Axle ID, Swap Potential, & Hubs
 

Okay, my father has a '92 Ranger, 3.0 Liter V-6 and five speed; it is 4WD. Aparently the rear axle just grenaded (from what he said it sounds like he lost a C-Clip and it ran though the spiders) and I don't know what axle came stock for '92 Rangers with a the three liter.

Can an 8.8 from an Explorer bolt in easily? I'm talking a leaf sprung Explorer, are the spring pads in the correct location?

What front differential is used in the IFS system? I seem to recall hearing that Ford used a Dana 30, is this correct?

Now for the hubs. The automatic hubs have become a problem and we'd like to possibly swap them out for manual lockout hubs. Will the hubs from a Broco II fit in easily? Is there a strength downgrade associated with that? I'd love to swap a solid HP30 or HP44 in but that's waaaay over budget and no facilities to fab the linkages.

The main thing here is money, we want to get this truck up for as little money as possible. We'll aslo be swapping in a "new" transfer case as his chain is jumping.

Thanks,
Sequoia

https://www.ranger-forums.com/forum2...ad.php?t=11725

yeah, saw that after I posted ;)

Also I was mistaken, it's a LATE '93 model.

Thanks,
Sequoia

Did they ever go back and put shocks on that swap or did they leave it like that?

im not sure what front came with the 3.0 rangers but the exploder/rangers with a 4.0 would have a dana 35 TTB. the other avaible TTB was the dana 27, which was used with the 4 clinder and smaller v-6s. not sure when or if Ford went with the dana 35 for all RBVs for all engine options...

the transger case should be a borg-warner 13-54 so any 13-54 that has the same style shift (auto or manual) will work.

ditch the auto hubs! being the ranger used a flange style hub, u can only get a standard warn or milemarker set up. nothing wrong with them and it is definatly not a downgrade. weather or not a B2 set up will work depends on if u use the exploder front axle...i dont know if the dana 35TTB and dana 27 TT share the same hubs.

Actaully there are no plans to change out the front axle, if it were to be change it'd be going solid (c'mon, I'm a Jeeper, I dig solid axles... ;) )

About the Warn hubs... Are those larger hubs (like an HP44) that would require changing to a 5 x 5.5 pattern or would he be able to retain the 5 x 4.5 pattern?

Anybody know how the auto hubs work for a late '93 / '94? Kinda curious what the point of failure is. From what he's saying it sounds/feels more like an odd engagement issue rather than grenaded parts inside. I'll be taking the troublesome side apart this weekend.

Thanks for the TC ideas, actually got that one covered we're just finally gonna put it in (he's lazy and lives 120 miles away).

Oh yeah, one last thing.. Would the Dana 27 be shaped like a Dana 35? I can ID the shape of a d35 pretty easily (since I have one sitting under my Jeep and all). Also did Ford use high pinion (reverse cut) axles for the TTB diff? Making future plans for regears.

Thanks

If the truck is a 4wd, it is spring over. You'll need to weld spring-perches to the top of the axle tube on the explorer 8.8.

HERE is some info on how to determine what front diff it has. It could be a "Hybrid" meaning, a D35 housing with D28 internals.

The odd engagemen issue you speak of on the auto hubs can lead to grenading them along with the fact that they cannot stand up to off road abuse and/or larger tires for very long. They're pretty much junk. Warn offers two sets of manuals. One made for Ford & one made for Jeep. The Jeep hubs have a beefier housing. The Ford # is 29071. The stronger Jeep # is 37780. Both are Warn hubs & even the weaker 29071's are waaaaaaay stronger than the auto hubs. Don't buy the conversion kit from Warn, it's a ripoff. Look HERE, I posted it there. It'll save you some money.

His rear axle that went south must be a 7.5" since he has the 3.0L. The spiders tend to shell in those and/or the center pin breaks. Not often but it does happen sometimes.

Cool, thanks THumper.

We'll be putting an 8.8 in it most likely but I just heard that Explorer axles are a bit narrower than Ranger axles. Any experiance?

I never heard about it being narrower (it could be, I dunno) but, the Exploder rear diffs are SUA & Rangers are SOA. You'll need to either.............cut the spring pads off of the Ex diff & weld them to the top of the axle tubes or purchase new ones & weld them on the top of the axle tubes. You'll also need to weld on shock mounts on the Ex diff because it has it's shocks mounted to the u-bolt plates. The Ex diff tubes are thicker than Ranger tubes so you'll need to get the U-bolts & plate to fit the Ex diff tubes.

A 31 spline Ex diff is stronger than a 28 spline Ranger diff for sure but if he's not gonna run large tires, a 28 spline should be plenty, then you could get one for a Ranger at a boneyard & it'll be a direct swap. If you get lucky, you might be able to find an 8.8 from a FX4 Ranger & it might have a 31 spline 8.8 in it.

The only experience I've had with Sploder diffs was doing an SOA on my buddy's Ex for lift purposes. Here it is

By the way, I like your XJ. My bro has one I built up for him Check it out on page 5.

Oh I'm aware of the spring pads, that's not much of an issue.

As for going to an 8.8 instead of the 7.5 it's all about the future. Right now he's on 31's but we do run in rocks... Plus in the future I see that rig on 33's with a solid axle up front.

Nice XJ there, mine is currently in the twilight zone. Righ tnow it's at +/- 3" with a 30/35, 3.55's, open/open and 31's.

Near future will see a TNT Customs Y-Link kit (the only fully tucked out of hte box long arm system around), 4.5 - 6" MAX lift, 33's (good chance they'll be MT/R), 4.6 Stroker (just need that crank, got a block ready for it), 30/44 4.88's with two ARB's.

I'm also a step closer to getting another XJ for a pavement rig. '88 two door that will stay bone stock.

Sequoia

FYI Gang:

Lincoln Contential discs from solid axle Lincolns are the EXACT same as Explorer discs and Crown Disc discs. I've inspected them. Lincolns and Vics are common in yards becuase Lincolns have had the discs since at least 1991, Vics for close to that long as well.

dam u, why couldnt they work for my F150...

You mean the discs? I don't really know much about the F150 but one concern I'd have is the weight of the vehicle. The Crown Vic / Lincoln isn't that much different in weight from an Explorer (or Jeep Cherokee, which is how I learned all this - the flang on an XJ 44 is the same as an 8.8). The F150 weighs more so you'd probably want larger discs on it.

The Explorer axles w/discs are 1.5~3" wider than Rangers, depending on the year. If you're running one with big tires and/or negative offset wheels, you may need to pull the bedsides or get glass for clearance.