7.5 or 8.8

[lessthanzero]

I was getting my truck ready for the summer and took off the back drum breaks on my 94 4.0 ranger to make sure everything was in working order and i noticed one of my axles was leaking from the wheel seal. so went to the part store and told them needed a wheel seal for my rear axle and i had a 8.8 rear end which is stated in the tech library as "1990 & up 4.0-liter Rangers. These are ALWAYS equipped with the 8.8-inch 28-spline rear axle." when i got back and tried the wheel seal the 8.8 wheel seal was to big and when i took in the old wheel seal when i went back to the part store it matched the 7.5 axle wheel seal? the side of my door says axle 92 which is a 8.8 in the code book so i am confused. I dont know what i did with the tag that goes on the axles but is there any other way to check for sure ??

 

[pillen140]

a lot of times aftermarket have stuff listed wrong. i wanted front bearing seals for my ranger, they gave me something that was way too small, went back, sold me the same thing. i dont know what they fit, but wasnt my truck.

 

[kunar]

I was getting my truck ready for the summer and took off the back drum breaks on my 94 4.0 ranger to make sure everything was in working order and i noticed one of my axles was leaking from the wheel seal. so went to the part store and told them needed a wheel seal for my rear axle and i had a 8.8 rear end which is stated in the tech library as "1990 & up 4.0-liter Rangers. These are ALWAYS equipped with the 8.8-inch 28-spline rear axle." when i got back and tried the wheel seal the 8.8 wheel seal was to big and when i took in the old wheel seal when i went back to the part store it matched the 7.5 axle wheel seal? the side of my door says axle 92 which is a 8.8 in the code book so i am confused. I dont know what i did with the tag that goes on the axles but is there any other way to check for sure ??

you should be able to tell just by looking at the pan. the 8.8's are more of a square with rounded corners. post a pic if you can, lots of people here can tell just by looking

 

[rickcdewitt]

you may have got the seal for a 31 spline axle or just been given the wrong part

 

[metalmacguyver]

Yeah it is a problem with the computers that no one has corrected. The same thing happened to me when I did mine.

So dont worry, you have an 8.8 and the autoparts store is wrong.

 

[kunar]

you may have got the seal for a 31 spline axle or just been given the wrong part

i'd bet youre right. the 28 splines use the same seals and bearings as the 7.5 but the 31 spline uses bigger seals and bearings.

 

[Destroyer000]

kunar you are right. when i rebuilt the 8.8 i bought at the junk yard with 28 spline axles i ordered the stuff for the 8.8 but they were too big.. so i went back an got the seals/bearings for a 7.5 an they fit perfect. the 8.8 parts they are giving you are for a explorer 8.8 31 spline axle. the 7.5 an 8.8 axle shafts are IDENTICAL

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

When they give me the wrong part, I try to drag the old part back in there for them to compare before we move on to round two. It is hard to get it wrong at that point, and since you thought you had the right part it is already tore apart by the time you realize you don't.