So the ranger will need new brake shoes soon and i was loathing at how much i hate the drum set up. last trip to the junkyard i found numberous explorers with thier rear axles intact.

so i put two and two together and decided to swap over the disc brakes from the explorer. i have no physical urge to swap axles just the disc brake goods.

i know i will need the backing plate, caliper brackets, rubber lines, rotors (ill buy new), brake pads (ill buy new), calipers (ill get those new). what is to be done with the parking brake? and what would i need? even though the parking brake on my moms 03 xploder sport doesnt work worth **** i may not even swap it over...?

 

I am quite positive you cant swap the Explorer brakes to the Ranger. Unless you have a 31-spline FX4 axle

 

well ****, thanks for being the wet blanket LOL.

 

They make kits for the 28-spline disk brake swap. I dont know if the old fox body mustang kits will work or not.

 

this is correct.

otherwise plan on paying for the SSBC disc brake kit.

 

Lol, if you want to swap over to the disc brakes, you could always swap the entire Exploder axle into the ranger. Its exactly the same width. By the way, the reason the brakes won't fit is because the flange on the end on the axle tube is different. A foxbody disc brake kit would work, but it would have to be for like 84 through 93, because the 94-98 shafts stick out further than the earlier models.

 

the 31 spline expo axle like 25% stronger than the 28 spline... why dont you want to just swap axles?

 

because i dont feel like it? local junkyard wants to much for the axle and there is no reason (other than the disc brakes) for me to swap axles. i doubt she will ever break the 28 spline anyway.

 

Actually the Explorer axle is like .5 inch's wider I think.

 

.75" wider per side, 1.5" wider in total.

 

I want to do this swap. Does anybody know if there is a specific year EX that i would have to find? Or do most EX have the 31 spline axles?

 

just swap on the axle get the same gears and a l.s win win to me

 

ALL 95+ expo rears are 31spline and disc. 94 and older are all 31spline and drum.


Cam...i'm gonna reply to this pm you sent me....and uh...ive got an expo axle just sitting in my shop...complete too....

 

will the Expo axle bolt right into place where the Ranger one was or are there mads that need to be done? I know i need to change the brake lines ans such, I mean like shock placement and such.

 

The leafs on the explorer are under the axle so youl'l have to cut the perches off and weld new ones on the top. Shock mounts also need to be moved. Ruffstuffspecialties has a kit with all the pieces that is wonderful.

 

if your a lowered truck yes because it will be like a 5" drop...

other wise you need to weld on new spring perch and shock mounts

 

So since I am already lowered 5" in the rear with a flip kit. Axle on top on the leafs right now, would i just swap in the explorer axle, or would i need to flip my axel back over then do the swap????

 

the explorer axles already have the 'flip' kit on them. so you would just bolt it in.

 

So your saying that your tires will stick out 3/4in more. Wonder how that looks.

 

Thanks Zach.

 

If you look at your rear axel in line with your front, you will notice that the front is wider, and the rear is sucked in a little, about 3/4 of an inch each side. With the exploder axel, it should bring the rims in line with the fronts.

Atleast on mine it is sucked in.

 

I did the swap, welded on the perches and shock mounts. One of the best bang for the bucks ever. went from a 7.5" with 3.73's and an open diff to 8.8", 31 spline, 4.10's and a LS. Big boost over the regular acceleration. You will need new U bolts, and you will need to get new e brake cables for an explorer. Other wise it is all bolt in. Its SOOOO very easy. As for people who are lowering its a direct bolt in I believe. I can't comment on the shock mounts because I don't remember. Also you will notice that the rear brakes lock up before the fronts, fix for this is either A. the brake distruabution block from an explorer (emits less pressure to the back calipers) or get a proportioning valve to add into the brake line.

For the looks, I didn't notice a difference. Its less than an inch on each side so chances are you'll never even notice.

 

there is 1.2" difference in track width on a 2006, according to the owners manual.

i would like to do the explorer axle swap on my truck to gain the rear discs, 31 spline axles and the added with. i can see the difference in track width, to me it looks like more than 1.2" difference. the rear tires tuck so far under flares it looks funny.

it's hard to justify swapping a complete axle that only has 30,000 miles on it...! especially for one that likely has 3 times that many!

 

if your swap from a 7.5 axle to a 8.8 explo axle dont u have to swap the front axle to a 8.8 also??? im almost sure if u change gears in the rear u need to match them in the front right...

 

uh oh here comes the flames.... i can feel the heat.... No you do not need to swapp front axel when you swap the rear... seperate systems... would be wise to match the gears though....