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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    Sequim
    Posts
    2,117

    Explorer rear axle swap

    So I started on my rear axle swap. I'm going from a eight inch ford to the more modern 8.8" ford.
    My donor vehicle was a 97 Ford Explorer with the V-8 and it had the 8.8" 3:73 posi 31 spline axle under it.
    So from all I've read and measured this should work very well.
    First was to drill out the plug welds on the long side axle tube. Then I pressed out the tube itself chucked it up on the band saw and cut 3" off the tube. Needless to say I did have the axle torn apart at this point. Both axles are 57" WMS to WMS.
    I pressed the tube back in and welded the plugs back up. Now doing this makes the axles the same length so I ordered a short side replacement from rock auto. (85 bucks). All the brakes and rotors go right back on.
    I cut off all the bracket and pieces that are not needed and cleaned it up for testing and mock up.
    At this point I pulled the old eight out from under the delivery to make room for mock up. Here are the two axles next to each other so you all can see them together.
    Looks like I need to change the end of the driveshaft to match the 8.8, larger spring plates and u-bolts will be needed for the larger tube. Mustang ones fit the bill fine. So next step is to fit the axle and set the pinion angle. Then she'll come out for final weld and powder coat. I'll keep you up to date and I'm also cross posting this to my reconstruction has begun thread as well.
    Attached Images Attached Images
    63 Sedan Delivery
    5.0 HO EFI AOD 8" rear

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