explorer 8.8 disk brake questions

[Angie]

Found this for sale close to me.

Ford 8.8 out of a 97’ explorer with disc brakes 3.73 with locker, 31 spline, came from a running truck
decided to use a different axle
$450 firm

Thinking about using this rear end on my 351C build.

questions -

1. will the 3inch wider have any real bearing on the differences going into a 1992 ranger?
(mounting brackets and wheel off set, street tires)

Explorer rear axle 59.5"
'83-'92 Ranger rear axle = 56.5" (7.5 & 8.8)

2. Is this swap worth the hassle and give better rear braking? now is the time for me to go it as the truck is stripped to the frame.

3. would you buy this and do the swap on your truck?

cheers thanks

 

[Shran]

Dat price, ouch, hope it's really clean with fresh brakes, low mileage and/or new clutches in the trac-lock... 8.8s around here run about $200, less if they are worn out

1 - It'll push your tires/wheels further out. Not sure if you care or not. Looks cool I think. You will have to be careful about your wheel/tire selection so that they stay within the wheel wells or they can rub going over bumps
2 - Meh. I like drums in the rear. I did a disc swap on my '92 Explorer and will tell you that the difference is negligible.
3 - Definitely not for $450 unless it was a really nice axle. It's gonna be an $800+ project if you have to replace all the wear parts.

 

[RonD]

What do you have now?

What kind of "locker" is in this explorer axle, lunchbox lockers wear out pretty fast in rear axles

And would the $450 be better spent on what you have now


Mustang rear disc brakes on Ranger article here: https://www.therangerstation.com/tech/ford-ranger-bronco-ii-rear-disc-brake-conversion/

Unless you plan on 33" or larger tires on the rear of the Ranger, 28-spline is plenty strong enough for V8 power

 

[pjtoledo]

since you mentioned better rear braking.....

do you need the tone ring in the rear diff?

the 2010 & 2011 Ranger rear axles DON'T have the tone ring but they do have really big disks , 11.6" x 3/4" vented, with emergency brakes in the hat.
they also have the Explorer style big wheel bearings & tubes, but alas, they only have 28 splines in the carrier.
the center section also has the bung for Crown Vic watts link pivot, but it's not tapped.

forgot to mention, they are 8.8 and have tone rings at each wheel for the roll stability control stuff.

just more info to complicate your choices

 

[rubydist]

I put disc brakes on all my Rangers because I hate drum brakes for a variety of reasons. I do not like the idea of 3" wider axle in your truck unless you want to run different offset wheels on the rear to keep the track roughly correct, or unless you want the tires to stick out the side of the truck. So, unless your current axle has issues, I would just put Mustang brakes on the axle you have now.

 

[gaz]

@Angie ,
-$450 is steep, I have only ever felt good installing a used axle after a complete rebuild.
- the extra width translates to extra stability to me. With 11½" wide tires on standard Ranger offset it is nearly unnoticeable but wider than 12½" it starts to show. Like I suggested, I think of it as a poor man's stability boost.
- I dislike drum brakes, I feel you are getting much more beef/strength but it comes with extra weight to your rig.
- I am for the improvements that axle offers but $250+/- is what I expect to take possession.

 

[Ramcharger90]

450 is way to much go to a salvage yard normally 150 bucks depending on your build you may need pinion shimes or to change the spring perches. Get the parts you know you want. Not someone elses aborted decisions. The exploder 8.8 also has a 2 inch off set also not to big of a deal but still a factor if lifting sky high

 

[don4331]

Remember, he is taking Cdn pesos, so $450 is about $300 USD

Explorer axle is spring under. So, will lower your Ranger 5" unless you change shackles or weld new spring mounts on top. Explorer shock mounts are on the spring u-bolt plates; you need 2 ?passenger? ones to make it work, but they will work with existing shock. Explorer sway bar mounts to frame behind the axle - not as effective as frame twists more. Alternative is to grind off the Explorer ones and install Ranger sway bar.

Explorer spring mounts are off by something like 0.5". There's enough play in springs, mounting holes & bushings to accommodate - if I hadn't read the numbers in Ford body builder's manual I would never have known.

My rant:

Mustang (non-GT) disk brakes are inferior to anything other than non functional drum brakes (which unfortunately there are too many of out there).

The calipers only have 32mm pistons; the rotors are solid/10.5"​

The Explorer calipers have 48mm pistons; the rotors are vented and 11-5/8"​

The result is Explorer rear discs apply almost 3X the braking force of the Mustang ones. (2X, the Mustang GT ones).​

And parking brake on the Mustang ones sucks too - it was designed to be applied arm strong, and the foot pedal causes them to over adjust meaning you go through pads...fast​

I did the swap into my '99 but then it is only 1" delta on my newer truck. Also, I run Mustang Cobra rim, which would need 35mm spacers anyways. I was lowering it anyway (3 not 5", so there are "lift shackles" to put everything back where I wanted it).

Note: I also did 13" Mustang rotors up front as the 17" Cobra rims had room; going from 11" Ranger rotors to the Mustang ones, makes a difference.

 

[Angie]

hey guys, thanks for all the replies

Yes don is correct, canadian dollars ...

I was seeking advise on the out with the 8.8 that's in there from a 1990's, and placing in the expo rear end. wasn't looking to rebuild it, or do anything to it. (if i wanted to go crazy, i have a 9" from a truck with a 3.73 racing carrier I could shorten and dump money into for this build, however, this wasn't in the cards yet).

No idea what type of "locker" is in this rear (haven't called to see it yet) was seeking info about the expo rears first.

I have seen over the mustang conversions, looks more of a PITA to hack and swap when a complete swap looks easier.

Don, thanks for the info, never considered the under spring mounting. and lowering up to 5 " will be too much. any chance there is a tech article about this swap and the procedure involved in mods needed to make the expo bolt up? street truck. non lifted 2whd.

cheers thanks all.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

hey guys, thanks for all the replies

Yes don is correct, canadian dollars ...

I was seeking advise on the out with the 8.8 that's in there from a 1990's, and placing in the expo rear end. wasn't looking to rebuild it, or do anything to it. (if i wanted to go crazy, i have a 9" from a truck with a 3.73 racing carrier I could shorten and dump money into for this build, however, this wasn't in the cards yet).

No idea what type of "locker" is in this rear (haven't called to see it yet) was seeking info about the expo rears first.

I have seen over the mustang conversions, looks more of a PITA to hack and swap when a complete swap looks easier.

Don, thanks for the info, never considered the under spring mounting. and lowering up to 5 " will be too much. any chance there is a tech article about this swap and the procedure involved in mods needed to make the expo bolt up? street truck. non lifted 2whd.

cheers thanks all.

I made my own bolt on pieces to swap to spring under on my stock rear. Should work the same going the other way. Its somewhere in my low buck race truck build.

 

[scotts90ranger]

I made my own spring plates when I did my 8.8 swap out of 2.5" 1/4" wall tubing, with the angle I put on it I think I got two 7" pieces out of 1' of tube... then I welded a spacer between them and cut the tube notch out with a hole saw so both were the same...

I changed to discs long enough ago that I don't remember the difference, the drums had issues so that's fixed for sure, parking brake leaves some to be desired but I can live with it...