I'm looking for an 8.8 to swap into my car and today I was looking at axles in jegs and it lists rangers from 83-92. Now from what I have been reading ranger rear axles are not the same. They have an offset pumpkin just like the explorers do.

The thing with my swap is that all of the mustang or ranger brackets wil be removed and my brackets will be welded on. And around here its alot easier to pick up a ranger axle vs trying to find a cheap mustang housing, everyone wants $300+ for a rear end around here.

So are the ranger rear ends the same width as the mustangs as long as its from an 82-93? Also how do you tell the difference from a 7.5 and an 8.8?

Thanks in advance guys :cheers:

 

I'm not sure of the widths, but I know that the later ones are 31 spline, just like the S197 GT and GT500 models. Be careful of anything before 1998, as I think that's when they started putting the 31 spline 8.8 axles in the Ranger models.

However, if you're upgrading a 7.5, than a 28 spline 8.8 is still going to be slightly stronger. I only advise getting a 31 spline, because if you're going through all the work, you might as well really strenghten things with the stronger axles and housing.

Good luck.

 

Thanks for the reply. I already have plans for an explorer 31 spline true trac and moser 31 spline axles. I'm honestly trying to find a complete 94-98 mustang rear since it would have disk brakes and I wouldn't have to buy everything for it.

But like I mentioned rangers are really common around here and I may be able to get a complete axle for $50.

Thanks for the reply and I'll keep hunting