dana 35 and 8.8 questions

[86MUDRCJ]

What year rangers have them i plan on getting them here pretty soon. i plan putting them in with a v8 with 33s. all the advice i can get would be perfect. I also heard that they bolt right in with my 86? Thanks guys.

 

[4x4junkie]

D35:
'90-'97 Rangers (also '94-'97 Mazda B-series)
'91-'94 Explorer (also Mazda Navajo)
'90 Bronco II

Bolt-in 8.8"
'90-'09 Rangers ('94-'09 B-Series)


See here for more info, there are other axles that came in some of these trucks which you probably don't want:
http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/4wd_Front_Axles.html
http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/Axles.html

 

[86MUDRCJ]

Does it matter what the spline count is? Is one better than the other?

 

[88_Eddie]

31 spline is gonna be stronger than a 28 spline.

except for some newer rangers, all ranger 8.8's had 28 spline axleshafts. all explorer 8.8's have 31 splines, so that's what you wanna find. a 95 and up explorer will have disc brakes, 91-94 has drums.

 

[--weezl--]

2002+ fx4 level II rangers have torsion l/s 31 spline 8.8, but honestly, torsion vs disk brakes, get the expo axle...

I'm fairly sure the newer rangers had d35's upfront too...

Ny question for you, why d35's when there are much better axles you can put up front...

 

[86MUDRCJ]

because i dont want to go full width and those are the only ones i know of. But i haven't done very much research. plus ive heard that they hold up pretty good with a v8.

 

[Surrey]

For 33s the d35 is a perfectly good option, many run 35-36s on it.

You totally want an Explorer 8.8. the 31-spline Ranger axles are a bitch to get parts for.

Does anyone know if there is difference in widths, axle shafts, or anything else between a Ranger and Explorer D35??

 

[--weezl--]

i don't understand your question fully there surrey...

op, if you're going to put the money into it, honestly, i would do a solid d44 or such... (i assume you are thinking d35 ttb?)

just don't bother with a solid d30 from a jeep, they are not worth it, for the effort you will be putting into it

 

[4x4junkie]

A D44 is not bolt-in though (and is not significantly stronger... though you do get bigger brake rotors with it). The Explorer 8.8" axle also is not bolt-in, though moving the leaf perches on it is a relatively minor job.

No differences in D35 widths, they all measure 59.5" WMS-WMS.

 

[86MUDRCJ]

Well the plan is to get the axles pretty much done and swap them in. Since I don't have another car to drive I would like it to be like a 3 day project. And is that an honest estimation of how long it will take?

 

[--weezl--]

if you've got your ducks in a row, you could probably get the front and rear in, in a day each... that's MY estimation on it...

rear, if you don't have driveshaft length issues, or anything go wrong, you can have done in a couple hours..

all you really have to do, is jack up the back end, pull the shock bolts, pull the u-bolts, pull the brake lines, driveshaft bolts, and ebrake cable, roll it out, roll the new one under, and rebolt up everything you took off...

for a SAS, honestly, your steering is going to be what takes the longest... depending on your spring choice, if you're going with leafs, it will be easier, and quicker, as you don't have to deal so much with alignment, and link perches, along with spring buckets... (for coils)

if you can get a steering box in and setup in short time, then i could see the whole install being done in one long day, 2 regular days... IF everything is 100% prepped...

that being said, i've not done a SAS, and that's a guess....

all you would have to do is rip everything out, and get the front axle in place, and springs welded/bolted up, in place, then the steering, you don't NEED the front driveshaft in place just yet...

you are doing a solid d35 right?

 

[Bennybooster]

you are doing a solid d35 right?

He is doing A TTB D35, there is no solid D35 in the front, he never said SAS, infact in his situation SAS would be dumb

 

[--weezl--]

ah, well i know next to nothing about ttb's... except how i think you would be able to turn one into a solid axle, but that's not what this thread is about

i don't agree that a sas would be dumb though...

 

[86MUDRCJ]

Well considering I have a ttb front end I wanna keep it that way. The reason is that I have no idea howw to do an sas.but yes I wanna go with a dana 35

 

[--weezl--]

should be able to swap it across in a day, if you know what you're doing...

which i should add, i do not