Rear Axle swap -- worth the effort?

The 3.08 open diff on a 4.0 v6 1992 Ranger I am thinking about buying needs rebuilding. My local shop suggested the cheapest fix would be to swap in a used axle and then I could go even change the ratio or possibly get disc brakes.

I read the tech page on the Ranger Rear Axles. The build sticker on the 92 says it came with a "92" axle: 8.8 28 spline 3.08 open diff. I imagine I could easily swap to a "R5" axle: 8.8 28 spline 3.55 LS diff if I could find one. This would increase my towing capacity and it should just hook up directly although I'm not sure if the transmission computer would need resetting?

Alternatively I could go with an Explorer 8.8" 31 spline 3.55 LS axle that is supposed to be stronger than the Ranger axle and comes with disc brakes. I wonder what is involved with making this axle work and is it worth the effort? The axle is stronger which is good and there seem to be more of them around however the disc brakes seem like some customization work would be involved and I wonder how much better are the disc brakes when the back half of the truck is much lighter than the front half?

I could just go with an early 90s Explorer axle with 10" drum brakes to get the improved strength, Wonder if anyone has done such a swap and if it is as straight forward as I imagine?

Find yourself a Ranger axle and its a bolt in swap. Explorer is not bolt in and for someone just wanting to swap in a used axle vs repairing their current one the Explorer swap is not worth it at all.

8.8 Ranger axle or 7.5 Ranger axle will bolt right up and you can even find Ranger 8.8 axles with the 31 spline just like the Explorer offers in the FX4 model Rangers.

Keep it simple and bolt in another ranger axle unless you really want the disk brakes.

If you have a welder I believe the explorer 8.8 is worth it. It took an afternoon to get it in for me. The disk swap axle costs more but Ford made way more explorers than Rangers with disk brakes.

Sent from the road while ignoring traffic

The FX4 sounds like an interesting idea and probably more readily available as well. Does it come with 10" drum brakes like my 1992 or disc brakes in which case it would be a more involved project.

Also, is my speedometer going to spin correctly after this ratio change or am I going to have to change a gear in the A4LD or perhaps take it to Ford to re-program the ECU for the 3.08 to 3.55 ratio change?

e21pilot said:

The FX4 sounds like an interesting idea and probably more readily available as well. Does it come with 10" drum brakes like my 1992 or disc brakes in which case it would be a more involved project.

Also, is my speedometer going to spin correctly after this ratio change or am I going to have to change a gear in the A4LD or perhaps take it to Ford to re-program the ECU for the 3.08 to 3.55 ratio change?

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Readily available my ass...

e21pilot said:

The FX4 sounds like an interesting idea and probably more readily available as well. Does it come with 10" drum brakes like my 1992 or disc brakes in which case it would be a more involved project.

Also, is my speedometer going to spin correctly after this ratio change or am I going to have to change a gear in the A4LD or perhaps take it to Ford to re-program the ECU for the 3.08 to 3.55 ratio change?

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No Ranger has disk brakes. 8.8 Ranger axles come with 10" drum brakes. FX4 axles are not at all readily available. All the FX4 8.8 has over the regular 8.8 is 31 spline axles vs regular 28 spline axles.

Being completely honest if you are not out there running 35" or larger tires with a locked differential and a high horsepower engine you wont have the need for the extra strenght the 31 spline shafts offer over the 28 spline.

If you are just looking to swap an axle under your truck keep it simple and source one of the more than readily available Ranger 8.8 or even 7.5. dont go crazy looking for the FX4 8.8.

There is a speedometer tooth gear you will need to change thats it. you dont have a PCM to reprogram, your transmission is mechanical. Look over in the tech section it has everything you need to proceed with the swap along with the information youve been provided.

bigmark303 said:

If you are just looking to swap an axle under your truck keep it simple and source one of the more than readily available Ranger 8.8 or even 7.5. dont go crazy looking for the FX4 8.8.

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this

I've been researching more and found that the 93 and up axles are 1" wider on each side compared to the 1992 and earlier. Wondering if that might be problem with wheel well clearance since my 1992 is not lifted.

Anyone swapped in a 93+ axle onto a first gen 2wd Ranger that is not lifted?

Find a locker for it and run some 3.73s. Or swap in a LS carrier.

e21pilot said:

I've been researching more and found that the 93 and up axles are 1" wider on each side compared to the 1992 and earlier. Wondering if that might be problem with wheel well clearance since my 1992 is not lifted.

Anyone swapped in a 93+ axle onto a first gen 2wd Ranger that is not lifted?

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The extra width isn't an issue, especially if sticking with near stock size tires

bigmark303 said:

No Ranger has disk brakes.

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Wrong. 2011 and 2012 MY Rangers came standard with rear disc brakes.

e21pilot said:

I've been researching more and found that the 93 and up axles are 1" wider on each side compared to the 1992 and earlier. Wondering if that might be problem with wheel well clearance since my 1992 is not lifted.

Anyone swapped in a 93+ axle onto a first gen 2wd Ranger that is not lifted?

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I haven't done it on a 2wd, but my 87 4x4 has an Explorer rear in it, and it fits just fine. I don't see it causing any issues on a 2wd. If you are really that worried about it stick some 4x4 lift blocks in there while you have the axle out.


FWIW, I did the 31 spline disc swap on my towing truck, and it was totally worth it. Also, if you tow with it, I'd take 3.73 over 3.55.

adsm08 said:

Wrong. 2011 and 2012 MY Rangers came standard with rear disc brakes.

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Might have been an location specific option? In 2011 I went with a friend to purchase a brand new Ranger from the dealer and rear disk brakes were not an option at all for any model Ranger through the dealer and that was close to the very end of the North American production run for the Rangers.

2010 & 2011 U.S.-spec (and I believe Canadian too) Rangers have 4W disc brakes, which came about when they added traction control to it.

To the OP, if you are running stock-sized tires (or close to it) on your 2WD, a 3.55:1 28-spline 8.8" Ranger axle should be way more than plenty for your needs.
Years ago I briefly owned a 4.0L 2WD stickshift with a 3.55 T/L rearend on the stock P225/70R14 tires... That truck was like a bat outta hell when you punched it.

As said, you'll only need to change your speedometer gear after the swap.
http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/Speedogear.html

My 2010 b4000 has rear discs, its making it a pain as i wanted to stick an fx4 axel underneath. Instead i gotta pull the diffs to do gearing and a locker. Sucks as there are tons of rolled fx4s around here. Not that this has anything to do with the topic at hand.