what year rear ends can i swap to my 97 mountaineer?

[acabtp]

when driving, my truck's made differential noise for about 4 years. it's gotten progressively worse, and now is to the point where it is not possible to hold normal conversation in the truck over 30 mph, or listen to the radio on the highway.

i've put the truck up on jackstands and poked around with a mechanics stethoscope, and the rear diff is the only thing that was making any noise. i had my local shop take a look at it as well and their thoughts were that the diff was on its way out, and that it was the worst they had heard in a truck that was still drivable, haha.

i don't feel like pulling the differential apart, i want to just replace the whole rear end with a low mileage unit. what years will fit, anything from the 95-01 trucks that was 3.73 and limited slip? or were there any electrical connectors, etc that will limit what my 1997 mountaineer can receive?

i've got a price of $300 on a 3.73 rear end from a 1998 explorer, good deal? what have you guys paid?

thanks,
Tom

 

[James909]

The rear axle from any 2nd gen Explorer/Mountaineer will work. The important part which you already said is that it has 3.73's. Whether the replacement axle has a LS or not doesn't matter, it's personal preference. Since your signature says AWD I'm assuming this is a V8 model. One thing to note then is that the V8 models have traction bars which prevent axle wrap. So if you get a rear axle from a V6 model it won't have the necessary brackets and you will need to take the traction bars off completely. This is not a critical issue as people have run without them without issue, but you may want to take it into consideration. In order to have the rear axle bolt up exactly like it is now you would need to use an axle from a 2nd gen V8 model.

As far as the price goes that seems to be a pretty average price. If you shop around you can probably find a better price but it sounds like you might not have time to do that before this rear end calls it quits. Just to compare when I swapped the rear end in my first gen (I replaced it with a second gen rear axle) I payed $250 for it out of a wrecked '99 V8 Ex with 25K miles on it and LS.

 

[Shawn Foley]

James,
I've got the same problem with my '99 V8 Mountaineer. Where did you look to find the part and how hard is it going to be to make the swap? I've done a bit of mechanical work over the years but it's been a while since I've been under a car. And what does 'LS' mean?

 

[Dan Whitaker]

James,
I've got the same problem with my '99 V8 Mountaineer. Where did you look to find the part and how hard is it going to be to make the swap? I've done a bit of mechanical work over the years but it's been a while since I've been under a car. And what does 'LS' mean?

LS means limited slip

 

[my pos mounty]

James,
Where did you look to find the part

www.car-part.com
By the way, you should check the bearings and seals as well as the condition of the ring/pinion/and spider gears before installing as well as remove the fill plug. Won't do you much good to put a different axle under the truck if you can't add the lube.
______________________________________________________________________

Edit:
By the way, look on your driver side door jamb. Theres a sticker on it that will list "axle".. you need the code. Once you have this code, you can check this for your ratio.

Explorer
Door Code
41..... Open 8.8"..... 3200..... 3.27
42..... Open 8.8"..... 3200..... 4.10
43..... Open 8.8"..... 3200..... 3.08
44..... Open 8.8"..... 3200..... 3.73
45..... Open 8.8"..... 3200..... 3.55
46..... Open 8.8"..... 3200..... 3.73
D1..... L/S 8.8"..... 3200..... 3.27
D2..... L/S 8.8"..... 3200..... 4.10
D4..... L/S 8.8"..... 3200..... 3.73
D5..... L/S 8.8"..... 3200..... 3.73

I recommend using the same ratio unless you want to deal with speedo correction measures

 

[techieman33]

$300 is probably a little on the high side, especially for a 3.73 unit. If you end up with an axle from a v6 and want to keep the traction bars, you'll just need to get a pair of shock mounts for the rear axle, and have them welded on, probably cost $30 or so.

 

[James909]

I bought the rear end from a forum vendor 'Kbabiak.' I would check to see if there are any forum vendors near you that have the part. If not I'd try local junkyards. If the seller will let you I'd recommend taking the diff cover off and having a quick look inside.

As far as difficulty goes, it's not really that hard. I had never swapped a rear end before I did it to the Ex and it wasn't too bad. It is time consuming though. It took me a weekend from start to finish at a very casual pace. It helps a lot to spray some PB blaster on everything a couple of days before you do the swap. Also you are going to need a friend on hand to help with the heavy lifting.

 

[Electrohacker]

mine has no such bars... and i have never seen them, I WANT THEM THOUGH!

 

[my pos mounty]

mine has no such bars... and i have never seen them, I WANT THEM THOUGH!

It was my understanding that the D4 axle code (3.73 LSD) on the V8 had the "anti-wrap" bars (traction bars) on them. They are on the front of the assembly and bolt to the frame on each side. I thought all V8's had them?????

 

[Electrohacker]

if thy do they are well hidden as I have never seen them, and yes I have a D4 axle

 

[my pos mounty]

Where they connect is on the frame rail just behind the rear doors. Maybe they didn't do that until after the '96 model year?????

Mine is also the D4 axle, and was replced with the same from a junkyard. JY axle came with the anti-sways still attached..???

 

[99ex22]

I paid 110.00 for my 3.73 ls from my local you pull it. 300 is very steep.