Sloid axle on a budget!

[no164ford]

I am starting to do a solid rear axle, sub frame work, roll cage in my car and plan to post info and links as I go or I will forget everything. I know there are a few threads on here about this now but I am going to try to do this set up a bit diffrent also try to save a few bucks while doing it. Hope this will help someone out some day.

Plans:
1). Solid rear the will handle 1.3 60's or better
2). Make the uni-body stronger to stop twisting and cracking/popping spot welds i have going on .
3). Adjustable suspension that I can set up for better launches.
4). To make the car safer in-case I crash.
5). Remove some weight.


I have started by deciding what rear to use. I found a 96 explorer with a D2 axle it has 4:10's trc-lok 31 spline axles with 3.25" axle tubes at the local u-pull for 150.00.





Here is some info on factory 8.8 rears. also a good link: http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/Explorer8_8.shtml

DOOR TAG CODES/ OPEN OR LIMITED SLIP/ MAX LOAD/ GEAR RATIO

Bronco II 42 Regular 2640 3.45
44 Regular 2640 3.73
47 Regular 2500 4.10
D2 Limited Slip 2500 3.45
D4 Limited Slip 2640 3.73
D7 Limited Slip 2500 4.10
Ranger 72 Regular 2200 3.08
74 Regular 2200 3.45
82 Regular 2700 3.08
84 Regular 2700 3.45
85 Regular 2750 3.55
86 Regular 2700 3.73
87 Regular 2700 4.10
96 Regular 3200 3.73
F4 Limited Slip 2700 3.45
F5 Limited Slip 2750 3.55
F6 Limited Slip 2700 3.73
F7 Limited Slip 2700 4.10
K6 Limited Slip 3200 4.10
Explorer 43 Open 3200 3.08
41 Open 3200 3.27
42 Open 4.10
46 Open 3.73
45 Open 3200 3.55
D4 Limited Slip 3200 3.73
D2 Limited Slip 4.10
L73 Limited Slip 3.73





Ford 8.8 - Rear Cover Ford 8.8 - Bottom (Diff is upside down) Ford 8.8 - Disc Brakes

The Ford Explorer 8.8-Inch rear axle has found homes in numerous vehicles besides the Explorer. It has been swapped in to Ford Rangers, Bronco II's, Jeeps, Chevy S-10's and even some cars.

The 8.8-Inch axle used in the Explorer is highly desirable because it came with 31-spline axles over the typical 28-spline found in the Ranger version. There’s a 20-25 percent difference in strength between this Explorer 8.8 and the Ranger 8.8. The bigger 31-spline axle accounts for most of that, but the 3.25-inch tubes also help. The 1991-1994 versions had 10-Inch drum brakes and the 1995 and newer models come with disc brakes.

Not all Ford Rangers came with 8.8-Inch rears. The base rear end in the Ranger has been the Ford 7.5-Inch. When Ford introduced the 4.0 V-6 into the Ranger in 1990, it came with a 8.8-Inch, 28-spline rear axle. The Ford 7.5-Inch axle was standard on the non 4.0 V-6 models.

To this day, the Ranger can still be found with either the Ford 7.5 or 8.8 inch axles. The base model 8.8-inch axle is still a 28-spline, but the FX4's come with a 31-spline 8.8-Inch rear axle.

The majority of these axles came with 3.73 gears and a Traction-Lok differential. The Traction-Lok can work very well and almost like a full locker if you apply a little brake pressure with your left foot while accelerating with the right.

Axle Comparisons:

Here a list of how the Jeep Dana 35, Ford 7.5 and Ford Explorer 8.8 axles all measure up:



Measurement


Jeep Dana 35
Ford 7.5-Inch (Ranger) Ford Ranger 8.8-Inch Ford Explorer 8.8-Inch
Width Between Wheel Mounting Surfaces 60-1/2 inches
56-1/2 inches (1983-1992)
58-1/2 inches (1993-2009)

56-1/2 inches (1990-1992)
58-1/2 inches (1993-2009)
59-1/2 inches
Pinion Offset To Right Of Center 3/4 inches ? 2 inches 2 inches
Pinion Length, Tube Center To U-Joint Center 11-1/2 inches 11-5/8 inches 11-5/8 inches 11-5/8 inches
Pinion Height, U-Joint Center Below Tube Center 1-7/8 inches ? 1-7/8 inches 1-7/8 inches
Bottom Of Diff Housing Below Tube Center 5 inches 5 inches 5-3/4 inches 5-3/4 inches
Disc Brake Rotors N/A N/A N/A 11-1/4 x 7/16 inches
Brake Drums 9 inches 9 inches ? 10 inches
Drum brake shoes 9 x 2-1/2 inches ? ? 7-1/4 x 1-1/4 inches (e-brake)
Distance between spring perches (o/c) 40-1/5 inches 38-1/2 inches 38-1/2 inches 38-1/2 inches
Tube diameter 2-1/5 inches
2.80 inches (1983-2009)
3-1/4 inches (2010-2011)

2.80 inches (1990-2009)(Non-FX4)
3-1/4 inches (FX4 Models)
3.25 inches (Neck Down To 2-3/4 inches)
Axle shaft diameter 1.16 inches 27-spline 1.29 inches 28-spline 1.31 inches 31-spline



Replacing A Ford Ranger 7.5-Inch Axle With An Explorer 8.8-Inch Axle



Explorer 8.8 Facts:

Has 31-Spline Axle Shafts

Beefier 3.25-Inch Axle Tubes

10-Inch Drums From 1990-1994

1995+ Have Disc Brakes

Needs Shock Mounts Welded On

Needs Spring Perches Welded To Top Of Axle Tube

Most Have Limited-Slip (Traction Lok)

Same 5x4.5 Wheel Bolt Pattern As Ranger

 

[nmcbchief]

Sounds like you have a plan. My car will also go this route if I can get around to it this winter. Not sure on what axles out there will work but there are a ton of Explorers in the local u pull it. I will be following your build.

 

[racecougar]

Planning to narrow it, eliminate the C-clips, etc.?

 

[no164ford]

Still doing research think i might go with 9" bearing ends getting rid of c-clips and shortening the long tube to center the pinion? Also working on locating a jig for welding the ends back on correctly.

But right now I am studying 4-link vs ladder bar. Seems 4-link is better for street use but more of a pain to install, adjust, and maintain also more cost. But I like to drive my car a good bit and don't want to give up anymore "street ability" then I have to.

Planning to narrow it, eliminate the C-clips, etc.?

 

[no164ford]

Here is a link from the S-10 guys on how to narrow a Explorer rear 3" without a jig and use factory Explorer axles. http://v8s10.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=10989

Not sure if I am going to do this but thought it was a good read.

 

[dthompson]

I dont know if you guys follow the Sloppy Mechanics on YouTube, but he is doing an explorer rear swap in a LS converted Colorado truck. it just came out a few weeks ago. Here is the video of how they did it.

 

[racecougar]

Still doing research think i might go with 9" bearing ends getting rid of c-clips and shortening the long tube to center the pinion? Also working on locating a jig for welding the ends back on correctly.

Cool. I'll be narrowing a GM 12-bolt and installing the Moser big-Ford ends in a few weeks for a '65 C10 we're putting together. I'll be using fixture bushings and a 1-1/4 shaft for alignment purposes.

 

[20psiofevil]

My mustang still has the 7.5" under it with Detroit locker and moser 28s axles. At this point I feel the ring gear itself is the weak link I plan on building an 8.8 when it does go with 35s axles, spool, and 9" ends. For suspension my car really needs an anti roll bar. When driving on the street you simply unbolt one end. Also a ratchet locker like mine is not bad to drive on the street unless the road is wet or you hit a gravel patch as it will hop around corners.

 

[SCrazy]

Still doing research think i might go with 9" bearing ends getting rid of c-clips and shortening the long tube to center the pinion? Also working on locating a jig for welding the ends back on correctly.

But right now I am studying 4-link vs ladder bar. Seems 4-link is better for street use but more of a pain to install, adjust, and maintain also more cost. But I like to drive my car a good bit and don't want to give up anymore "street ability" then I have to.

I assume that your intention is to have equal length axles, if so the pinion winds up OFFSET a little bit, 1/2" I think. The pinion is NOT centered in the car on our IRS.

I would suggest that do a full perimeter weld on your axle tubes and if you are launching hard enough for 1.3 60' you may want to consider some bracing for the tubes, they are prone to bending especially if you are keeping them fairly long.

 

[no164ford]

I assume that your intention is to have equal length axles, if so the pinion winds up OFFSET a little bit, 1/2" I think. The pinion is NOT centered in the car on our IRS.

I would suggest that do a full perimeter weld on your axle tubes and if you are launching hard enough for 1.3 60' you may want to consider some bracing for the tubes, they are prone to bending especially if you are keeping them fairly long.

I am going to go with equal length axles and 9" big bearing ends, also thinking about bracing but not sure how to go about it yet. I seen your outher post about using 33" ladder bars and I think that is what I am going to go with also. They are simpler and fit under the T- bird nicely.

Thank you for the good tips, chime in anytime with any info you got!

 

[no164ford]

I am planning on using ford 9" ends on my 8.8 so I can run a stronger bearing and get rid of the axle retaining clips. So then I done some research on disk brakes found that you can use factory Explorer rear brakes with ford 9" ends also if you get the right ones (see one circled in photo below) as far as I find they will bolt right up. Here is a link to some installs http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/9-inch-rear-disc-brake-installation.569272/

this is a good way to get 11" rear disk brakes w/ a good e-brake for low cost, I am going to use the stuff on the rear end I got from the u-pull and a set of vented rotors i got from Rockauto

 

[no164ford]

She is under the knife

 

[no164ford]

After long debate I have decided to go with double adjustable ladder bars. I am still not sure whats better 4 link or ladder both have pro's and cons. The ones I picked are made by Competition Engineering (part# c2005) and can be adjusted quickly without removal. I went with 33" long due to clearance under the car they say 36" is better for longer, nose heavy cars but the mounting cross member would end up inside the floor pans of the back seat. Also going to use the 2x3 boxed cross member ( competition eng part # c3061) instead of round to make the rest of my structure work tie together nicer. Some of the stuff came today found summit to have the best prices.

 

[HwyStar]

My mustang still has the 7.5" under it with Detroit locker and moser 28s axles. At this point I feel the ring gear itself is the weak link I plan on building an 8.8 when it does go with 35s axles, spool, and 9" ends. For suspension my car really needs an anti roll bar. When driving on the street you simply unbolt one end. Also a ratchet locker like mine is not bad to drive on the street unless the road is wet or you hit a gravel patch as it will hop around corners.

Knew a guy out here running a 7.5 10 bolt in a 2000 Firebird doing high tens. It was a automatic and he kept it all together by rebuilding the rear once a year about. What he found was that the carrier bearing rollers would keep getting crushed, or gauled down. This is the same thing as the Ford 7.5 really, just a Salisbury design. I would have thought the pinion would have given on it too, but not the case.

 

[r429460]

What are you going to use to hold up the car.

Back in 1980 my 63 falcon had ladder bars, floaters and leaf springs.
The cheapest way to do it at the time.

 

[no164ford]

Coil overs I just have not decided what ones yet.

What are you going to use to hold up the car.

Back in 1980 my 63 falcon had ladder bars, floaters and leaf springs.
The cheapest way to do it at the time.

 

[no164ford]

Got the rear end torn down, about 3-4 hours of grinding and got the axle tubes welded. Note that I tacked the axle tube in 4 spots before doing the full weld to help keep the tube from pulling towards were you start the weld.

 

[racecougar]

What method did you use (pre/post-heat; SMAW, GMAW, FCAW, or GTAW; electrode material)? I'm actually considering leaving the tubes unwelded on this 12-bolt rather than having to mess with heating, stick welding, and peening it.

 

[20psiofevil]

Knew a guy out here running a 7.5 10 bolt in a 2000 Firebird doing high tens. It was a automatic and he kept it all together by rebuilding the rear once a year about. What he found was that the carrier bearing rollers would keep getting crushed, or gauled down. This is the same thing as the Ford 7.5 really, just a Salisbury design. I would have thought the pinion would have given on it too, but not the case.

Interesting. I actually been running mine for 7+ years with 400-500 and now 550rwhp(estimated) and when I took it apart last winter to check it out all the bearings were in great shape. This car really needs a 8.8" though, with 9" ends and 35spline axles. This is one of the reasons I haven't installed a trans brake.

 

[no164ford]

I used GTAW (gas tungsten arc welding) with 3/32 2% cariated tungsten 1/8" er70s2 filler @ 230 amps DC- preheated to about 3-400 and going to post heat also. I have seen on the web people doing everything from mig flux core to nickle rods. After talking to a chassis builder and from experience I chose mild steel filler due to the fact the idea is to keep the tube from moving (fill any space the tube has to move) your not attaching the tube. and use a mild steel so it will flex instead of cracking. and as far as pre and post heat not a big deal little tome with ox/acc and your there. infact seen lots of people saying they don't even heat at all. but you cant be-leave everything on the internet lol! I would stick weld it in a heart beat and use a 3/32-1/8" 7018 rod 130-140 amps or mig weld it .030 mild steel wire 125 or so amps but thats just me.

What method did you use (pre/post-heat; SMAW, GMAW, FCAW, or GTAW; electrode material)? I'm actually considering leaving the tubes unwelded on this 12-bolt rather than having to mess with heating, stick welding, and peening it.