Rear end swap

[lil_Blue_Ford]

I found the 9" drums on the 1998 would activate the RABS just fine, even with the highboy fiberglass cap on the bed. I never saw a need to upgrade the brakes.

The 9” drums on my choptop will still lock up the 35’s even with RABS. That was after I put the 8.8 LS in my first Ranger, but realistically I was more after the LS with that swap. With the choptop, I was blowing down a back road doing about 5 over enjoying the wind and sun when I rounded a bend to find traffic stopped letting bikers out of a bar. Drew a bit of attention locking up all four 35’s and sliding to a neat stop in that beast. Nobody had anything to say though.

 

[Josh B]

Strength, but not significantly unless you go to the Explorer 31 spline. Other than that, it’s disk brakes. Or in the case of the 9” drum 7.5 guys, you can get 10” drums on an 8.8, which is a significantly bigger drum for better braking. My first Ranger was a 3.0 2wd with a heavy suspension package which netted a 7.5 with 10” drums and ”heavy duty” suspension which I promptly flattened the leaf springs in the first year or so using it like a truck. I built my own spring packs at that point and found someone with an 8.8 LS with the same 3.73 gears my 7.5” open had so it was a natural upgrade. Wish I wouldn’t have got into an argument with stuff beside the road with it. (In my defense, black ice was also involved in addition to being young and particularly dumb).

So will the 96 Explorer 8.8 be the 31 spline?

 

[rusty ol ranger]

So will the 96 Explorer 8.8 be the 31 spline?

Yes