fx4 rear end and my 2wd question...
 

so there's a fx4 8.8 4.10 ls rear end for sale near me with 100,000 km's on it..or 60,000 miles or so...i know the fx4's have the 10" brakes, my question is, will i have any problems swapping this in? as far as the brakes are concerned? or will it just be a bolt on with a 10" brake upgrade? the asking price is 500 cdn..which isn't too bad..

go for it or no?

im looking for 4.10s to turn my 31s a bit better...and eventually want to upgrade to 32s...but no bigger than that..your advice is appreciated

Shouldn't be an issue whatsoever. Does the axle come with brakes and everything? You'll need different U-bolts to install!

i think it does comes with brakes..i hope so atleast...why would i need different ubolts? anybody know how much a mechanic should charge for a rear end swap?

I'm pretty sure the axle tube diameter is bigger than what is in your truck. If it doesn't come with all the brakes you would may be better off just swapping in L/S 4.10s into your current axle! If it's the full axle it should be too much labor to change it over. It should be a bolt on deal for the most part and then just bleeding the rear brakes.

if im not mstaken he has a 08 ranger he should have the 8.8 alredy i thought in 2003 are some year regarless what engine are 2 are 4 wheel drive got a 8.8 no matter what.. if im wrong on this what year truck is the rear out of if its a 02 to 03 rear the torson ls units liked to explode on em rears

because it's been mentioned before that they should not be reused. they tend to stretch when toqued and re-torqued. you are gonna need to disasemble the rear axle from the leafs springs unless you are just looking at doing a gear and brake swap.

he's 2wd, he should have 7.5 under there, he'd have to swap the whole axle.

I just got home with my FX4 Level II 8.8 for my 2WD. It's a direct swap. Just need 8.8 U-Bolts and the backing plate. 7.5 U-bolts and plates are too small.

Don't listen to RedRocket, he doesn't know what he is talking about :P lol.

I bought mine for $350 including tax so in my opinion you are being ripped of but it is Canada where it costs $80 to fill up a Ranger haha.

I would regear lower than 4.10s, you'll thank yourself if you plan on upgrading further along.

cool...when are you getting yours in? i really wanna purchase mine asap..just waiting on a few things..hopefully everything goes smoothly..i should be able to get the u-bolts and backing plates off the same truck..and the price isn't too bad..the axle im looking at is practically new with something like 17,000 miles...theres also one for a bit more thats only got 3500 miles..tough choice..but i dont think it really matters which one i go with.

im trying to get the best of fuel economy, and some good looks for the truck. i dont plan on throwing on 35's..the 4.10s should be more than enough for what im using the truck for. The 3.73s arent all that bad on my truck..maybe cause its a newer truck? dont know..but im sure i'll be content with 4.10s

thanks for the answers guys

A lot of 4 banger rangers come with 4.10s from the factory with the little donut tires.
I would be thinking about 4.30s or 4.56 gears myself.

^ but 4.10s with a ls is a lot easier and cheaper to find. and more then sufficient. what would be the real benefits of 4.56s opposed to the 4.10s?

Just lowering gearing, better acceleration. You won't find factory 4.56 gears, throw in the 4.10 axle and see if you like it. You can always regear later. I'm just saying me personally, if I had a 4 banger I would be gearing low. But I wouldn't be upsizing tires if I was concerned about mileage either, so take it for what it's worth. lol

on the torsons yes and the only 4x2 ive seen from factory with a 8.8 is a 06 sport and em 02 to 03 torson fx4 axels do blow up look it up on here them are the years to stay away from. and you payed 350 for a axel they seen you coming you got riped off now if that was a full ton axel i see paying that for it but i woudent pay no more than 200 max for a axel from a juck yard.

They only fail under extreme off roading stress. Which I will not be inflicting. And the ones that fail the most are off of the twin stick FX4s. Which my donor was not.