91 ford explorer My plan for re-gearing and sus. i need opinions

Patened · April 24, 2011

I have a 1991 ford explorer, my plan is to get axles out of another truck and the case basically everything i need then re-gear and build the axles put on the 5.5inch suspension lift james duffy then install the 37" or 38" super swappers get everything ready and we i get a weekend i will raise the rig drop out the old and install everything at once. What are you guys opinions or ideas?

4x4junkie · April 25, 2011

Sounds like a good plan for saving a lot of down time.
38" is a lot of tire for stock axles though... If you like to give 'er hell while offroad, that might not go over real well (axles from an F-350 would be a better option).
If you play more mildly, such as always trying to crawl your lines (or it's mainly going to be a street queen), then you should be fine for at least a little while, though you'll for sure need the Warn #37780 Jeep locking hub upgrade and Spicer 5-760X u-joints in the front axle shafts with tires that large.

Patened · April 25, 2011

Very good

So with the ford 350 axles once I clean them up and paint them with high heat paint get the hubs and breaks all good and ready to go and on, will the jeep upgrades fit right on the 350 axles? And me and a couple of my friends are not sure on the re-gearing how hard will it be to re-gear and have it handle 37" or 38" swampers, I'm taking my time and building it peice by peice in my garage so then we drop out the old Axels and then the new Axels and re-gear the James duff lift and radias arms can get already mounted on the 350 Axels to make it easy and somewhat faster , plus the pro I think of doing this I can paint the under body right before we put everything in. My main concern is the re-gearing

4x4junkie · April 25, 2011

5.13 or 5.38 gears would work best with tires that size.

However I think there's a little (ok, a lot) more research you might want to do here before you get too deeply involved into this.

The Dana60 front and 10.25" (or 10.50") rear axles from a F-350 are not something you just bolt right into your Explorer (and of course isn't going to work with a JD lift kit), everything is going to be pretty much custom with this swap.
I would suggest you spend some time in the SAS (Solid Axle Swap) section here looking at other people's builds to get a general idea about what it would take to put axles such as the F-350 units into your Ex. If you think that's above & beyond your means, then I would suggest staying with something around 35" tires and 4.88-5.13 gears, which would be a lot better for the stock axles.

What exactly are your intentions for this buildup anyway?

Patened · April 25, 2011

Its going to be on a trailer one day but for now i want to keep up and the the Toyotas, i was thinking about the dana 60 and that seems to be really wide

4x4junkie · April 26, 2011

The D60 is a wide axle, yes, though it is possible to narrow it down some if you want. With tires that big though, I think the added stability you get with leaving it wide would be beneficial.

I guess it really depends on how long before you plan to have it on your trailer, but I'd probably go with your original plan, but keeping it around 35-36" or so tires. I think you'll find it to be a very capable setup that way (I take my Bronco II on all the Jeep trails in the Sierra mountains (Rubicon, etc.) with no troubles running 35" tires on the D35 & 8.8" axles).
Just be sure you get the dual-configured coil buckets with your JD lift so you can experiment with different coil springs on it for more flex, as the ones it comes with tend to be a bit stiff.

Patened · April 26, 2011

Thank you

You have alot of information, the dana 60 will roughtly stick out 6inches on each side and i found a couple dana 60 axles and i think if i go with that i will have a shop re gear both of them and just fab up so flares that are not a eye soar so cops wont hassle me about them, its going to be kinda time taking to fab up everything to make the dana 60 fit and bolt in, is the JD lift going to work with the dana 60, i will buy the JD lift then wheels and tires then the axles and a bunch of beer and get friends together for a weekend of buliding

Patened · April 26, 2011

and where do you think i might be able to buy 2 dana axles and also them begin re-geared to 5.38 is there a chance to buy them already re-geared

4x4junkie · April 27, 2011

As I said already, the JD lift is about useless with a solid axle (the coil buckets are the only parts of it you could reuse, and again, that's only if they are the dual-configured RBV/EB ones).

See what others are doing here:
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=63
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=39

Also, get the Sterling 10.25" rearend from the same truck you get your D60 front from ('87-'97 F-350s, '02-'11 F250s, F-350s). Far stronger than a D60 rear, and it's right there (usually).
5.38 was not a factory ratio, so you'd have to get lucky to find axles already geared to that (same goes for 5.13s too).

91 ford explorer My plan for re-gearing and sus. i need opinions

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