ok whatchat think on this one

[armymatt22]

My question is this ... does anyone know the "track" or the width of the rear axel on a 97 expedition? The reason I ask. Well, getting deployed again and I'm gonna save up the money to get a Dixon Brother's fron suspension for my 95XLT 4X4. In doing some reading and research when doing so it pushes the "track of the front end by 4'' on either side. Now it may be just me but, If you have a widened front and a narrow rear or vice versa; it leads to one thing... unstable. So here is my idea. If the expedition rear axel is that much wider; why not swap out my Explorer rear axel for an Expedition to make the "track" equal on the front and back.

Second on that since I want to put 33" on my X... I want to regear it. SO... there for.... if I can swap out an Explorer rear axel for an Expedition rear axel... does any of the Expedition Ratio's come with a 4.56 in them?

Any information, or input for you Guru's is well needed and would be accepted.

 

[hunterdan]

I think the lowest gear ratio that came in an Expedition was 4.10, usually it was either a 3.73 or 3.55. Do you want leafs or coils for the rear? If you are sticking to leafs, then look at an F-150 rear as the expedition was coil sprung in the rear. Im not sure on the width though.

Dan

 

[gijoecam]

Ditto... The Expedition rear end was a coil-sprung axle before going IRS. The F-150's axle was leaf-sprung, but it's spring-over (which should be fine since you're lifting anyways). If you're going that way, you could aim for an 8.8 axle, but the odds of finding one with short gearing are slim as they were only used with the 4.6L engines... The only F-series trucks with a 4.10 are the F-150 7700# Payload trucks... They used a Sterling 10.25, but the axle shafts come with 7-lug flanges... Not fun to find wheels for, to say the least.

If I was doing it, I'd go with a 9.75 out of any F-150 with a 5.4, then re-gear it with the 4.10s or 4.56s. There is plenty of aftermarket support for that diff nowadays, so lockers, limited slips, and torque-biasing diffs are readily available.

Oh, and parts like carrier bearings, axle shafts, axle bearings, and 4 wheel disc parts are available off the shelf at any parts chain in the country.

-Joe

 

[armymatt22]

thanks for the info

Thanks Guys,

Ok good info. I guess what I'am trying to say is I want a solid rear axel that is a total of 8" wider to match the widened front end. Yet I also want to be able to have it already geared to 4.56, as well as have the regular 5x4.5 lug nut patern so I can put the same wheels that I have on the front and rear. So I guess I will keep looking

 

[gijoecam]

There's nothing Ford has offered in the last 25 years that I know of that had 4.56 gears in it from the factory, and if they did, I can guarantee it won't bolt up nicely.

Oh, and just an FYI, most vehicles have a slightly wider front track than the rear to start with. That's nothing new... 8" difference would be kind of extreme though... The difference in and of itself is not going to make the vehicle inherently unstable.

-Joe

 

[jonlax]

I would just save your money. All i see is people spending all that hard earned money down range. I set up a nice savings account from 15 months of BS. I like the kit you are talking about so maybe a full size in the rear something like Gijoecam said.

 

[sjr033]

There's nothing Ford has offered in the last 25 years that I know of that had 4.56 gears in it from the factory, and if they did, I can guarantee it won't bolt up nicely.

Oh, and just an FYI, most vehicles have a slightly wider front track than the rear to start with. That's nothing new... 8" difference would be kind of extreme though... The difference in and of itself is not going to make the vehicle inherently unstable.

-Joe

I thought that the FX4 package on the Ranger had 4.10 standard and the 4.56 as an option? Maybe it is the Level II. But even if I am right, these would be had to come by.

 

[gijoecam]

I thought that the FX4 package on the Ranger had 4.10 standard and the 4.56 as an option? Maybe it is the Level II. But even if I am right, these would be had to come by.

Nope. 4.10s, yes, and in some of the level II's, a torsen diff as well as 32 spline axle shafts depending on the year, but it's also not any wider than his Explorer axle, so it really wouldn't help much.

 

[sjr033]

Nope. 4.10s, yes, and in some of the level II's, a torsen diff as well as 32 spline axle shafts depending on the year, but it's also not any wider than his Explorer axle, so it really wouldn't help much.

You made me go look. Axle code R8 is L/S 4.56 in a ranger.

http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/Axles.html

My first comment was just in reguard to the axle rating. You are right about it not giving hime the extra width that hee needs.

 

[armymatt22]

ok so i hear

Ok ... so what about this as quick fix...

I hear that wheel spacers are bad .. but would they work well enough to elivate some of the problem... 2" wheel spacers on either side in the rear would cut the difference in the front and back down a little ... or even 1" spacer with a new wheel in the same style as the front but just a different back spacing?


how about that ?

 

[armymatt22]

ok here we go... round two

to send this back to the top...


I know some of ya'll dont like spacers but for what i want it seems like the only way. So I have some links for some spacers... any feed back on the ones ya'll think are the best please let me know.



spacers 1

spacers 2

spacer 3

spacer 4

well thats what I have come up with so far.... any thoughts?

 

[Nocturnall]

Why don't you contact the company and ask them about any unstability with the kit? You could do the spacers or the rims. You could also get wider rear tires. You could also research other rear ends that you might be able to bolt up, f150, bronco and such.

 

[armymatt22]

hmmmm

I have been researching but nothing is showing up for swappin my X axel for anything else or at least i havent found anything. I was thinking about different wheels and wider tires in the rear, but that would be a pain in the ass when it comes to rotations. I have been calling around about instability issues but when it comes to company's trying to see you something, they always try and make themselves look good and everyone else look bad. So they down play their negative issues. I have a good BS-o-meter but with somethings It's hard to get a straight answer.

 

[Nocturnall]

Try going to the junk yard, measure the rear end of your truck and measure the rear end of a f150 and what not's. Not everything will be online. YOU COULD BE THE FIRST TO SWAP A F150 AXLE IN!