Has anyone put a 2000 explorer rear axle in their truck. I know that the guide on the forum recommends it. They list the specs as 89-01 - Ford Explorer 8.8" 59" 59 " (5 X 4 "car" bolt pattern).

If anyone has done this and is happy with it, let me know. I found one in my area for 60$ with brakes and all. Seems like a good deal to me. I am putting a 351W in the truck and I am not sure that the stock dana 41 7.5" will hold that much power. Plus I think that the gears in the explorer rearend will help with highway speeds.

Any advice would be nice.

 

I guess I was wondering if the dana 41 will hold up with 250hp and 300 f/lb?

 

The Dana rear is plenty stout. But with it's 3.92 or 4.11 gear ratio, it's not real friendly for highway driving unless you're also planning on an overdrive transmission.

The Explorer 8.8 swap is very popular because of all the things you mentioned. And $60 is a great deal.

 

So you think the dana rear will hold up to the power Merc. I am putting am AOD on the truck. Do you think that will be enough to keep the rpms down on the highway?

 

It depends on how you intend to drive. If your plan is to constantly be doing powerbrake burnouts and abusing it, you might want to have a backup plan at some point in the future. For normal street driving, it'll be fine. It is essentially the same diff that was used in the front of Ford 4x4's for years, as well as both ends of Jeeps, and in many other brands of vehicles. It will be a good gear ratio to use with your AOD.