8.8 question
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Senior User
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 264
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From: Tulia, Texas
8.8 question
hey folks i have a question regarding my 94 f150 4x4..this thing has 3.31 gears and is a real dog...i have recently located an 8.8 in the junk yard that is out of i believe a ford explorer and it has 3L73's in it, so can the guts out of this 8.8 be put into the housing on my '94 ford pickup? are the splines the same? if this is the case then all id have to do it find matching gears for the front...any thoughts would be great,thankyou
Postmaster
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 3,742
Likes: 2
From: UT
Explorer 8.8's came with 31 spline axles. Rangers came with 28 spline axleshafts. I believe your F150 has 31 spline axles as well. If you do decide to swap out the carrier and everything, you'll want to be certain it came from an Explorer. Is your current carrier open or LS? How important is it to you to install the LS carrier from the Explorer? I doubt manufacturing tolerances are tight enough to be able to avoid setting up the gears properly, at which point I don't know how much advantage there is in swapping carriers. You could simply change out the R&P, and that won't matter whether it came from a 31 or 28 spline 8.8. If you do decide to put the trac-lock carrier in, be sure to have the clutches replaced so you start out fresh.
Cargo Master
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 2,899
Likes: 2
From: Lynnwood, WA
If you disassemble the axle, you might as well just get new gears. If you were to go to 3.55, you could get away with a simple axle swap for the rear, though that won't make much difference over 3.31.
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Senior User
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 264
Likes: 0
From: Tulia, Texas
thankyou for your responses...yes id really like a trac loc rear so my truck isnt a "1 legger" if that makes any sense..i should probably go 4.10's anyways since i have 32 inch tires,i just saw this 3.73 trac loc that i could get for $50 so i figured it would be a cheap way to change
Post Fiend
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 7,698
Likes: 4
From: Neenah, Wisconsin
You also can't just bolt them in....theres ALOT to gear setup, making sure the bearings have the proper preload on them, making sure the pinion depth is correct, making sure the gear mesh is set right....all kinds of stuff to set up...
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Junior User
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 99
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From: Manitoba
Why don't you measure the Explorer diff from axle to axle. If it's the same dimension as your F150, just swap the whole housing...no messing around with gear set up.
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