thats great keep us updated, i know there are a lot of people watching on this site and i know of a couple others sites where people would love to see a step by step

Sandy, I've narrowed three of the explorer rear ends so far. It's not very difficult. You just need to make sure your cuts are square and you'll need a welder that can handle the 3/16" thick axle tube.

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Franklin
'61 Valiant

Hey Frank!

Couple of questions...

Do drill or burn out the three plugs that retain the tube in the housing?

Do you cut the axle utbe off at the housing and get the old piece out of the housing ?

Do I need a press for this?

......?

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Yeah....Im the one who destroyed this rare, vintage automobile.....

I spent a couple of hours readying the 8.8 for the machine shop. First I bolted on a wheel and tire to find out if things were headed complicated. They fit.....just. There is a very close seal(finger width) between the wheel and the splash pan.



Then I stripped everything off the axle.

I pulled the c clips ...then the axles....off come the backing plate with the emergecy brakes ....I took all the brake lines in one piece.

By measuring axles and the axle tubes I can see I need to narrow 2 5/8" from the long side tube.





http://www.mobmms.com/view/20678-0.html
http://www.mobmms.com/view/20680-0.html

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Yeah....Im the one who destroyed this rare, vintage automobile.....

Howdy

Great thread! I got lots of good info here before, thanks Sandy for posting your rear end swap in progress. I wanna 7.5, so I was dissapointed when Sandy's was beat. I got questions!

background:
I finally got my car to have good power and street manners, and Im looking to upgrade my brakes. This means a bolt pattern upgrade too! I am collecting parts to do the swap (got everything for the front already), and it is time to do rear brake hard lines also, so Im thinking that it is a good time to upgrade both my bolt pattern and my rear end ratio. The mopar stuff is expensive and I always loved making frankensteins...

Questions:

Does the stock driveshaft/slip yoke have enough slack to shift over to the offset pumpkin?

Will I be able to find a combination U joint for this application?

Are there any other reasons I should reconsider this swap? I can cut and weld the hangers no problem.


Dreaming of a light 3.73 posi rear with 10" drums and large bolt pattern,

-Radar

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madam im adam

Sandy, if you're going to have a machine shop do it they may want to drill the plugs and press the tube out. I don't know, I didn't do it that way. I did it at home without a press. How I did it may not be the best way but I'm cheap and I think I have to do everything myself.
First I cut off swaybar brackets and spring perches. With a 14" chop saw I cut the tube right before it tapers down at the flange. I then cut 2 7/8" off the tube, beveled the edges and welded the flange stub back on. Stuff rags in the axle tube before cutting and grinding to keep any metal out of diff. You may want replace axle bearing and seals while it's apart.

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Franklin
'61 Valiant

I dont think a machine shop will shorten the tube by removing it from the housing, they will cut it. It would be easier to ensure the proper bearing alignment.

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Excuse me, does this smell like chloroform to you?

Hey Sandy, don't know what you're planning for the short axle your going to need, but today at Pull and Save, I found 4-6 Explorers on record. Can't say they had axles, but it might save you some money over buying one from Spaldings.

Thought about picking one up myself, just in case . Ran out of time and didn't find one laying around, though.

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'15 Chrysler 200S V6
'74 Duster 360, factory 4 speed car

That's the way we do it when we cut housings at work. We have the alignment kit to put them back on in the right place. You'd be amazed at how far off stock Ford ends are from the factory.

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Official Cookie and Mater Tormentor.

Dion: I already got a short side axle at Spaldings....$46

I may use the extra long side axle to make a wider 8.8 for our mudbogger. I could lose 100lbs by going to 8.8 from the current 14 bolt/ 10.5 ring gear monster in there now.

Mebbe I will just cut the tube and reweld....
.....you wont know till you get there. The chances of it working out perfectly are low.
That should be no problem.

Make sure you get the driveshaft yoke that goes with your 7.5.

Once I get the housing shortened the 8.8 swap is the same as a Ranger 7.5 swap.

The 7.5 is not much lighter than the 8.8. The 8.8 carrier casting is very light ....the rotors, ring and pinion , and axles are where the weight is.

The Explorer rotors are heavier than the 10"drums.
The Explorer backing plate with emerg brake weighs the same as a 9"Valaint backing plate.

So Dennis.....what does an alignment kit look like?

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Yeah....Im the one who destroyed this rare, vintage automobile.....

Never knew, I would also be interested in seeing the kit.

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Excuse me, does this smell like chloroform to you?

The old 7.25 axle is in the foreground with the spiffy low mileage disc brake axle in the background. I just have to cut 2 5/8" out of the long side and weld it back together.

http://www.mobmms.com/view/20708-0.html

note the section on the long side to be removed.

The mounts also need to be relocated to compensate for pinion angle. The Explorer driver side mount is in the correct location but is clocked very wrong for Ujoint life.

The front spring mounts need to be drilled out to 9/16 . They are inverted to lower the car 2".

http://www.mobmms.com/view/20707-0.html

I will make new shackles from truck shackles which are longer, wider and a little thicker than Abody shackles. I will redrill them from 3/8 to 1/2" add grade 8 bolts welded to the shackles on one side. The holes will be drilled 1" closer than stock to lower the car a little more...and to balance the pinion angle.

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Yeah....Im the one who destroyed this rare, vintage automobile.....

sandy

what was the width of your housing? I measured mine tonight and its 51 inches from backing plate to backing plate. Mine came out of a ranger, some sites say that exploreres are wider then ranger. If i have to cut 3 inches off of it then its probably not going to fit. I am already pushing it for tire clearance.

Never knew, I would also be interested in seeing the kit.[/quote]

It is basically a straight round bar with some dies to center it in the carrier bearing saddles, and some dies that fit the bearing bores in the housing ends to locate them. I thought it came from Strange, but I didn't see it in their catalog.

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Official Cookie and Mater Tormentor.

Ok, I know what you are talking about, but how do you align the axle tube to the bar when you push the tube into the casting? Heat?

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Excuse me, does this smell like chloroform to you?