Blew up my 7.5” diff and want to swap to 8.8

[Owen Stayura]

I blew up my 7.5” diff and found a cheap 8.8 in my area. Only problem is that it’s out of a 98 4.0 ranger extended cab and mine is a 97 2.3 regular cab. Was just wandering if anyone else has done this swap and If it was a direct bolt on application because I do not have the time to mess around with fabrication because I only have the weekend off work and need my truck by monday

 

[Bird76Mojo]

A rear axle swap from another Ranger of the same era should be a bolt-in. While I'm not 100% certain it's a bolt-for-bolt swap, it should go pretty smoothly. It could have a different gear ratio which can result in your speedometer being off, but as far as driving it, you should be good to go. Everything should be easy..

Not totally sure here, u-bolts could be an issue. As I said, I'm not 100% on that issue..

You should be good to go. If I'm wrong, someone please correct me.



GB

 

[Owen Stayura]

A rear axle swap from another Ranger of the same era should be a bolt-in. While I'm not 100% certain it's a bolt-for-bolt swap, it should go pretty smoothly. It could have a different gear ratio which can result in your speedometer being off, but as far as driving it, you should be good to go. Everything should be easy..

Not totally sure here, u-bolts could be an issue. As I said, I'm not 100% on that issue..

You should be good to go. If I'm wrong, someone please correct me.



GB

Thank you for the info Im gunna try the good ol welded diff trick first but if I mess up or something else breaks I will be sure to let y’all know how the 7.5 to 8.8 swap goes!

 

[adsm08]

It should be a 90% bolt-in affair. The 7.5 and 28-spline 8.8, which is almost certainly what you are looking at, use the same size axle tubes. I think the biggest thing you will end up having to deal with is the hydraulic connection at the wheel cylinders. At least in the earlier years the 9" and 10" brakes had different thread sizes at the wheel cylinder, so you would need to find the right adapter to make the lines fit.