ranger axle swap

[79broncojosh]

I am parting out a 88 ranger that has a 3.73 rear end in it so i crawled under and measured from spring perch to spring perch (centers) and it is only about half an inch off from the ranger to the EXP.

That means I would only have to push the springs out a 1/4" on each side to do a spring over conversion. I think I am going to throw it under there this weekend when I do my AAL and see if I can get everything to work.
It will be awesome if it works!

If it works I am going to nix the shackles and not do the add a leaf and see were that puts me height wise. 2 or 3 inches higher in the back will be great because im putting on a roof rack with full size spare and a lot of equipment in the back for weekend excursions off-roading. That should level it out pretty nice.

 

[section525]

You know that's a smaller axle and the SOA will give you 6" or so?

 

[79broncojosh]

The ranger has a 8.8 in it. Not sure if its original or if it was swapped in, but it is a 8.8 for sure. Looked up the numbers on it. Does it have weaker internals or something?

I know it will give me a lot of lift, but with my saggy springs and a stock shackles, with all my junk in the back I think it will only sit 1 maybe 2 inches higher in the back than the front which is what i want.

I dont do any serious wheeling with this just trail riding and some mud every now and then. It is mostly a back and forth to school and work vehicle. I do all the real wheeling in my 79 bronco. That ranger got the s... beat out of it, over kind of terrain and it never broke anything accept TTB stuff. So I think that axle would be alright under the X

Not sure im even doing it yet? Thats why I am talking to the professionals for advice before I make a decision!!

 

[mounty71]

Yes, the ranger axle is a bit narrower i believe, and it has weaker axle shafts than the explorer does. And with only a TT on your explorer, the rear end with spring over will be way taller than the front.

 

[79broncojosh]

I understand it will give me a lot of lift. The back of the truck WITH shackles still sits about 2" lower than the front.
So if I took out the shackles, that would put me 4" lower than the front, then did the SOA conversion, it would put me "about" 2" higher in the back than the front. Then when I put me tools, recovery gear, roof rack and everything else on, it will more than likely sit level or just a little high in the rear.

Seem logical to me? I know this axle isnt as strong as the X axle but we had 35"s on the ranger and beat it to death, and nothing ever broke in the rear and it is still tight and straight. I am not worried about the strength of the axle at all for what I plan to do with it

I was just thinking I could do this instead of the AAL, that will prob still put my rear end lower than the front when its all said and done. Like I said this truck is 95% a daily driver.

 

[section525]

Don't forget the Ranger probably has drum brakes too.

 

[IZwack]

I was just thinking I could do this instead of the AAL, that will prob still put my rear end lower than the front when its all said and done.

Unless you're planning to keep a few v8 engines in the back for added weight, I doubt it'll even come close to leveling out.

If your front is indeed 3" higher than the back, after the SOA, the front will be 3" lower than the back. In order to get this back to level, and assuming each leaf pack is rated at 200 lbs/in, you will need a whopping 1,200 lbs of weight added to get it back to level (thats for two leaf packs). At that point, your leaf springs are probably negative arched.

Below was my Explorer with SOA, WAR-153s, and Torsion Twist at the front.

Even a fully loaded 14-bolt GM 1-ton axle sitting in the cargo area of the Explorer came nowhere close to getting the vehicle back to level.

 

[RangerX]

Seems to me you'd be much better off getting a pair of leaf spring perches and welding them on top of the Explorer axle. Cheap, easy, no downgrade in axle.

 

[79broncojosh]

It was just an idea, and apparently not a good one!