[bnickel]

ford motorsport started selling the explorer rear disc kits around 92 or 93 IIRC, so year model won't have much to do with it, in fact i think the explorer was available with rear discs from the get-go. also, i've most commonly seen the 4.10 trac-lok diffs in v6 models with the trailer towing package, my wife's old 01 sport had the 4.0, automatic, rear discs and 4.10 trac lok diff as well as the oil cooler and heavy duty cooling system i think all of the 4.0 explorers got the oil cooler though

 

[68keyblr]

I did this swap successfully and am pleased with the results. I used a '98 Mountaineer rear end with 3.73 tracloc and disc brakes. To have the rearend cut to fit, new axles, new bearings, and powder coated i paid $900. New rotors (slotted and drilled), calipers, brake hoses, steel brake line, gear oil, and other misc stuff came to about $500.

Here's my notes on the swap:
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8.8 Rearend Swap Info

The Explorer/Mountaineer rearend is a nice swap because it comes with 31 spline axles and disk brakes. The 8.8 Fox rearends use 28 spline axles and drum brakes.

Here's a few helpful notes for anyone considering doing the same:

- Pinion comes offset from center, so you'll need replace the short axle tube with a long one and then have it cut to fit. Measure your old rearend from wheel mounting surface to wheel mounting surface and use that measurement as the overall width you want to achieve. Make sure you have the discs in place on the new rearend so that you can get it cut to the proper length.

- You'll need new custom length axles as well to fit the custom length axle tubes

- You'll need new u-bolts, 3.25" diameter and at least an inch longer than stock. I had a local 4x4 shop make me new u-bolts for $6 apiece.

- The stock u-bolt spring plates aren't big enough to slot. The 8.8 axle tube is 3.25" diameter, so your u-bolt spring plates need to have holes far enough apart to accommodate the wider u-bolt configuration. You can either fabricate new ones or buy some. I found a set at Currie Enterprises for $80.

- You’ll have to remove the old control arm and shock mounting brackets, and weld on new spring perches, 43" apart measured from the center of each spring perch and centered on the rearend. It’s important to have the spring perches welded on at the proper pinion angle…that’s a whole other discussion! Just be sure to find out the proper pinion for your application and have the perches welded on at that angle.

- You'll need to get some steel brake line and bend it to fit the rear end. It's pretty easy to do, I bent mine by hand but it’s wise to use a tube bender if you’ve never done it before. You'll need a double flaring tool and some fittings, including a T block.

- You can get rotors and calipers from the auto parts store or ebay.

- You may need to get some pinion angle shims. I ended up using 3* shims. You can get them at offroad suspension shops.

- I had the yoke from a 9” fitted to the Explorer rearend. This required a conversion U-joint to fit the smaller driveshaft yoke to the bigger pinion yoke. This part cost $25.

- You may need to get your drive shaft cut and rebalanced. I had to cut mine by about 1.5”, but be sure to measure from the seal on your transmission output shaft to the yoke of the rearend and give this measurement to your driveshaft shop.

- The brake hoses that are standard on the rearend may not work for you. They didn’t for me. Instead, I used Wagner BH98912 for both sides.
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