Hello I just bought my first ranger which is a 97 2wd 5 speed with a healthy 4.0 under the hood. I happen to live in nebraska I wanted to see if anybody knows how to tell what rear end is in my truck so I can get an idea how it is going to drive this winter. Thanx

 

Try here: https://www.ford-trucks.com/articles/2003/9.php

 

Look at the metal tag attached to the rearend. It should say 373 or 410.

 

It says i have an 8.8 can any one help translate this does just one wheel spin on this one or 2 and what kind is this.

 

What is your axle code? Did you look it up?

 

The axle code is 92 and the tag on the diff is 8.8.

 

Ok its a it dosent have limited slip sounds like a fun winter thanx.

 

2wd isnt nessesarily bad in the winter, even with a open diff. just have good tires and about 200 pnd of ballast. my first ranger was a 2wd s/c and i ran snow tires on all four corners in the winter and had 2 100 pnd tractor front-end weights where the spare tire was supposed to be. carried spare tire in box. the truck did very well in snow. you could change out the rear end for a l/s unit or put in a lock-rite locker. the worst thing you have going for you is having such a large engine, wont be hard to break traction with the 4.0