rear axle

[noisyboyy]

Hello new to ranger life . I bought a 2000 ford ranger supercab 4cylinder manual transmission. i have a 410 rear end . i would like to change to a limited slip 372 8” rear end. will this motor take that rear end ? it’s a 2wd stock tires . has anyone made this replacement ? any info would help thank you in advance

 

[scotts90ranger]

you mean a 3.73:1 geared 8.8" axle?

Yes, it'll work but you'll have to shift more and your speedometer will be around 10% off (it'll read slow, IE you'll be going faster than it says). The tires are turning about 10% faster with 3.73 versus 4.10 so your shift points will happen at different vehicle speeds, I've done enough playing with tire size on my '97 to have an idea...

It'll work fine, if you drive the hills you might not like it but it won't hurt anything...

 

[Curious Hound]

It will feel sluggish, slow and powerless.

 

[racsan]

4.10’s are much better with a 4 cyl. I went from 3.45’s to 4.10’s and have never looked back. You can still get a limited slip for a 7.5 , Ive had no issues running mine and its the stock open carrier. I thought about a lock-rite but Ive read about its drawbacks and have just left it alone. Good tires & the right amount of weight in the back have got me down the road just fine.

 

[RonD]

Welcome to TRS

+1 to all the above

The 2000 Rangers(1998-2000) get speed signal from rear axle ABS sensor, if you have 7.5" now and go to 8.8" then yes speedometer will be off a bit

The 3.73 with limited slip(L/S) would be an upgrade over a 4.10 OPEN
But as said, you will have a higher top speed but a slower time getting up to that top speed, that's the trade off

The 7.5" or 8.8" are of no benefit or drawback, its a neutral choice, whats available, and at a good price is the choice

1993 thru 2009 Ranger or Mazda B-series rear axles have the same width as your 2000 Ranger, so best choice
2010/11 rear axle were also same width and had rear disc brakes, but often cost alot more because of that

Rangers/Mazdas had 9" and 10" rear drum brake sizes, you just need to measure to see what the new axle has
Brake Backing plates for these can be hard to find so make sure new axle comes with them and they are undamaged, as these were often removed on wrecking yard axles because they are scarce

 

[cbxer55]

Funny thing is, I recently traded 3.73'2 in both my Ranger and Lightning for 4.10's and would never look back. And also, on both, the speedometer reading didn't change a bit. Reason, on both, the speedometer reads off a tone ring in the rear axle that counts teeth on the ring gear. And that tooth part bolts onto the ring gear. Therefore, the tooth count doesn't change and the speedometer stays the same. All the main streets in my area are almost exactly one mile apart. I still get exactly one mile change from one street to the next, didn't change one whit. Look for a sensor wire on top of the pumpkin. That is the speedometer sensor.

Maybe the 8.8 is different? And a four cylinder with an 8.8 while my 3.0 V-6 has a 7.5? Someone must've changed it.

 

[noisyboyy]

thank you guys for

Funny thing is, I recently traded 3.73'2 in both my Ranger and Lightning for 4.10's and would never look back. And also, on both, the speedometer reading didn't change a bit. Reason, on both, the speedometer reads off a tone ring in the rear axle that counts teeth on the ring gear. And that tooth part bolts onto the ring gear. Therefore, the tooth count doesn't change and the speedometer stays the same. All the main streets in my area are almost exactly one mile apart. I still get exactly one mile change from one street to the next, didn't change one whit. Look for a sensor wire on top of the pumpkin. That is the speedometer sensor.

Maybe the 8.8 is different? And a four cylinder with an 8.8 while my 3.0 V-6 has a 7.5? Someone must've changed it.

do you notice a big mpg change ? from 373 to 410 i’m using my truck as a daily driver and didn’t know if it would make a big difference to go through the big swap

 

[cbxer55]

Not enough to care one way or the other. I just like the way it drives now, with a shift kit in the trans, 4.10 gears, CAI with three sources of forced cold air, exhaust with no muffler, and JET chip that raises the shift points noticeably higher. It's a very pleasing vehicle to drive.

Most of my driving it are in area of 35, 40 and 45 mph limits. Doesn't really make any difference in mileage I can tell. If I cared to do the math on every tank, maybe it would show up. Probably not even one mpg.

 

[noisyboyy]

awesome thank you for the reply . it was very helpful

 

[scotts90ranger]

I've had 27-29" tires on my '97 Ranger and the mileage hasn't changed a lick... biggest difference is a year ago I went to car tires from truck tires so the tread design is more efficient... and that was a whole 1.5mpg...

 

[noisyboyy]

thank you all for
the info . it doesn’t seem like it would really make a difference in the mpg to switch to 373 gears especially if you lose performance and make the engine work harder . i’ll keep it for now as it is

 

[cbxer55]

I don't know what the diameter is , but I have Cooper Cobra GT 255/60-15's on the back. More like sport car tires. And 195/70-15's on the front, Fusion Touring.

I get a noticeable mileage loss depending on which fuel I am using. Straight 93v octane, or 15 gallons of 91 with two gallons of E85 mixed in (92.8 octane). It doesn't last as long as the pure 93. I just use it now and then because that near two gallons of ethanol is a superb injector cleaner. I can tell when it needs it because it won't start up on the first turn of the key. Takes two or three to get er going. Do that ethanol thing, and pretty quick it's back to one turn starting again.