M5OD HELP w/ videos

[facemaze]

Hey there's a problem!

If you don't have any teeth missing or damaged on the ring & pinion, I'd be very tempted to just put new side and spider gears in plus a new pin if needed... my guess is the pin bolt broke or loosened up and fell out, this was actually kind of a common thing and there used to be a lot of threads about people running into broken bolts. Check the carrier and make sure the cross pin holes aren't egged out though!

Just have to see how chewed up everything is... a junkyard axle is an extreme solution if you can get away with just replacing a couple parts in yours.

Gonna go to a junkyard and checkout the options. It can stay in the garage a while longer, but an upgrade has been on my list for a while now. maybe the universe is talking to me. Its a hard choice tho, I just did new bearings and seals 1.5 years ago. That job sucked.

I dont know shit about differentials. Open, Closed, Solid, L/S...... no clue.

 

[Shran]

Your options for carrier are basically open or limited slip (aka, track-lock, posi, etc.) You have a limited slip now... basically an open diff only transfers traction to one wheel at a time, a limited slip splits it between the two some of the time by way of the clutch pack in the carrier. They can and do increase traction off road or in ice/snow/etc and are a nice upgrade, but, those clutches are a wear item so it's really just a safe assumption to figure in a new set of clutches for a junkyard axle.

4.10 gears would be ideal for your truck, especially if that's what you have now. They are fairly hard to find. 3.73 would be the minimum I would use for a 4 cylinder truck.

You have the option of a 7.5" axle or an 8.8" axle. For your purposes it really doesn't matter, both have the same spline count shafts, but the 8.8 ring & pinion are a bit bigger.

If I was you, and I had the choice of a nice 7.5 with 4.10s and a limited slip vs a bunch of 8.8s with higher (numerically lower) gears, I would have no problem using that 7.5 especially with your 4 cylinder. Big axles aren't really an upgrade for those of us with small engines and small tires.

 

[facemaze]

Your options for carrier are basically open or limited slip (aka, track-lock, posi, etc.) You have a limited slip now... basically an open diff only transfers traction to one wheel at a time, a limited slip splits it between the two some of the time by way of the clutch pack in the carrier. They can and do increase traction off road or in ice/snow/etc and are a nice upgrade, but, those clutches are a wear item so it's really just a safe assumption to figure in a new set of clutches for a junkyard axle.

4.10 gears would be ideal for your truck, especially if that's what you have now. They are fairly hard to find. 3.73 would be the minimum I would use for a 4 cylinder truck.

You have the option of a 7.5" axle or an 8.8" axle. For your purposes it really doesn't matter, both have the same spline count shafts, but the 8.8 ring & pinion are a bit bigger.

If I was you, and I had the choice of a nice 7.5 with 4.10s and a limited slip vs a bunch of 8.8s with higher (numerically lower) gears, I would have no problem using that 7.5 especially with your 4 cylinder. Big axles aren't really an upgrade for those of us with small engines and small tires.

So the 8.8 isn't the upgrade its lauded as?

 

[RonD]

F7(7.5") or R7(8.8") 4.10 ratio limited slip, either would be fine to use, never actually seen a K6, lol, but according to list it should be OK as well

For what you are doing the 8.8" size is not a upgrade, just fine to use if you can get it at a better price than a 7.5"
If you were putting in a V8 engine then going from 7.5" to 8.8" would be an upgrade

The Explorers came with an 8.8" BUT it had larger axles inside to get a higher weight rating, 3,200lbs vs 2,750lbs for Ranger axles(capacity numbers)
But these require cutting and welding to use in a Ranger
An upgrade for sure, but needed for your 2wd 4cyl, no, not at all an upgrade, lol

 

[facemaze]

F7(7.5") or R7(8.8") 4.10 ratio limited slip, either would be fine to use, never actually seen a K6, lol, but according to list it should be OK as well

For what you are doing the 8.8" size is not a upgrade, just fine to use if you can get it at a better price than a 7.5"
If you were putting in a V8 engine then going from 7.5" to 8.8" would be an upgrade

The Explorers came with an 8.8" BUT it had larger axles inside to get a higher weight rating, 3,200lbs vs 2,750lbs for Ranger axles(capacity numbers)
But these require cutting and welding to use in a Ranger
An upgrade for sure, but needed for your 2wd 4cyl, no, not at all an upgrade, lol

Word. Thank you

 

[Shran]

Yeah...what Ron said. The Ranger 8.8 isn't much of an upgrade in my eyes... slightly bigger ring gear and brakes. Explorer 8.8 is a big upgrade, especially the disc brake version, but it's far from a bolt in solution.

 

[facemaze]

Yeah...what Ron said. The Ranger 8.8 isn't much of an upgrade in my eyes... slightly bigger ring gear and brakes. Explorer 8.8 is a big upgrade, especially the disc brake version, but it's far from a bolt in solution.

One more question, I have some designs down the road of a V8 install. Would getting an R7 now save me a purchase down the road? or should I just expect to have to modify the Explorer Diff?

 

[Shran]

I would buy what you need right now and worry about an upgrade later. Either of the Ranger axles could live a long, happy life even behind a V8, in a street truck... it just depends how nice you are to it. There are a lot of 7.5's in Mustangs, many people have gotten away with putting a lot of horsepower to those small parts with few issues. Probably would last forever unless you're launching it at the track often or otherwise abusing it.

I put Explorer axles in several of my trucks simply because I had them on hand, the swap is easy if you have a welder and my rigs see a lot of offroad abuse. Having those bigger parts becomes a necessity because breaking stuff is not a matter of if, but when.

 

[facemaze]

I would buy what you need right now and worry about an upgrade later. Either of the Ranger axles could live a long, happy life even behind a V8, in a street truck... it just depends how nice you are to it. There are a lot of 7.5's in Mustangs, many people have gotten away with putting a lot of horsepower to those small parts with few issues. Probably would last forever unless you're launching it at the track often or otherwise abusing it.

I put Explorer axles in several of my trucks simply because I had them on hand, the swap is easy if you have a welder and my rigs see a lot of offroad abuse. Having those bigger parts becomes a necessity because breaking stuff is not a matter of if, but when.

great explanation

thank you

 

[facemaze]

@Shran and /or @RonD if I were to just mend what I have, would this be the proper thing to buy?

More Information for RICHMOND XL4012

 

[Shran]

That part will NOT work... you have a limited slip, that part is for an open differential.

I do not see that Richmond Gear or USA Standard make a spider gear kit for a limited slip, 7.5" axle. May check with Ford, I'll see if I can find anything else.

 

[RonD]

He has an OPEN differential, code 87

Yes, that would be the spider gear kit for 7.5" Ranger OPEN axle

Pull out the axles and check them, and you mentioned new bearings were installed, check them, an axle wobble can break the spider gears
This happened for a reason, unless you KNOW the reason then it will just happen again

 

[facemaze]

He has an OPEN differential, code 87

Yes, that would be the spider gear kit for 7.5" Ranger OPEN axle

Pull out the axles and check them, and you mentioned new bearings were installed, check them, an axle wobble can break the spider gears
This happened for a reason, unless you KNOW the reason then it will just happen again

Well looks like swapping spider gears is out

I did pull out a wavy piec of metal

 

[RonD]

Yes, that whole assembly looks un-rebuildable, IMO

What do the axles look like?

 

[Shran]

He has an OPEN differential, code 87

Yes, that would be the spider gear kit for 7.5" Ranger OPEN axle

Pull out the axles and check them, and you mentioned new bearings were installed, check them, an axle wobble can break the spider gears
This happened for a reason, unless you KNOW the reason then it will just happen again

He has a limited slip. His pictures have the trac-lock S spring and I can see the tabs of a clutch pack peeking out... it's a limited slip.

As for the reason this happened: My guess is that the cross pin bolt loosened up and fell out, which caused the cross pin to fall out, and the spider gears followed.. Lack of thread locker? Age? Who knows.

I still wouldn't write off that axle - I don't see any gear damage, but check the cross pin hole very closely, like I said if it's egged out, it's junk. If the cross pin hit the pinion gear and damaged it, it's junk. Either of those scenarios would lead me to suggest a junkyard axle.