Hello and a couple questions

[BeerMkr]

Hello all. Just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Mike Pensinger and I live in Norfolk VA. I have been four wheeling for about 12 years with the exception of the last 4. I have owned a bad a$$ 1989 Ranger Supercab and am the current owner of a 1993 4dr Explorer.

I am just starting on the modifications to the Explorer and a couple concerns have come up. I have searched the archives and read as much as I can find but here goes.....

On my ranger I ran 4.56's in the front and back. I tore the teeth off at least 4 sets and am little hesitant to go this low with the 8.8 in the Explorer. It currently has 3.27's in it. Has anyone had any issues with reliability with lower gearsets?

I think the way i want to go is about 5.5-6" of suspecsion lift and am leaning towards the Superlift kit with the long radius arms. On the rear I want to go with a spring over conversion. Has anyone ever tried using Ranger rearend instead of welding on new perches? Are they the same size? Will the springs line up?

I had National Spring Company Springs on my ranger and LOVED them. Has anyone had them build springs for an Ex?

I did the manual hub conversion on my ranger and liked it. However when I went to sell it (after a LOT of offroad miles) i found that the flange had started to seperate. Has anyone used the newer Warn manual hubs and do they still do this?

A buddy of mine has a LocRite from his Dana 35 Jeep axle. Will if fit into my Dana 35 TTB?

Thanks for bearing with me... I look forward to any info you all can give me.

Mike Pensinger
beermkr at pensinger.net

 

[Alec]

I haven't heard of many members wrecking their diff gears. I wouldn't use a Ranger 8.8 cause the Explorer unit is stronger. The SOA is easy if you can get someone to weld on the perches. The complaints of Warn hubs pale in comparison to complaints about the stock units. If you're worried, just carry a spare hub when on the trail (many members do this just in case). Good luck and welcome!

 

[mrboyle]

Alec, is correct on the rear ends. The Ranger used a 28 spline axle where the X uses a 31 spline unit. As for the Dana 35 LocRite, they should be the same, but you might try to find the part number for it and compare it to the LocRite listed for the X.