4.10 gear swap

[coriaty07]

So ive been reading all over the place and i cant find the answer i am looking for. I have a 2wd 97 explorer sport. It has axle code 41 which is the 3.27 open. I want to put 33's on it so i was thinking about switching my gears to 4.10s maybe 4.56. Now some people say i have to change the whole axle, but then on ebay they sell just the gears. is it required that i change the whole axle or whats the deal? If i do have to change the whole axle, its just a swap in swap out deal right? What year explorer should i be looking for for the gears i want?
Im new at axles and gears so take it easy on me =]

 

[Sbyrne97]

You can buy gears to be installed in your axle. which can be expensive and should only be done once or twice. But since some explorers have 4:10 gears its easier to go to the JY and buy an axle for 200 - 300 which. To have a shop install gears it would be close to 1000 gears included. Plus if your installing gears you may as well throw in a locker there. And any year explorer will do just make sure you look for the right axle code.

If I had to do it again I would of saved my money and done a locker and gears instead of Tires and a lift. Having a locker increases your offroad ability more than just big tires and a lift other than ground clearance.

Since you only have 3.21 gears stock, I would suggest saving up for gears and a locker then buy a body lift and 33's off craigslist. you cna get a set of 4 for 300$ in my area. They may not be new but, your just starting out. Plus if you buy a new set of tires and have a flat somewhere you have to dish out 100+ for a new one. Save yourself some bills and buy them used

I myself have 3.73 gears with a 5.0 and it does fine, but one day I want to go 4.88 and a locker front and rear

so I myself am looking for an explorer with a 4:10 axle it should just swap in for the rear as long as you keep your measure ments right. But the front may be a little challenging I'm not sure.

 

[coriaty07]

well i found a whole set of 4.10 gears plus the traction lock on ebay for $500. so that brings me to my next question. can i put a traction lock in my axle if i have an open carrier and the the LSD? All the parts i found on ebay are made by ford racing

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/FORD..._Accessories?hash=item3c9e39f154#ht_850wt_859

theres the link. If i can make my 3.27 open a 4.10 LSD i will only want some 32s. so i can get through all the ice we get every year

 

[Sbyrne97]

thats designed for a 28 spline axle which I believe are mustang 8.8 axles. i believe all explorers came with 31 spline axles. This gear set is to be installed on a drag racer

go to summit racing or 4wheeldriveparts.com something like that and look up gears...I forgot you were a 2wd so It would be cheaper to just get one set of gears and have them installed in the rear. Still finding an axle from a jy would be ideal and then just keep saving for a locker and higher gears

 

[coriaty07]

But using that page for an example, i can install that type of locker into my open carrier? just want to be positive before i spend $500 and find out its not the right thing

 

[coriaty07]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/FORD...ccessories?hash=item3352c8e134#ht_5018wt_1165

is that the right one?

 

[Sbyrne97]

yes you can install one...but that is posi-traction which is a limited slip, limited slip came in some explorers like mine and there nice for loosing a small amount of traction on some snow, but off road its nothing special. if you are looking into really offroading you want a locker like yukon, detroit, arb look at this page

http://completeoffroad.com/c-59814-gears-lockers-and-install-kits-ford-8-8.html

and installing them yourself would be hard, because it needs to be installed correct.

basically when you swap the gears and a locker it no longer becomes a open carrier....

to understand completely about differentials
read this http://completeoffroad.com/c-59814-gears-lockers-and-install-kits-ford-8-8.html
watch this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYAw79386WI

 

[coriaty07]

would i be better off just upgrading my gears to 4.10s and getting some mean 32" tires for the snow? i mean all in all theyd be around the same price. I was going to just do a tt/shackle and body lift and some meaty tires at first.

 

[Sbyrne97]

upgrade ur gears first youll be happy you did so will your truck
with your stock ratio it will feel like your towing something plus it will do damage to your tranny and engine, overtime. Having 4.10 would be great for your 32's.

If I were you I would do
TT
Shackles
gears
tires
bodylift

in that order

 

[coriaty07]

awsome thanks, i think thats what i will do. because my open differential doesnt do to extremly bad, but with blad tires, it does help

 

[Sbyrne97]

post up pics when your done

 

[yellowford]

If you end up wanting a good value locker check out the aussie lockers. It will still be cheaper for you to find a hole axle with 4.10's in it than to buy new gears and have a shop install them.

 

[MudRunner90]

whats the best year to look for that would have 4.10 gears and would i need to get front and rear on a 4x4 or can i do with just the back for a while.

 

[©H®I$]

I would hate to have to go to a junk yard and take apart a car for the rear axle

 

[derek_redneck91]

all explorers came with 31 spline axles.

This is right. The explorers came with 31 spline axles. Rangers had 28.

My explorer has a 4.10 open dif. Great for low end torque, hauling trailers, etc. They will handle big tires no problem. If you go to an auto wrecker/junkyard you can have them cut you out a whole axle. It's cheaper than you getting the gears out of it and dealing with all that bs. If you are looking for a limited slip 4.10, the axle code that you are looking for is D2. Just make sure you get one from a truck with less mileage on it. IF you have issues with the limited slip part of it you can always buy new slip plates.

Lucky for you, you have 2wd so you dont have to deal with the front axle!

 

[iliad]

Reviving thread..

I realize it's an old thread, but thought I would try to revive it. Would this be the case for both the front and back on a 4x4? Meaning, simply find front and back if someone were looking to do a swap out?

This is right. The explorers came with 31 spline axles. Rangers had 28.

My explorer has a 4.10 open dif. Great for low end torque, hauling trailers, etc. They will handle big tires no problem. If you go to an auto wrecker/junkyard you can have them cut you out a whole axle. It's cheaper than you getting the gears out of it and dealing with all that bs. If you are looking for a limited slip 4.10, the axle code that you are looking for is D2. Just make sure you get one from a truck with less mileage on it. IF you have issues with the limited slip part of it you can always buy new slip plates.

Lucky for you, you have 2wd so you dont have to deal with the front axle!

 

[intelisevil]

I realize it's an old thread, but thought I would try to revive it. Would this be the case for both the front and back on a 4x4? Meaning, simply find front and back if someone were looking to do a swap out?

Yes.

 

[derek_redneck91]

I realize it's an old thread, but thought I would try to revive it. Would this be the case for both the front and back on a 4x4? Meaning, simply find front and back if someone were looking to do a swap out?

As intelisevil said, Yes. Just find a good 4x4 and see if the door code has the gear ratio you want, rip the front and rear out, and put it in yours. Sometimes auto wreckers can be pretty damn pricey though. At least the ones where I am can. If you can find someone parting out an explorer or selling one to go to scrap etc that's probably your cheapest route. Rear ends are easy to remove but the front is going to take some time to do it nicely. Try to look for a donor that's as close in manufactured year to yours to make sure brakes and everything like that remains the same.

 

[traveler]

Ok, most of my questions regarding this swap have been answered in this thread. One final question. My truck is a 2000 5.0 Explorer. 1) should I be looking for a new enough junker that it has the VSS in the axle as well? 2) will axles out of a V6 work as well as axles out of a V8?

 

[intelisevil]

Ok, most of my questions regarding this swap have been answered in this thread. One final question. My truck is a 2000 5.0 Explorer. 1) should I be looking for a new enough junker that it has the VSS in the axle as well? 2) will axles out of a V6 work as well as axles out of a V8?

1) Yes. Since that sensor is also used by the ABS system, there may be years where the speedometer was fed by the transmission but the differential would still work for you. A good junkyard should have an appropriate cross reference for you. I think '98 was the last year to use the transmission input, although it could have been '97 . . . ? I know '99-'01 use the differential input.

2) Internally V6 and V8 differentials are the same for any specific year. The V8 housing has an extra mount welded on to it for a "traction" bar that goes up and bolts in to the frame. If you want to keep that feature you'll have to get a V8 housing or do some custom welding.