1996 Explorer Sport 4WD Upgrades

[TexasBear]

Door tag will list something abiove where it says AXLE
D2 or D4 very common in 96 sport with the 5 speed!!!

I would LOVE to have a 96 with a 4.0 and 5 speed with those miles,. this truck is a real gem! They can go on forever
What types of cars did you work on before this? Jeeps Toyotas? Chevys? Im hoping yes, because now you will see what all the talk has been all these years about Fords..........they really are superior!! I should know I spend all my friggin time fixing chevys Jeeps and Toyotas anymore

As I mentioned, the oil was spotless when I went to get the truck, so I didn’t bother changing it. I have driven it around 1600 miles, checked the oil frequently and there’s been no changes in clarity nor in fluid level. I’m going to change the oil and filter anyway, putting synthetic in. That way I know what is in it, plus I want to keep the internal clean.
As far as past projects, man that’s a very long list.

Door tag will list something abiove where it says AXLE
D2 or D4 very common in 96 sport with the 5 speed!!!

I would LOVE to have a 96 with a 4.0 and 5 speed with those miles,. this truck is a real gem! They can go on forever
What types of cars did you work on before this? Jeeps Toyotas? Chevys? Im hoping yes, because now you will see what all the talk has been all these years about Fords..........they really are superior!! I should know I spend all my friggin time fixing chevys Jeeps and Toyotas anymore

what an awesome community you guys have here, thanks.
I have had many projects over the years and owned/operated a custom shop for 15+years. I catered to the custom motorcycle market (show bikes) most of the time, but done quite a few classic muscle cars.
My personal projects began with a 1967 mustang, my first car, purchased in 1982. I bought it without motor or transmission, a shell really. It turned out to be a rather insane street car. I raced it every weekend and any other opportunity I got.
I bought my first 4x4 in 1983, a 1974 F-250 (heavy 3/4) with 410’s. I bought it with around 70k miles, built a 390 to replace the factory 360. Years later I went to a 460.
Many other projects followed, -fast forward to 2005; bought a 99 Camaro SS and tricked it out nicely with Z06 intake, ported heads, SLP MAF, valve springs, stainless headers, high flow cats, 3” stainless dual exhaust, Brembo brakes ext.
At the time I also had a 2000 ZR2 Blazer which was fun, but it was my only 4x4 with AT, something I really don’t want to repeat.
I was overseas for 9 years, so I didn’t really have the luxury of any kind of personal projects.
So, yeah, here we are today, rather full-circle like, starting a new project.
I knew a lot of guys that raved about these Explorers, I guess I should have gotten on board earlier LOL

 

[CDW6212R]

You should like the 2nd gen Explorer, they cover a bunch of model years and cousin trucks, chassis'. Tons of parts swap from the 95-01's, the 98-2011 Rangers, early Sport Tracs etc, the aftermarket has tons of things for them. Your truck is in great shape to begin working on upgrades, instead of repairs.

 

[TexasBear]

Yeah man, you nailed it, upgrades without the need of repairs!

 

[410Fortune]

the explorer sport is great! It is lighter then the 4 door and it has a really good wheel base for getting around the trails. Some of the most capable 4x4 trucks on this forum are sports, they make excellent wheelers. Like any other 3 door ford SUV they go up and down in value, people love them or they hate them.
The doors are heavy and much longer then the rangers or explorer doors, so over time the door hinges and pins cause a sag. Because the doors are heavier the door panels break more often as well, something to keep an eye on. Some of the sports came with a mono leaf rear spring, which can sag huge and cause the rear to drop low low almost riding on the bump stops. A good set of springs from a 4 door can fix that
The 4.0 and 5 speed were very tough by the 96 model year, with proper oil changes and by keeping the water temps down we regularly see 250-350K miles from that drivetrain.
Sky is the limit as far as modifications go, it is a ranger based vehicle, there are so many ways to build up a gen II explorer......one like yours can easily last a lifetime.

Welcome to EF!! You will love driving that thing around, lots of fun to drive!!!

 

[TexasBear]

the explorer sport is great! It is lighter then the 4 door and it has a really good wheel base for getting around the trails. Some of the most capable 4x4 trucks on this forum are sports, they make excellent wheelers. Like any other 3 door ford SUV they go up and down in value, people love them or they hate them.
The doors are heavy and much longer then the rangers or explorer doors, so over time the door hinges and pins cause a sag. Because the doors are heavier the door panels break more often as well, something to keep an eye on. Some of the sports came with a mono leaf rear spring, which can sag huge and cause the rear to drop low low almost riding on the bump stops. A good set of springs from a 4 door can fix that
The 4.0 and 5 speed were very tough by the 96 model year, with proper oil changes and by keeping the water temps down we regularly see 250-350K miles from that drivetrain.
Sky is the limit as far as modifications go, it is a ranger based vehicle, there are so many ways to build up a gen II explorer......one like yours can easily last a lifetime.

Welcome to EF!! You will love driving that thing around, lots of fun to drive!!!

You are SO right! The first thing I told my wife was how maneuverable the thing is. She’s in love with it because of how easy it is to get around parking lots. I told her, wait till we get it off-road, you’ll see the real value of the turning radius.

It doesn’t show any signs of being off-road, and with the miles it has, door hinges are flawless at this point.

I appreciate your welcome to the board and comments. It certainly gives me a good heads-up on what to expect. As far as value, I don’t really care since I intend to keep this toy.

 

[TexasBear]

the explorer sport is great! It is lighter then the 4 door and it has a really good wheel base for getting around the trails. Some of the most capable 4x4 trucks on this forum are sports, they make excellent wheelers. Like any other 3 door ford SUV they go up and down in value, people love them or they hate them.
The doors are heavy and much longer then the rangers or explorer doors, so over time the door hinges and pins cause a sag. Because the doors are heavier the door panels break more often as well, something to keep an eye on. Some of the sports came with a mono leaf rear spring, which can sag huge and cause the rear to drop low low almost riding on the bump stops. A good set of springs from a 4 door can fix that
The 4.0 and 5 speed were very tough by the 96 model year, with proper oil changes and by keeping the water temps down we regularly see 250-350K miles from that drivetrain.
Sky is the limit as far as modifications go, it is a ranger based vehicle, there are so many ways to build up a gen II explorer......one like yours can easily last a lifetime.

Welcome to EF!! You will love driving that thing around, lots of fun to drive!!!

 

[410Fortune]

45 is 3.55 gears open differential (No limited slip)
That stinks!!!

Can easily find some 3.73 for that thing with a disc brake limited slip rear axle or look a little harder and find 4.10

 

[TexasBear]

View attachment 433864

Here’s the door sticker for those who would like to define the details

45 is 3.55 gears open differential (No limited slip)
That stinks!!!

Can easily find some 3.73 for that thing with a disc brake limited slip rear axle or look a little harder and find 4.10

vs gear change and adding a locker?

 

[410Fortune]

gear change and lockers also available of course
what size tires?
selectable lockers are available for the rear axle, no real good choices for the front

 

[Fix4Dirt]

Here’s the door sticker for those who would like to define the details

vs gear change and adding a locker?

for your 33s 410s could work, or a 456. 456 wont do as wrll on highway as the 410s. you could always regear and if you go to 456 a regear will be necessary however 410 was a factory ratio so it is less costly, and some you can find with a LS (sctually i think most are) and then you can either put a powertrax no slip in if its open or LS or refresh the clutches both are good options. but yes as 410 said selectables are available for the rear

for the front afaik its the aussie locker torsen and maybe on emore since iirc powertrax diecontinued it

 

[CDW6212R]

Here’s the door sticker for those who would like to define the details

vs gear change and adding a locker?

Hunt the rear AXLE codes with letters in them, and not the numbers only code like you have. The all numbers codes are open diff's. The LS diff's have a letter in the axle code, such as D2 or D4 etc. Find the later 2nd gen's with lower mileage best, those have more predictable gear ratios, the 3.73 and 4.10 are more common nearer to 2001. The 302's all came with 3.73's as far as we know, the later 4WD V6 2nd gen's often had 4.10's.

The cost to pay for re-gearing has gone up, it's more feasible now to swap a whole rear to change gears.

 

[TexasBear]

Would this be the correct replacement?

 

[TexasBear]

Would this be the correct replacement?View attachment 433866

This would be a very inexpensive upgrade if so

 

[Fix4Dirt]

This would be a very inexpensive upgrade if so

View attachment 433867

yes inexpensive parts wise but labor will eat you alive haha. well it depends, do you plan on setting the gears up yourself?

 

[Fix4Dirt]

also im not sure, i dont rememebr an 8.8 30 spline? i thought ours was 31, and the rangers had a 28? dunno.

 

[TexasBear]

yes inexpensive parts wise but labor will eat you alive haha. well it depends, do you plan on setting the gears up yourself?

Yes of course, I’ve done several of my street cars myself.

 

[Fix4Dirt]

Yes of course, I’ve done several of my street cars myself.

oh, in that case sounds good then! just not sure there was ever a 8.8 30 spline?

 

[TexasBear]

Yeah see, I don’t know anything about these differentials. Hopefully someone can provide some info
I really need to visit this site on my computer, I keep checking in on my phone but it isn’t conducive to finding information posted in a timely manner

 

[TexasBear]

oh, in that case sounds good then! just not sure there was ever a 8.8 30 spline?

I also feel rather strongly that I would be better off altering the originals due to the lack of overall wear. I wouldn’t really want to swap out for some 200k+ set.
If I gear, add locker and rear discs, it seems like an adequate upgrade, but maybe there’s something I’m missing. I don’t want to assume anything. Do it right, do it once

 

[CDW6212R]

The Explorer axles are all 31 spline, the early Rangers had 28 splines like most cars did. For the R&P the axle spline doesn't matter, any 8.8 normal rotation gears fit all 8.8 rears. I think there were some rare front diff/reverse rotation gears, skip those if they exist.

The Ford rear gears are very stout, if the rear was taken care of, do not change them. Look at the gears and if they don't show any notable wear or very sharp edges, keep them.

You can buy OEM Ford 8.8 gears for about $140 shipped, check with our forum member vendor, LeviTown Ford. The diff/kit with bearings etc, those are actually more for the fronts($150ish), and a good $100 for the rear kits. Do not buy non Ford gears if you can get the OEM, they are more precisely made, match the old ones very well.