Do I have the wrong axle in my truck???

[Jesse187]

I need some help as to what to do next with my truck. If theres already a thread that answers my question, forgive me. I glanced through but didnt see anything. Its a 1996 2wd 2.3l. I've noticed since I bought the truck that it boggs down when I take off from a light and that I can do 90 MPH!!! in fourth gear. So I figured I just needed to swap in 3.73 gears instead of the 3.45s that the tag on my diff says I have now. BUT!!! wait I'm not done. The truck has larger tires than stock on it which are 225/70/14s. But heres where I get REALLY confused. My speedo is off but it reads 3 mph FASTER than I'm actually going (confirmed by radar speed limit signs). Don't larger tires make your speedo read slow? So my dilemma is to put smaller tires and have my speedo WAY off, or to put larger tires and then my poor gutless truck will smoke the clutch trying to take off. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!!! Thank you in advance.

 

[1badexplorer]

Larger tires will make your speedo read slower.

 

[superds]

I need some help as to what to do next with my truck. If theres already a thread that answers my question, forgive me. I glanced through but didnt see anything. Its a 1996 2wd 2.3l. I've noticed since I bought the truck that it boggs down when I take off from a light and that I can do 90 MPH!!! in fourth gear. So I figured I just needed to swap in 3.73 gears instead of the 3.45s that the tag on my diff says I have now. BUT!!! wait I'm not done. The truck has larger tires than stock on it which are 225/70/14s. But heres where I get REALLY confused. My speedo is off but it reads 3 mph FASTER than I'm actually going (confirmed by radar speed limit signs). Don't larger tires make your speedo read slow? So my dilemma is to put smaller tires and have my speedo WAY off, or to put larger tires and then my poor gutless truck will smoke the clutch trying to take off. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!!! Thank you in advance.

Don't trust the radar speed signs...I have a couple in my area that are wrong. Yes, larger tires make your speedo slow. Ie, with taller tires your speedo will read lower than your actual ground speed.

 

[strvger]

re-gear to 4.10 gears in the rear. 3.45 to 3.73 won't get you much of an improvement in performance for your 4 banger. put on any size tire you want that will fit. use the tire, gear, and speed calculators in the tech library to get a good idea of your actual speed. confirm that on the freeway using your watch and the mile markers. go 1 mile in 1 minute, that's 60 mph. you will know how far off your speedo is then.

 

[Jesse187]

The ONLY reason I dont want to mess with gears is because I guarantee I'd set up a diff wrong and blow it up. lol And I dont have any good junkyards to look for a good used diff. And if I go to the trouble of putting gears in my diff, I'm gonna put a locker in while I'm in there. And I can't afford a locker...... or gears for that matter. lmao If I could find someone to buy my 67 bug, thatd be a different story. Thanx for the advice guys.

 

[strvger]

ok then, shop craig's list for an 8.8 with 4.10s. probably about the same cost as the jy.

 

[Jesse187]

I could actually probably get the whole diff cheaper than gears. A set of Yukon 4.10s is $300! Thats probably how I'll go. Or try and find a wrecked Ranger in town that I can scavenge from.

 

[pillen140]

Larger tires will make your speedo read faster.

you probly meant it the other way around.

I need some help as to what to do next with my truck. If theres already a thread that answers my question, forgive me. I glanced through but didnt see anything. Its a 1996 2wd 2.3l. I've noticed since I bought the truck that it boggs down when I take off from a light and that I can do 90 MPH!!! in fourth gear. So I figured I just needed to swap in 3.73 gears instead of the 3.45s that the tag on my diff says I have now. BUT!!! wait I'm not done. The truck has larger tires than stock on it which are 225/70/14s. But heres where I get REALLY confused. My speedo is off but it reads 3 mph FASTER than I'm actually going (confirmed by radar speed limit signs). Don't larger tires make your speedo read slow? So my dilemma is to put smaller tires and have my speedo WAY off, or to put larger tires and then my poor gutless truck will smoke the clutch trying to take off. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!!! Thank you in advance.

your speedo would be off by a %, not a basic 3mph. say if your speedo said 50mph, and you were going 53mph.... your speedo would be off by 6%..... so if you were doing 100mph(speedo) than you would be doing 106mph.

 

[Jesse187]

I should have specified on the 3 mph thing so I didn't sound like a tard. lol I'm off 3mph at 35. In other words, those speed signs say I'm doing 35 but my speedo says I'm doing 38. But like he said, those things arent very accurate anyway. I'm more worried about smoking my clutch when I take off on a hill, and only being able to do 60 on a hill on the highway. I found a guy pretty close by with an axle with 3.73s for $100 but I dont know if that will make enough of a difference to be worth doing the swap. I should fix it the ghetto way and put like 165's on it. lmao jk.

 

[strvger]

i'd spend a bit more time and try to find one with 4.10's in it, especially with the larger tires on it. i believe you'd be lots happier, unless you usually cruise at 90 on the freeway.

 

[corrond56]

I would do like some others have said and go to a yard and pull a 8.8 from an explorer. Just be sure you open it and check it out. When I went to get disc brakes for mine I had to yank the differential apart to remove the axle shafts so I could unbolt the brake assembly. The entire rear end was shot. The gears were chipped off in chunks and the gears just fell out when I removed the retaining bolts. The diff cover had never been removed either so I don't know what they had gotten into to do that. Just be sure to inspect before you purchase.

 

[Jesse187]

I guess this isnt off topic... lol I know I need to put in an Explorer master cylinder for the disc brakes but does the Explorer axle just bolt in? Or is there any mods necessary?

 

[4x4junkie]

Explorer axle does bolt in, BUT... Your truck will sit about 6" lower in the rear if you do just bolt it in. You'll need to swap the leaf spring mounts on it to the top and put some shock mounts onto the axle itself to keep it at the correct height.
See here:
http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/Explorer8_8.html
Also I didn't swap the master when I put a '99 Ex 8.8 into my BII. Seems fine.

Unless you plan to mod your truck for bigger tires (like 33x12.50s or bigger), I would suggest just looking for an axle out of another Ranger. 4.10 7.5s and 8.8s were available in several '93+ Ranger models.