8.8 diff ramp

RockRanger · Sep 30, 2013

I need some opinions on this before I go any farther.

I have a 93 explorer 8.8 in my ranger. On the bottom of the diff they have a big lip that likes to hang up on rocks. A shave of the diff like the 14 bolts would be nice but a bit extreme for me right now. So this is what I came up with.

Here is the lip on the bottom of the diff.

I cut a few plats out of 1/4" on my plasma table and then welded them together like so.

Then I dd a quick tack to see how I liked it.

This is where I am at right now. I am trying to decide if it is worth it to weld it on? What is the best way to weld it to the diff?

4.0B2 · Sep 30, 2013

preheat the diff... weld it HOT.

it's a great idea. I've made a little "skid plate" for mine but I'm waiting for some help welding it. Something about the type of wire you use makes a difference when welding to diffs like that... I know you need to preheat it for sure.

4x4junkie · Sep 30, 2013

I've been meaning to do something similar on mine before it actually wears through into the 'well' that's at the bottom, as it is it's already "ramped" a good bit just from rocks :icon_twisted:

When I welded the tubes to the chunk, I preheated it to around 325°, and it's been fine (I know some do this without preheating it at all). This shouldn't be hot enough to ruin seals if you're looking to avoid tearing it down as I was, but is probably better than welding it cold (though you still would want to drain it though).
Otherwise you'd want to pull the carrier & pinion out if you preheat it hotter.
Since it's not going to be a structural component, I don't think it really matters a whole lot.

RockRanger · Aug 30, 2015

Time to update this. I made a Version 2 that fits better then the first one. I tack welded it and ended up pulling the axle out and welding in on. I just used my mig welder and welded it up. I ground it down a bit to smooth it out as needed to make for a smoother transition between steps.

Untitled by dresselhausfc, on Flickr

Untitled by Matthew Dresselhaus, on Flickr

Untitled by Matthew Dresselhaus, on Flickr

How does it work? Awesome. A great cheap modification. On rocks that before the lip would catch on the diff now slides over a lot of them. On our trip to the Dusy I decided to see how much of a difference it made. Many times i steered to try to hang the rear diff just see how it did. See in the picture how many times I drug it.

20150830_154124 by Matthew Dresselhaus, on Flickr

20150830_154140 by Matthew Dresselhaus, on Flickr

My friend who followed me in his toyota even commented on how many times he thought I would get hung up but the rear would slide over the rock. I give this mod a 5 out of 5 stars and should have done it years ago.

8.8 diff ramp

RockRanger

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4.0B2

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