95 B4000 diff swap 3.23 open to 3.73 L/S

[tangoyankee]

1995 B4000 4.0l 4x4 5 spd

I need info and wisdom from the experienced:

I want to upgrade my 1995 b4000- differentials from 3.23 open to 3.73 l/s.

My front axle is a Dana 35.
I do not want to buy new. I want to snag used replacements.

1. Do I have to replace the entire axle / housing (pumpkin)? Or just the the carriers
2. What ford models/ years fit without modification?


Thanks

 

[Shran]

For the front you can swap just the housing that contains the gears. Don't remove gears from one housing and swap them into another unless you know what you are doing. Usually front differentials are in good shape, replace the axle shaft seals & you're good to go.

Front donors - 1990-97 Ranger with 4.0 engine are the safest, '91-94 Explorer (all)

Entire rear axle swap is easier if you can find one that is in excellent shape. Sometimes it is cheaper to regear yours - IE, if all you can find is a worn out rusty donor. My gear guy usually charges about $200 per axle plus parts. Sometimes you can find a really nice axle with good bearings, no leaks & fresh brakes for $100....... sometimes you're stuck with a $300 axle that needs everything and you'll be a grand into it before it's usable. You'll just have to shop around.

Rear donors - Pretty much any Ranger 1990 and up will work but 4.0 trucks have 8.8" rear axles which is what you have. The 7.5" axle came in 4 cylinder/2.9/3.0 trucks and will work fine but is considered slightly lighter duty.

I swapped 3.73's into my wife's '95, she also had 3.27's. Pretty happy with the results.

 

[sgtsandman]

I agree, the easiest way to do this swap is to get the front and rear axles with the gearing you want and the carrier for limited slip already in there.

Make sure the sensor hook ups for your rear axle are the same as your original axle to make things more plug and play. @Ron D or one of the other walking encyclopedias around here will be able what year trucks to look at other than 1995 models.

The only question that comes to mind is if your truck is in the compatible range with Rangers. After a certain date, the Mazda B Series trucks were mechanically identical to the Ford Ranger. Before then, they were not. One of the walking encyclopedias will have that information as well.

 

[Uncle Gump]

First if you are going to gear swap the current axles plan on bearing replacements for the carrier and pinion. Start fresh, don't use old bearings from a different axle as you don't know how long they will last before you are tearing into the axle replacing them anyways. this is much easier done with the axles out of the vehicle. Bearing are cheap enough and are time well spent on this type of project.

1. no you can gear swap the to the 3.73's and keep your own axles but replace the bearings in the diffs first. You need to swap the carriers to get the L/S you want.
2. Some one else will have to answer this as I only know little about the Dana 35's.

It is best to put new gears in but you can do what you want to but know that the gears are already worn and stressed. The carriers are swappable as the only parts that ware are the L/S disks, bearings and gears which you should replace while it is out anyways. Its not necessary but saves headaches in the end.

Just moving this here from the duplicated post.

Moved this one to the axle forum. Also deleted the duplicate post.

 

[4x4junkie]

Just to add to what Shran said, the D35 also was put in all 1991 and 1992 4x4 Rangers, regardless of engine.

With 1993-1997 (non-4.0L) trucks, you'll need to know how to spot the so-called "hybrid" D28/35 axle (D28 guts in a D35 housing)... True D35s have ribs on the bottom of the housing, the hybrid is mostly smooth (I think 3.0L manuals got a D35 while the autos got the D28 hybrid, but don't hold me to that).
See this page (scroll down near the bottom):

1983-1997 Ford Ranger 4x4 Dana 28 & Dana 35 TTB Front Axles - The Ranger Station

The 1983-1989 Ford Ranger 4x4 came with a Dana 28 front axle and the 1990-1997 Ford Ranger came with a Dana 35 front axle.

www.therangerstation.com

With junkyard trucks, there's always a small possibility of finding a hybrid axle where it once wasn't, so really it's best to be armed with the above knowledge regardless.


For the rear axle, any 1993-2009 4.0L V6 truck (2WD or 4x4) should have an 8.8" to fit yours.
Some 3.0L trucks after a certain year (1998?) have 8.8s too, though I don't know the specifics of which ones (if I had to guess, Supercab trucks with a manual trans would be among them).


The Mazda B-series were Ranger clones starting 1994 ending after 2009.