narrowing a 8.8 rear end

[mountrange]

Hello
I have a rear end out of a 97 v8 mountianeer to go in a 1990 2wd ranger. It's got long/short axle's & tube's an been told you can cut,
the long tube side an use short axle's on both side's.

Is there any info. on this site about this ?


Thank's Mike

 

[SoHK_alumni]

The kicker in narrowing the axles is getting the grooves for the "C" clips correct.

Best of my knowledge, the Expo rear end is only a pair of inches wider than the Ranger (one on each side) and is visually and functionally a non-issue. Cut off the Expo shock, sway bar mount and spring seats, weld on a pair of spring perches that fit the Ranger springs and run it as Ford build it.

 

[mountrange]

The shorter passenger side is apx. 3" less than driver side.
Remove this amount out of the longer driver side tube an use 2 short axle's.
This will also allow you to center the carrier. The spring perch's have to be,
relocated any way.

 

[mountrange]

I am trying to make room for wide rim's & tire's.

 

[Flash]

What does the Ranger have out the back as standard?

 

[SoHK_alumni]

What does the Ranger have out the back as standard?

Far and away, the Ranger's got an open Ford 7.5" diff, ratio's depend on the engine.

Generally, the "Splash" and "Sport" models got an open Ford 8.8 inch with 28 spline axles and the 4X4's got the 8.8 TracLoc and 28 splines.

Like all things, there are plenty of exceptions due to the options list and various markets.

 

[jd4242]

I am trying to make room for wide rim's & tire's.

How wide??

 

[RangerX]

I am trying to make room for wide rim's & tire's.

How wide?? Unless you're building to drag race and want wide wide tires tucked inside the fenders, it would be way simpler to keep the axle stock width and use different rim backspacing to accommodate wider rims and tires.

Ranger axles also are 3" offset, so one side is shorter than the other.

Have you measured both axles overall width, WMS to WMS? I believe the Explorer axle is only 3/4" to 1" wider. I'm running one on my Ranger.

 

[RangerX]

Heres a chart from the Ranger Station. Looks like for earlier year Rangers like yours, there is a bigger difference in width than I thought.

 

[jd4242]

Heres a chart from the Ranger Station. Looks like for earlier year Rangers like yours, there is a bigger difference in width than I thought.

Thats not that much..i too run a 98 5.0 explorer axle in my 94 ranger..it is noticeable wider but i currently fit 295/30/18 and could clear 325ish on my Cobra R rims....im SUA with drop shackles,how much wider is he trying to clear...

 

[RangerX]

Thats not that much..i too run a 98 5.0 explorer axle in my 94 ranger..it is noticeable wider but i currently fit 295/30/18 and could clear 325ish on my Cobra R rims....im SUA with drop shackles,how much wider is he trying to clear...

Yeah, for our years it's just an inch wider. I'm running 35x12.5, and used to run bigger. I swapped axles for the strength, the tiny extra width was a little bonus.

 

[mountrange]

The mountianeer rear end is 3" wider. I plan to run 15x12 rim's.
Not sure of tire's at this time. Ill have to see what's out there that will,
fit a 12" wide rim an ect. I guess you mite call it a pro street truck.
I will have to narrow the rear end an move the spring's in to make it happen.

 

[jd4242]

The mountianeer rear end is 3" wider. I plan to run 15x12 rim's.
Not sure of tire's at this time. Ill have to see what's out there that will,
fit a 12" wide rim an ect. I guess you mite call it a pro street truck.
I will have to narrow the rear end an move the spring's in to make it happen.

Thats only a 1.5" wider per side and its the same distance between spring perches, mounts the same way as current axle..

We can run 12" wide no problems with that new axle without moving perches or narrowing it..i can stuff basically a 14" wide on mine..there is only so much room between frame and fender no matter if you run the axle in stock form or narrow it..

 

[RangerX]

I guess you mite call it a pro street truck.

Sounds interesting! That must mean an engine and trans swap as well?

 

[mountrange]

I bought a 97 yr. 5.0 mountianeer to get motor an rear end.
It will be carbed an a c-4 transmission setup