Rear axle: direct swap of 95-97 onto '94? | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

  • Register Today It's free!

Rear axle: direct swap of 95-97 onto '94?

Jet Ski Puller

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 2, 2001
Messages
396
Reaction score
1
City, State
Clinton, UT
Year, Model & Trim Level
'08 Sport Trac 4.6
Will a rear axle from a 95-97 bolt right up to a 94? Mods necessary?

What are the differences besides disc brakes?

Thanks.
 



Join the Elite Explorers for $20 each year.
Elite Explorer members see no advertisements, no banner ads, no double underlined links,.
Add an avatar, upload photo attachments, and more!
.





Axle swap

That is a very good question, I was considering that swap myself. Has anyone made it happen yet?
:rolleyes:
 






Rear axle swap

I found a 4.10 in a salvage yard from a '95. I've taken a bunch of measurements and determined that the newer axle should bolt right into place . . . brakes lines, E-brake, sway bar, perches . . . all look relatively easy and mostly interchangeable. May have to change brake lines between main line and axle line . . . looks relatively painless.

BUT, I still have a couple questions . . .

1- What about the ABS sensor in the housing and how it affects the computer? I know that the sensors are the same, but with different gearing, the sensor will be sending a different signal to the computer . . . maybe all the computer is looking for is 'is the axle turing or not?' but I want to make sure this won't adversely affect my ABS or safety.

Anyone who has ABS and has done JUST a gear swap to a different ratio in their original rear end would have experienced this. Is/is not ABS affected?

2- What about break proportioning? Is the valve interchangeable between '94 & '95? Any mastercylinder issues?

Any kind of knowledge/guidance would be greatly appreciated.
 






Dead Link Removed
 






Braking systems

Anyone have a '91-'94 X *AND* a '95 or newer that could look at both the braking systems and give me some details about them if I asked some questions?

Thanks.
 






Thanks LEEBO!!!

Thanks LEEBO, Great article. He didn't mention the porportioning valve though. Any thoughts?
 






I e-mailed Paul directly and asked him some questions about the master cylinder and proportioning. I'll let you know if I hear back from him. From what I understand, typically master cylinders are different relative to discs and drums...not to say that the stock one *wouldn't* work. He mentioned great stopping power. The concern I have is too much braking in the rear. I guess it's normally about 30-40%. Too much could cause the rear end to swap in emergency or winter conditions, which would be dangerous. I've heard of some shops that have a pad you pull onto and apply the brakes and they can compute the forces and tell you the proportioning. If the master cylinder is compatible, I may do the swap and have the forces measured. If they are off, you could always buy an adjustable proportioning valve and install it and have the shop dial it in. I saw one from Summit for about $40. Don't know how durable it would be long term.
 






is your explorer a 4X4?
if so, you have to have the same gear ratio for the front and rear. if you go to 4:10 rear, you need 4:10 front.
 






I was already aware of that, but thanks for the heads up. The front is the easy part compared to figuring out these braking issues in the rear. I'm just going to get some aftermarket gears for the front, pull the axle shafts, drop the third member, and then have a shop install and set up the gears. At least I know there are no possible implications going this way on the front, just labor.
 






Jet Ski,

I am in the process of documenting my findings on rear disc's proportioning / valving/ and metering in a early model. I have been running my rear disc's in my 94 for over 40K miles w/o any problems using the stock componants. See my article linked to the main page. Also look for it to be updated in the near future.

You have a 94, therefore you have 4wheel abs. There is a abs module located under the hood on the left frame rail. This block also has the proportioning / metering for a disc / drum setup. I have this unit from a 96. It is proportioned / metered for a disc / disc application. You would be wasting your money by buying an aftermarket adjustable proportioning valve. The other thing to consider is the master cylinder and power brake booster. From my research and trial and error testing, Ford didn't get this quite right from the factory. Therfore, I am looking into other options for this. The one I'm leaning towards and probably going to stick with is using Crown Vic master cylinder and power brake booster. Crown Vic's had the same type of 8.8 rear disc setup.

Your axle swap will work fine with the stock componats. However, wait until I complete my findings so you don't reinvent the wheel.

Hope this helps.
 






Brakes

Brett,

So, did you do an axle swap, or just install an aftermarket disc kit? Thanks for the heads up. I am well aware of the ABS unit on the frame rail with the proportioning valving in it. But, I checked into upgrading to a later model, and the unit is $208 from Ford. Salvage yards don't like to sell them because they say often they are contaminated by system breaches when other brake parts are removed from the vehicle. I figured adding an additional proportioning valve would be much cheaper. I'm guessing that with the discs, there will likely be more pressure/fluid flow than needed.

I have looked at options for the '95 master cylinder, and it's kind of confusing. They offer master cylinders with/without proportioning valves, and with/without speed control. Could you use one of these with proportioning valves in conjunction with the '94 ABS pump and get the proper proportioning, or would the ABS pump override whatever proportioning is going on in the master cylinder? Is the '94 ABS pump adjustable relative to proportioning?

I think I'll go ahead and get the axle while it is still available, hook everything up to the stock braking system and then wait to hear your results.

How much do you figure it will cost to purchase the Crown Vic power booster and master cylinder? Will it bolt right up? Then, I would still have to purchase the newer ABS pump, wouldn't I?

Thanks.
 






Why did he not have to disconnect the shocks? Don't they attach to the axle?

-Joe-
 






My two cents worth regarding my swap. I swapped out a rear axle with discs from a rolled '95 v-8 to my '92. Took me about 2.5 hrs with the help of a friend. Pretty much a direct swap, including the ABS hookup on the pumpkin, shocks and brake lines. I even used the same e-brake cable, hooking it up with just the short connector from the old axle. I ended up putting in the master cylinder from the '95 to obtain the correct braking, taking care to thoroughly bench bleed the master cylinder before installing it. To me this was the most critical item to ensure a solid feeling pedal. I have been running this axle for two years now, completely trouble free.
 






Back
Top