I'm doing a swap on an 88 Ranger. 2.9 V6 to a 97 5.0 with GT40 heads and a 4R70W transmission.
Truck has a 7.5 differential it is RWD only and my desire is just to have it as a daily driver. Not interested in off roading. I'd rather it was a 4x4, but the truck was a gift, so it is what it is.
My problem is that I had read that the 7.5 would be okay to use behind a V8, but I found out yesterday that the driveshaft flange on the rear end is smaller that the transmission end which makes coming up with a suitable driveshaft difficult. I had hoped to replace the flange on the rear end with one from a 8.8 differential, but the splines don't match.
I can switch to an 8.8 differential, but I'm not sure about what I'm looking for with all the variations.
Does anybody have any advice on make and year of vehicle that I can look for to get a boltup differential to replace my 7.5 without a lot of switching out axles and other parts? Seems like some model of Ranger would have a direct fit 8.8 rear end, RWD that would bolt up to the 88 frame and make fitting a 92 F150 2 piece driveshaft, cut and balanced, work for me.
Any help is appreciated...