Exploder axle swap and regear

[glfredrick]

I'm not sure what your chances are for finding an Explorer rear axle complete with 4.10's are in the salvage yards. They would be somewhat rare, as most had the 3.73 ratio.

You can find just the front differential - as the front "axle" on an Explorer is not really an axle. It is a composite piece that is made up of several different components. Again, availability is suspect. They are out there, but it may take time to find one.

You can do an interent search for salvage yards, and then use their parts locator to find out who has what and what price they run.

If you are in a hurry - it would likely be best just to have a shop do it.

An alternative is to find a local 4x4 club - get involved - participate, and then ask if there is anyone that does this type of work. They might be willing to assist a fellow club member.

A third alternitive is to learn how to do the work yourself, invest in the proper tools and manuals, and just do it. Even if you mess up a gearset, it would still be cheaper to replace one set as a learning experience than to pay for having two sets installed... Just a thought...

 

[Frodslhuz]

Yea, my dad said before to just try to put in the gears myself. I guess I'll learn how as I go, I'm just not certain how to do the front. I might go to a 4x4 shop in Phoenix tommorrow after school and ask around, I need to order my tires there.

 

[glfredrick]

The front gears will actually be easier than the rears because you get to pull the entire differential case out of the truck and put it on the bench to work. The rears have to be installed in the truck.

Mainly gears are not rocket science - but they do take care and LOADS of patience. Be prepared to do the job over until it is correct - which can be frustrating the first time, but is part of the process even for professional shops that do it all day. Virtually no one gets it right the very first time.

Oh, and when I am talking about "getting it right" what I mean is getting proper number of shims in the correct locations so that the pattern on the oinion and ring gear is correct. Doing that can mean taking the entire assembly in and out of the housing a number of times to swap in a different shim until the pattern is just right. Just remeber, you can do it at home and your labor time is your own - or you can pay someone shop rates to do the same thing.

You will need a dial indicator - which you can get at Harbor Freight for under $20. You will need a pry bar to get the carrier out of the housing (they fit tight!) You will need a way to mark the bearing caps as to location and direction of fit. They are typically installed only one way - and you want them back exactly the way they came out. You will want some gear marking paint, so you can see the pattern. You will want to replace all the bearings, seals, etc., while everything is apart, and you will want a torque wrench or maybe even two - one inch pounds that goes pretty low and the other foot pounds for the pinion nut, and ring gear bolts. You will want to have some loc-tite on hand for the parts that get that (ring gear bolts). You will also need to have access to a puller to pull off the pinion bearing. You can take it to a shop somewhere and have them pull it for a couple bucks.

A handy tip - and figuring that you are going to replace all the bearings, is to open up the inside of the pinion bearing after you get it off - so that it easily fits onto the pinion gear. You can do that with a grinding wheel in a drill, just clean it well so you don't get grit in the differential. Use that slip fit pinion bearing for trial fits of all the parts, then when you get everything right, have that shop press on the new bearing and slap it togehter. That saves a lot of hassles...

Click here for more info:http://www.ring-pinion.com/tech/yukoninst.pdf

 

[Bronco638]

This is the web site I used to find my axles: Car-Part.com. I did a search for you and turned up four rear axles with 4.10s in Tulsa OK (there were none in AZ). Three are listed for $200.

A search for the front axle revealed one (4.10 w/ABS) in Phoenix: Just Trucks & Vans for $100 (!!)

The place in Tulsa OK Apex has three (4.10 w/o ABS), two listed @ $250.

The Car-Parts web site lists the 4.10s (with or w/o ABS) as Dana 28 but that's not right (they're Dana 35).

Those are good prices and the 4.10 ratio is easy to determine if they're willing to pop the covers and count teeth. The pinion gear should have 10 teeth and the ring gear will have 41. The ring gear will also be stamped with the ratio, near the Ford oval & part number. I'd check out that axle in Phoenix, for one hundred bucks, you can't go wrong.

I hope this helps - Dave.

 

[Frodslhuz]

Wow, Thanks. I didn't think there would be any 4.10's. I'm going to look into that. If I get that front axle for $100 and find a rear axle for about $250, I can get my truck regeared to 4.10 for under $400. I think thats about right.

 

[Bronco638]

Well, while you have the axles out of the truck, I'd replace the carrier bearings and end seals. I bought bearings for my front axle recently. I think they were about $20 (from Ford) for cups and cones. A parts store might be able to do better (Timken?). Seals were about $10 each (again, from Ford). So, two 'refreshed' 4.10 axles for approx. $450 is a great deal. Now, you need to think about lockers..............

D.

 

[Savage Wolf]

Wow, Thanks. I didn't think there would be any 4.10's. I'm going to look into that. If I get that front axle for $100 and find a rear axle for about $250, I can get my truck regeared to 4.10 for under $400. I think thats about right.

Seeing you have a '92 why dont you look in to swapping in a disk brake rear while your at it, seeing your already looking at swapping out the rear axle

 

[Frodslhuz]

After I order my tires on Friday I am going to try and get those axles (or at least the front for now), and get new seals and stuff like that and look into lockers. Do I need one locker or two?

 

[Frodslhuz]

Seeing you have a '92 why dont you look in to swapping in a disk brake rear while your at it, seeing your already looking at swapping out the rear axle

How hard and much money is it to swap in disc brakes?

 

[Savage Wolf]

cost of the axle from salvage yard, just need to try to find one complete, at worst going to need new e-brake shoes, pads, and seals
as for stuff needed for the swap, going to need to bend 2 new axle hardlines and change out one of the caliper hoses, there is a write up somewhere on the board, I'll see if I can find it

 

[Savage Wolf]

http://www.explorer4x4.com/discswap.html

Take a look at these, should help some

 

[Frodslhuz]

Those links are cool, but I don't know if could do the conversion. I mostly need to regear from 3.27 to 4.10 to handle hills better cause it sucks right now and I have 29's.

 

[Bronco638]

As for lockers, that's your call. If you plan on going off-road, you really should consider a locker for the rear. If you want to be really competant off-road (mechanically, at least), get a locker for the front as well. It really depaends on your budget and what you use the truck for.

As for disc brakes, if you can find a complete axle (with calipers), you have everything you need. Unfortunately, salvage yards like to rest the axle on the rotor shrouds and they're usually dinged up pretty good. I'd go thru everything (calipers, rotors, pads, e-shoes, new hoses [caliper & axle-to-chassis]). It's also easier to work on everything when it out of the truck.

D.

 

[Frodslhuz]

Tonight I was talking to my dad and he told me that when he redid the rearend on the ol 80 something Bronco we had, he just bought an axle from a guy. What he did is he slid the axles out of the Bronco and unbolted the whole diff and swapped it with the one he bought off the guy. He said it was fairly easy and I just wanted to ask if you can do this with my Exploder? Also is there a whole complete diff with ring and pinion I can just put in the axle instead of taking apart the diff?

 

[glfredrick]

Certainly, you can do exactly the same thing. You have to drop the u-joint, the 4 spring hanger u-bolts, the brake line (hydraulic) and brake lines (emergency cables), and any electronic sensor plug that you might have for anti-lock brakes, and loosen the vent tube from the frame rail and you are all set in the rear. (Don't forget to bleed the brakes when you are done! This is a great time to also get all the old brake fluid out and replace it with clean fresh fluid.)

In front, you can pull the differential and replace it complete with another one with the gears you want already installed - a simple bolt on proposition.
Start by pulling the front axle shafts. Do that by removing the wheels, pulling the hubs, and all their related hardware, then remove the brake calipers and set them aside (hang them on a wire out of the way).

Then pull the 5 nuts holding the spindle to the steering arm. The spindles sometimes fight a bit - use a mallet and hit them a sharp rap - preferrably on the nuts, and not on the threads directly and they should pop off. Remove the mud shield behind the spindle and the driver's side axle shaft will slide right out of the truck. Repeat the process for the passenger side, but know that the axle shaft is held inside the diff by a c-clip and it will not slide out like it does on the driver's side. Do a search for "c-clip eliminator" and you can find out how to modify the axle shaft so that you don't have to mess with the c-clip.

Next, you will have to remove the coil spring (drop a deep well 1 1/8" socket down the top of the spring with a long extension and use an air hammer), pop off the shock (botom only), and then take off the bolt on the rear of the radius arm. Then work the axle housing as low as you can, and pop the radius arm out of the socket on the frame rail behind the axle. Now, with the axle beam dropped out of the way, you can get at the bolts that hold the diff in place. Pop off the u-joint. (A tip for the u-joint screws - heat them with a propane torch for a couple seconds - that will break the hold of the factory loctite, making them much easier to remove with the #27 star tool.)

There are a ring of bolts around the front, and another one behind the diff on the driver's side (it goes up and down). I ground away an area of clearance on my radius arm so that I can get to that side bolt without having to pull everything apart, but the first time, it is a little harder... Get all the bolts out - have a drain pan under the diff and with a tug or two to break the seal, it will pop off the back of the axle housing. Remove the c-clip on the passenger side axle shaft and slide the axle shaft out of the way. You are now holding in your hands a modified Dana 35 differential. It is essentially the same diff as the rear axle of many Jeeps, except that Ford modified it to bolt onto their axle housing. The internals are the same as many Jeeps, which means that parts from the right Jeep drop right in... That works for lockers, etc. Just make sure that you match up the spider and side gear sizes, there are two different ones, and that is the major difference.

To re-install, use silicone for a gasket on the new diff, reverse the above steps and it is finished. Once you have done it, it can be done in a matter of a couple hours. The first time takes much longer - first becasue you are not sure about all the bolts, etc. and second, becuase everything tends to fight just a bit. I did my front end in a parking lot at Moab with hand tools in a couple hours, so I know it can be done...

Happy wrenching.

 

[Bronco638]

glf,
I think he was referring to the removable 'pumpkin' out of a 9" axle that would be found in an 80s Bronco (full size).

Frod,
The answer is no. The 8.8 diff does not have the removable center section like your Dad is familiar with. I've worked on many an old (Shelby) Mustang with the Ford 9" rear and changed 'pumpkins' many times. The Explorer 8.8 has the pinion gear in the axle housing with a removable carrier for the ring gear (accessed thru the rear cover). This is the reasoning behind swapping axles. If you swap, there's no need to set pinion gear bearing preload or set the ring gear backlash. Otherwise, changing the ring & pinion can get pricey since setting the backlash can be a 'trial & error' type of thing. Most shops will want to charge you at least 3 hours of shop time to do this. Swappng in a 9" axle isn't real easy because they are usually a little wider and have a different lug pattern (5 x 5.5"). Also, most 9" axles are drum brake but there are conversion kits out there (to disc).

D.

 

[Frodslhuz]

From what I understand what my dad said is he took off the rearend diff cover, took off the wheels and slid out the axle shafts. After that he unbolted the whole diff and pulled it out of the axle housing as one piece. Then he just pulled the better one out of the doner axle he bought and put that one in the Bronco axle housing. After that he slid the axle shafts back in and he was done. I asked him if he needed to adjust anyhting and he said no it was fairly easy. I don't know if it was luck or this really works or what but he looked under my Ex and he said he doesn't know if he can do it on it.

 

[glfredrick]

What you are talking about is like Bronco 638 is saying - and that is for the Ford 9 inch rear axle. You cannot do that with the 8.8 inch rear axle on your explorer - there is no easily replacable "pumpkin" or "differential" for that rear axle, it is built into the axle housing itself, and requires expert setup.

You can do that on the front axle, if you replace the entire pumpkin (diff) per my instructions earlier, leaving just the axle beams.

For what it is worth - if you are worried about something easy like bleeding the brakes, you have one of two options - pay someone to do the work, or learn how... Dealing with the brake lines is the least of your worries...

 

[Frodslhuz]

Thank you for your instructions for the front setup, I know I am going to have to buy axles with 4.10 gears in them. Is there anyway to tell how good junkyard axles are just by looking at (in) the axles/diffs or do you just buy them and hope for the best?

 

[Frodslhuz]

As of right now I am currently running 3.27 open diffs so here is the game plan for now: After I install my JD stage 1 lift next week and buy my 31's I will try to buy that front 4.10 axle that Bronco638 told me about for $100. Then if I don't find a rear with 4.10 I will just buy a ring and pinion set and an installation kit and do it myself. The only thing I'm am worried about is if the axle(s) are in good conditon.