I'm looking at starting on my 52 ford mainline again and want to change the rear end. I have read that some people are putting a rear end out of a 94-2002 Ford Explorer in their cars. Any thoughts.
As long as it is not too wide, it's a go. It is a good, strong axle. If you are running big power, weld the tubes to the pumpkin, like the 4x4 guys do.
The 8.8''s in Explorers and Rangers is an offset design so the drive shaft runs at a slight angle, 52-56 Ford cars have a straight drive line.What some guys do is since they have a long and a short rear axle is to obtain another short axle and shorten the tube on the long side which centers the pumpkin and will give you more clearance for those shallow rear wheel wells these Fords are cursed with. This shows how it is done as the same applies to the 8.8" here is more for you to digest: http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/index-axles.shtml
You should start a conversation with this member,the same would apply to your Ford: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/1950-ford-stock-rearend.968421/
I just did this project on an 8.8 for my 50 shoebox. This is a 8.8 from a 90 ranger. We removed the long side axle tube by drilling the three plug welds for the axle tube. A little heat and harbor freight 8ton portapower and it popped right out. I was able to take a short side axle from a later year ranger and simply subtract the length difference and that is how much we shortened the tube. We used a run of the mill press to press the tube back in welded it up good as new. I found perches for about 20 bucks on the web too. Email me if you care for more info [email protected]. I have some charts and such with 8.8 specs and axle lengths I'll dig up.
The Jalopy Journal
