Hi all i am new to the truck forums and been getting some good advice from these threads i got a 93 EB and i love this van am trying to keep in in like new shape anyway i bought a 92 for parts and just wanten to know if anyone knows whats the best axel that these vans came with the one on the EB came with a t3 or t9 cant really remember what it was i seen on that lable on the door piller but i will like to know so anyone out there that knows thanks for the help

 

ok i made a mistake its a b9 is this the best rear diff for these vans

 

optimum rear end diff. ratio depends on engine size 3L or 4L, AWD?,driving style, loads carried, mountains or flat land, performance and mileage expectations,

 

Axle code B9 is supposed to be an 8.8" axle, which is supposedly available in the Aerostars with 4.0l and 2WD only, though I've never seen one.

It's a 3.55:1 ratio (fairly tall) and has Trac-Lok ("posi").

If you truly have the 4.0l engine and do not tow, this is a very good rear axle. It is nice for keeping the revs down. It is borderline for towing anything other than very light things on the flat. It is a bit better for fuel mileage than the other choices, a bit slower acceleration, and a bit harder on the transmission than the lower ratios: it will shift gears more and operate the torque converter more often. The engine will be slightly quieter at highway speeds.

I had the (lowest from Ford) 7.5" 4.10:1 w/Trac-Lok in my '89 (though with the smaller/weaker 3.0l engine) and it was very marginal for towing the things I tow, especially in hilly country.

 

ok thanks for the reply i do have a 93 EB with a 4.0 2wd and it has a b9 diff what i was thinking is how hard would it be to put a explorer rear axel with disk brakes or are there any other opps.

 

unless you do a lot of heavy towing with 500 lb hitch weight you will not have enough rear weight in the Aero for rear disc brakes....waste of time to put exp. discs in...
front brakes on the aero have to do 80 percent of the work due to weight distribution and dynamic transfer during braking...change that 80/20 distribution and you will have handling problems with rear tires skidding all the time....that's enough of a problem in Aeros and PU's already....
best solution would be to chop out the front wheel wells and put Corvette large diameter rotors on with 4 piston calipers and 18" rims with wide tires

 

never thought of that i guess the rear tires looking up would be a problem and i dont use my van for towing thanks for the advice, i guess i could put that thought to rest.

 

Even if you wanted to, you couldn't bolt the Explorer discs to the existing axle. The van has a 28-tooth axle, whereas the Explorer has 31T. That means that the axle shafts are larger in diameter, which in turn means that the axle end/wheel bearings are larger, which also means that the axle tubes are bigger. That means that the bolt pattern for the brake assembly's backing plate and the pilot diameter for it are different, so it can't be installed directly on. However, you probably could use parts from an SN95 Mustang... I agree, though, that it wouldn't be as useful to swap in rear discs as most people think. However, I wonder if the RWABS would keep the discs from locking up. I mean, it should, in theory. Sort of a crude electronic brake force distribution...

As far as swapping the entire Explorer axle goes, well, with enough work you can do anything. However, the mounting of the axles is completely different, as are the fundamentals of the suspension design. The Explorer used a leaf-sprung axle with a third shock on pinion snout. The Aerostar uses a coil-sprung axle, with a three-link trailing arm system. The Aerostar suspension is actually very similar to the current Mustangs, save for the lack of panhard bar. But at the end of the day, you'd have to do a lot of fabricating on the Explorer axle to make it work. You'd have to weld on spirng perches, shock mounts, and mount points for the trailing links. Also, the Explorer axle is wider, so there may well be interference issue between the tires and body when you're done...

 

thanks for the advice well i think i will just leave it as it is was told that the b9 8.8 is very good so i will keep it the way it is

 

"The Aerostar suspension is actually very similar to the current Mustangs, save for the lack of panhard bar. "

The 3rd link in the Aerostar has to do double duty to control the rear axle rotation as well as the side-to-side motion that a Panhard bar would handle. It seems to me that a transverse link, like a Panhard bar, will have limited suspension travel before it starts to shift the rear axle too much. So it may not be the best choice for lateral motion control in a big truck. The Aerostar suspension doesn't have quite as mcuh travel as a real truck, so it can get away with a short combination link, but I know that it has more travel than a Mustang.

 

I'm sure that's true, but I doubt it can control lateral movement as effectively as a Panhard bar or a Watts linkage. Of course, it probably can be argued - quite successfully - that it doesn't need that level of control either. But if someone were ever to build a Aerostar race van (that'd be funny!), though, the third link wouldn't be enough for that job I don't think...