Explorer 8.8 rear axle swap into a Maverick?

They run about $204.00 complete from the PnP and I do have a porta power to pop it out with, just figuring a cheaper way lol, I have to, I spent all my money on my engine

 

i doubt a portapower will pop the tube out. i suspect the factory installation of these tubes involves heating the center section and pressing the tube in. the only way ive seen the tubes removed is to cut them off at the housing and grind and cut reliefs in the tube to release the press fit. at that point the tube is trash.

when i do these i will get 2 of the explorer rear ends. then we cut the long side off of one 2.88" (the actual difference between the long and short axles) from where the tube starts to flair down to the brake flange. on the other diff we cut the short side end off righ at where the tube flair down occurs. then we weld the ends on each other diff and swap the axles accordingly. this give us 2 custom diffs. one narrow for muscle cars or custom cars and the other wide for off road stuff like jeeps.

if you do it like this you can sell the wide one and most likely be able to get all your invested money back and have what equates to a free rear end for your car.

one other note on this conversion is that the out board ubolts that hold the diff to the springs sit really close the tapper in the tube. we weld a stub on to the taper section to locate the ubolt and keep it from sliding down the tapper.

 

I did this on my comet, pretty much exactly what Bryant posted but with just 1 rear end. You cut the long side 2.88 and buy 2 short side axles (available from summit racing) to replace the old ones. Also don't forget new bearings. If I was to do it again I'd buy 9 inch ends and weld those in place.

 

if you are going to buy 2 new axles then you are worlds ahead to go with 9" ends. doing this, you can choose the exact width you want. the late model big bearing 9" ends work with the explorer disk brakes with just a spacer that is available from currie and several other company's found around the internet.

the hardest part of doing differential housing work is making sure the ends are on straight and centered. the other thing is welding the spring perches on the tubes will warp them. so its best to weld the perches first then put the ends on with a alignment bar to insure that they are on center.

if you dont get the housing ends straight on center the axles will go into the carrier at an angle. this will cause the spider and side gears to bind as they rotate and wear out really fast. also this will put the clutches in the limited slip at an angle and that will make them have very little resistance and wear really fast.

 

Go to a shop to do it. I had a friend put mine in that has a fab shop. Mine was done with s Tig and setup with a jig for the 8.8's. Not too big of a job. Summit also sells perches for your leafs.

 

beautiful welds!

 

X2!

 

Most of the explorer 8.8's around here are badly rusted due to the salt and brine spray on the winter roads. I bought a 3.73 Explorer posi a while back, but the tubes are badly pitted. I will almost have to cut them off and remove the pressed in section from the housing thereafter. I would like to install new tubes with 9" ends that already have the perches installed as Bryant recommends. The trick is getting the pressed in section out of the housing.

 

Thanks for the information guys. It is appreciated.
Now, on with the project.

 

Spot on partner!
I have seen it many times on the OT cars that work with. I have also seen cracking from guys cranking up their welder tying to get better penetration. Some of those tubes aren't as think as you would think!

 

hey guys back in the maverick world. my mother had a maverick when I was a kid mad at her when she sold it, RASelkirk, you did a ranger swap. what year and any mods to the rear or is it plug and play.

 

as per my other post, what year was the rear end from? any mods or is it plug and play?

 

It's basically the same issues with the 8.8 Ranger & Mustang swaps. Meaning you will either have an off center pumpkin / differential which can be made to work by massaging the trans & drive shaft tunnel, removing factory perches & or in the Mustang from like a SN95 the 4 link mounts before adding the new perches. It's NOT Really worth it though using either of those due to them being 28 spline .... considering IF you can get a 8.8 Explorer rear end with discs due to them being basically the "new" 9" rear end with the beefiest OEM 31 spline axles. If you're going to cut & weld or build a new rear end the 8.8 Explorer is the Next Best Way to Go because you can build them the same as a 9" which has plenty enough power for street or strip. Some guys claim 600 HP on just stock rebuilt 8.8's so the call is yours & availability of course. Hope this helps

 

My swap wasn't for the Mav, so I'd not know exactly what's involved for this. Like others state, if you're gonna do it, use an Explorer 31 spline axle. You can either cut one axle tube or pick deeper offset wheels...

 

Just completed a 8.8 install in a 64 falcon sprint for my son . We used 2 short side axle reused the axle pads . Cut the housing exactly 2.875" NO LESS . The axle pad are 43" on center the same as a maverick . The overall width is 56.5" disc to disc flange. I was able to reuse the 8.8 spring plates switch them from side to side and modifying the shock mounts to use stock shocks .