Ranger Explorer buffs?

[Harter66]

I have a 99 Explorer that due to the transmission cost and a collision that X2 had in it , is parts.
My driver is a 99' Ranger . Once upon a time this would have been a no brainer to swap parts say from 72 Bronco to 75 F100. After a considerable amount of searching the only thing I'm sure of is that the Explorer has a heavier but same rear axle and that the 4.56 won't be happy w/the 3.70 or 3.76 in the front end as the current rear end is 3.73 and full of ground metal. So the real question in all of this is can I just (knowing its way more complicated than)swap the front gear set ? Are they the same 8.8 assembly? The rear end in the Explorer is the "big" 8.8 over the current 7.5 so that's a bonus for haulin' lead home. I found 1 reference that says the fronts are all 8.8s but I'd like to have a 2nd opinion before I tear down both trucks. The Explorer is a 4.0 SOHC the Ranger is 3.0 in case that matters.

[jonas302]

Hollander shows the front differential as the same you can verify it on car-part.com
http://car-part.com/

[Harter66]

Looks like I've lucked out through the era they are all Dana 35s . More searching reveled this, reading in obscure corners of rebel and commercial sites. Oddly enough it isn't found even by direct questions on the sites that claim to be the biggest best and most ...... kinda glad its not that way here.

Now where to hunt up cost effective tires to keep the 3.73 speedo reading correctly w/4.10 or 4.56 gears( because changing the sender is to easy)....

[jonas302]

Changing the plastic gear on the sender is not an option on that model its all electronic should cost about an hour at a dealer or if your reaaaly lucky and have the same abs system on both trucks the antilock brake module can be switched it takes the signal off the rear axle and corrects for tire size and gears then sends signal to the pcm and speedo

[Harter66]

I would have just changed the whole sender on the trans. Both trucks have them in the "convintional" location. I never thought about the ABS sensors not communicating, I did learn to drive in a 4 wheel drum,4 speed manual everything 66' C30 so I think I'll be ok.

[MTtimberline]

What is making the metal found in the Ranger axle? Is it gears or bearings? Can the ranger axle be overhauled? Usually a Timken differential bearing/seal kit for most axles is around $100. Might be easier than swapping in the long run.

[bhn22]

When the 8.8 in my Bronco went bad, it was the front pinion bearing, about a $300.00 fix

[enfield]

I think both have a dana 30 or 35? front. they should be the same other than the ratio.

[scrappletaco]

Well I'm unsure but go check out therangerstation.com it will have all the info you need. We put together a bunch off rangers in highschool and right after with that site

[Idaho Mule]

I would have just changed the whole sender on the trans. Both trucks have them in the "convintional" location. I never thought about the ABS sensors not communicating, I did learn to drive in a 4 wheel drum,4 speed manual everything 66' C30 so I think I'll be ok.
Sounds like you got the swap figured out. Don't worry about the speedo, you're in Nevada. I would bet that your assometer is calibrated pretty close as far as speed goes. JW

[Harter66]

MT,
I think its the spiders all chewed up from the friction discs in the differential being used up and possibly those as well. This 1 has had a lot of driveline slop since we got it 65K ago.

bhn
I looked at all the parts and the related info it sounds like the 7.5 has issues w/the gear clusters anyway .Cracked carriers was 1 that stands out. 3-600.

Taco
the Ranger station was 1 source as was great explorations(?) they call themselves the explorer/ranger forum not too helpful. The right searches (dumb luck I say) got me lined out.

Mule
the Ranger has a tach in it so all is not lost . I prefer the let the Cal/Or guy pass and pace him a mile back method , but the wrench bender says '' hey that sounds about right ........ '' ,so yeah I guess we do drive by the ol'foot hummm cruise method

[canthitsquat]

I would have just changed the whole sender on the trans. Both trucks have them in the "convintional" location. I never thought about the ABS sensors not communicating, I did learn to drive in a 4 wheel drum,4 speed manual everything 66' C30 so I think I'll be ok.
I couldn't find any of that stuff on my Bronco.95891

[Harter66]

The 79' Scout and Chevy LUV I drove to death didn't have any of that either. Neither did Dads 66'F100 4x4. But none of those run 230k w/oil changes, tires, brake pads and fuel , they all needed other attentions quite often. I'd take the 66 back in a heartbeat w/the 390, 2V,torque headers 9-1 compression ,RV cam , 4speed w/granny,H4/H2/N/L2/L4 T case, Warn manual hubs,and the solid axle on Twin I front suspention. There were enough spare parts for $100 in a 20mm can to fix anything short of a catastrophic trans, Tcase, or axle housing failure. There were always parts in the salvage yard too even if ya had to buy the 2 wheels and tires that were on the Merc' axle to get it home.

It sure would be easier if they were still all Dana 44s and 9'' or Dana 60s. Oh well ...To console myself ...... those don't 21-26 MPG.......