thinking about 2001 F150 front diff, crazy idea time

[pjtoledo]

sitting here late at night wondering how I could get a better front differential, and waste some more money.
looking at 1997-2004 F150 & Expeditions the diffs are sort of similar.
they appear to be wider, have flanges, and the front mount would be inside the Rangers frame crossmember, bummer
most seem to be either 3.55 or 3.73, I hope 4,10s are available.
since the diff and the axle shafts are wider they should match up with a '95 F150 rear axle.
control arms would have to be mounted farther out, easy to weld on some extended mounts right?
looks like the hardest part would be moving the frame crossmember forward, and adding a smaller one for the lower diff mount.
oh oh, the rack is too narrow now, and the CV splines probably are larger too.
OK, new knuckles are needed which probably have a different bolt pattern. the '95 rear is 5 x 5.5

are all those front disconnect? most on car-part are disconnect models.
in an all wheel drive Expedition I would think there would not be a disconnect, anybody know?

on a scale of 1-10, 1 being "are you crazy, it's not worth it," and 10 being "ah what the hell, let's do this" where would this fall?


it's after midnight now, time to turn in and dream up some more Ranger antics.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

All are CAD at least in trucks and 97-01 Expeditions.

Front axle is a 8.8.

My '02 was 3.31 originally. For 4.10's shop for F-250LD/F-150 7700 trucks (the goofy ones that look like an F-150 and have seven lug wheels)

Worth it? Not really sure what you are doing... the SLA D35 diff assembly really had no major issues.

 

[bobbywalter]

this gets done....with longer....or lengthened arms for travel

 

[pjtoledo]

All are CAD at least in trucks and 97-01 Expeditions.

Front axle is a 8.8.

My '02 was 3.31 originally. For 4.10's shop for F-250LD/F-150 7700 trucks (the goofy ones that look like an F-150 and have seven lug wheels)

Worth it? Not really sure what you are doing... the SLA D35 diff assembly really had no major issues.

mostly brainstorming, I like to figure out how to screw things up make them better.

I am prepping the '95 F150 axle for a Ranger. I want a wider bed but damn are beds expensive.

I have a habit of cooking up ideas then buying parts that I never really push to completion.
the best example of that is the 429 SCJ (really a 460) that's been in the basement for 35 years. the '77 F150 it was intended for is long gone.
now, if I ever reassembly the '78 Bronco.......

 

[pjtoledo]

this gets done....with longer....or lengthened arms for travel

I've seen that, the arms are wider front -to-back too so mounts would need worked on.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

The 97+F150/Expys use a different wheel lug pattern then the OBS trucks.

4.10's wernt a factory option atleast in normal 150/expys. 3.73 was as low as it got and atleast the expy only went to 3.55's after 98.

Not sure if 4.10's came in the 250LD or 7700 150's. But good luck with the 7 lug wheels.

Also, id do some measuring to check track width. Id lay money that 95 F150 rear is narrower then a 97+.

One other thing...the expeditions quit being a F150 after 02, not sure if they changed the front diffs or not in the revamp,

 

[rusty ol ranger]

The 97+F150/Expys use a different wheel lug pattern then the OBS trucks.

4.10's wernt a factory option atleast in normal 150/expys. 3.73 was as low as it got and atleast the expy only went to 3.55's after 98.

Not sure if 4.10's came in the 250LD or 7700 150's. But good luck with the 7 lug wheels.

Also, id do some measuring to check track width. Id lay money that 95 F150 rear is narrower then a 97+.

One other thing...the expeditions quit being a F150 after 02, not sure if they changed the front diffs or not in the revamp,

Oh and one other thing....the AWD system changed in expeditions after 98. 97/98 had 2wd/A4WD/4hi/4low, 99+ did away with the 2wd function. I believe on the early ones it kept vacuum to the front at all times except in 2wd. 99+ im guessing did the same thing although im not sure. The AWD was acheived with a magnetic clutch in the T case that locked/unlocked with rear wheel spin.

F150's just had standard 2wd/4hi/4low.

if any of my babbleing has helped lol

 

[bobbywalter]

well....rusty is right about regular stuff. the raptor though generally has 4.10 gears...

in the case of this.....and yes i have been looking at this stuff in case i buy a newer ranger....you just buy a whole raptor front assembly and fit that to the ranger...



the new ranger stuff is pretty bad ass....i do think ford did a decent job on the stock setup and abused with light duty 33's will probably do ok........

unfortunately.... looking at the bronco raptor and overseas raptor....beating the hell out of these things off road with high traction large tires is failing fords stock chassis.

but i love having full width on my ranger....it stability is something else off road....so running a fat bastard raptor 150 setup on a modern ranger with burly mounts would be my preferred unless the new ranger system proves adequate.




of course to get half a raptor suspension and diff.....for 1500......your rolling the dice on this....

naturally.....your going to have to be patient and shop carefully if your not hooked up with a good underwriter..


.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

The 97+F150/Expys use a different wheel lug pattern then the OBS trucks.

4.10's wernt a factory option atleast in normal 150/expys. 3.73 was as low as it got and atleast the expy only went to 3.55's after 98.

Not sure if 4.10's came in the 250LD or 7700 150's. But good luck with the 7 lug wheels.

Also, id do some measuring to check track width. Id lay money that 95 F150 rear is narrower then a 97+.

One other thing...the expeditions quit being a F150 after 02, not sure if they changed the front diffs or not in the revamp,

They were not as much F-150... but they were based on the 97-03 F-150 for a long time after they were updated. Moreso than the 04+, kind of an evolutionary branch sort of thing. The relationship is between the 97-03 and the later Expedition is very... complicated.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

They were not as much F-150... but they were based on the 97-03 F-150 for a long time after they were updated. Moreso than the 04+, kind of an evolutionary branch sort of thing. The relationship is between the 97-03 and the later Expedition is very... complicated.

I didnt realize that. I figured it was kinda what the explorer did in 02.

Or were they more ranger then i think?

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I didnt realize that. I figured it was kinda what the explorer did in 02.

Or were they more ranger then i think?

Explorer deviated a lot more.