best 6 in lift 83 ranger

[elias83ranger]

and the 8.8 out of the explorer

 

[Hagan]

You should be looking at gears first not lifts

 

[legoms013]

The f150 8.8 rear end is the same as a ranger 8.8 rear end. Both are 28 spline axles but the f150 is just wider due to it being a full width vehicle. Pre 94 explorers are the same way but not full width and they have spring under configuration, meaning you better have somebody to weld spring perches for you.

The good explorer axles are those that are 95+ in years. They have the disk brakes and 31 spline axles but are too spring under.

I know thta you have a D28 under yours, thats a fact no need to pull the plug for that. Its only for those rangers in the 90's that could have the D28/D35 combo.

Im currently running a D30 SAS with a 7.5 rear end with a 2.8 liter v6, TK4 tranny 3.73 gears and all of that is on 32x11.50x15 BFGoodrich M/T's. Going 302 next spring though and stuff will have to change (not the front axle though).

I thought fullsize F150's with the 8.8 were true 8.8's with 31 splines and the bigger bearings and shaft diameters ect ect. It would only make sense since they are half tons and will see bigger loads versus the Ranger that they wouldn't use the 7.5/8.8 hybrid.

Plus any 8.8 from 1990 onward can be used from the explorers, just depends if the user wants discs or not. If they go with drums, its a bolt on process to go to discs (pretty easy).

 

[elias83ranger]

could i get a 5 speed out of another year ranger with a 2.3

 

[dangerranger83]

Yes you could but then you will only have an over drive gear added and a 2.3 wont like that when doing the combo that you are wanting to do with wheels, etc....

To even want to hit 5 gear, you would want your axle gears to be at least 4.56 for the 2.3 to even think about 5 gear (if not lower gearing needed).

Thats good to know that all exploders had 31 splines. I read somewhere that they werent. I know where to get a few of them for cheap now (drum).

Does anybody know if the 95+ mercury SUV's at the time had the 8.8 with 31 spline and disk brakes and if they are the same as the exploders? Sorry to thread jack but figured why not since we are on the subject of axles, my local JY has one there.

 

[4.0B2]

the merc's are the same thing. 31 spline.


you'll need 4.88's IMO to the OP for that combo.... i'm doing 4.56's and 33's w/ a 4.0/auto combo... i could get by w/ 4.10's. but want the lower ratio... you'll need at least a 4.88 IMO

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I thought fullsize F150's with the 8.8 were true 8.8's with 31 splines and the bigger bearings and shaft diameters ect ect. It would only make sense since they are half tons and will see bigger loads versus the Ranger that they wouldn't use the 7.5/8.8 hybrid.

F-150's are the full blown 31 spline 8.8.

It will take many moons for a 1983 2.3 to gum to death either the D28 or 7.5 with 33's. A 30 year old peaky four cylinder that pumped out a whopping 82hp brand new isn't going to burn down too many barns...

 

[4.0B2]

So you're saying don't change The axles???

I could see that... Maybe. I can't see, however, spending money to redraw such weak axles when there is an almost bolt in swap..

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

So you're saying don't change The axles???

I could see that... Maybe. I can't see, however, spending money to redraw such weak axles when there is an almost bolt in swap..

The front sure if the time and money is available, he has to have it aligned anyway.

I wouldn't lose any sleep over the 7.5 though.

Unless he plans on ditching the 2.3 for something with more whoopie down the road I don't think switching out axles just because there is a bolt upgrade is really needed. If they are in good repair he ain't gonna break them anyway.

I have been throwing my 302 against my 7.5 for something like 9 months now, hasn't wimpered yet... unless you count crying tires. No fear of braking it either because I have been tripping over a disc braked 8.8 in the shed for the past four years I hope to finally put in this winter.

 

[4.0B2]

I've had to repair my 7.5 twice. Once spiders. Once spiders and left axle shaft. From a 4.0 and 30's with 3.73's. While trail riding with moderate skinny pedal. Not even rocks.

Broke my d28 twice also. Once was a hub and other was ujoints and shaft ears. Only reason I fixed it instead of replaced it bc I had all the extra parts that were gave to me. So it was free to repair.

Next comes replace!

 

[dangerranger83]

Ive seen and sold a D28 shaft to a guy that was running a 2.3 with stock tires and he wasnt even out mudding or playing around and snapped a ujoint ear right off while just simply taking a turn.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

11 years of ownership here, up to the hubs in mud, rocker panels in snow, dd during winter for 5 years, only brakes and repacked front wheel bearings here.

10.75 years with a 2.8 and 9 months with a 302. 235 muds up until early August, 31" muds since and 3.73's the whole time.

Just breaking an ear turning sounds like a lack of maintance to me. If that was common, they wouldn't have sold many of them because turning on flat ground is a fairly common thing for a truck to do.

 

[dangerranger83]

He had just put new ujoints in her too. Told him that the one I will give him will need new ones and thats when i found out that they had just been replaced and he was going to press them out of his old shaft and put them in the one that I was giving him.

Lack of maintance it wasnt. He was turning out of his wooded area with a load of wood IIRC and thats when it happened. So as far as weight on the front, it actually had less due to the rear being pushed down.

Nothing says a person cant wheel the D28 till it breaks but hopefully you can get home with it being broken. Theres a reason why ford put a D35 under the RBV later in life and got rid of the D28. It just couldnt hold up.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

He had just put new ujoints in her too. Told him that the one I will give him will need new ones and thats when i found out that they had just been replaced and he was going to press them out of his old shaft and put them in the one that I was giving him.

Lack of maintance it wasnt. He was turning out of his wooded area with a load of wood IIRC and thats when it happened. So as far as weight on the front, it actually had less due to the rear being pushed down.

Nothing says a person cant wheel the D28 till it breaks but hopefully you can get home with it being broken. Theres a reason why ford put a D35 under the RBV later in life and got rid of the D28. It just couldnt hold up.

Sorry, something wasn't right with his axle or he was getting on it with the wheels cramped (no u-joint axle likes that which is why most pickup axles don't have u-joints in them anymore)

It wouldn't have taken 7 years to come up with a different axle if that was commonplace and they sure as heck wouldn't have been the best selling compact pickup.

If it might be a life and death situation if I break something, I would skip right over the D35/8.8 for stuff out of a one ton... D35/8.8's can break too. For that matter a D30 is far from bulletproof even in a lightweight Jeep which is why they got canned for aD44 in the little Rubicon.

 

[dangerranger83]

The only difference in the D44 rubicon is the RP are bigger then the D30. They even have the same outters as the D30. Oh and they have a 5x5.5 bolt pattern.

I did tell him to upgrade to the D35 and he said he would but being winter, he wasnt able to get to a JY to get one and just needed a quick fix to get him back and forth to work better.

It wasnt the first shaft to be snapped by him either.