malibu71

not that i need to swap my rearend yet, but can't hurt obtaining parts for the future. my question is on the year of 8.8 explorer rearend. every where i have been searching says 95 and newer. why not a 94, 93, 92 and so on? is it just because they are disc instead of drum? found a free rearend but i think its a 93, any help appreciated.

Gorillaxj

The only real difference between the Explorer 8.8 is the 91-94 versions had 10-Inch drum brakes and the 95 and newer models come with disc brakes. Everything elss is the same IIRC. It would be just as strong os the newer ones, with all the benifits other then disk brakes. when buying the axle there is no point un spending money on a 8.8 with drums when you can get the 8.8 with disks for close to the same price. If its free its free... but if it will bother you better to just find one with disks now.

malibu71

thanks for the reply gorillaxj. the drums don't really bother me since the rearend is free-fifty-free. ha. i can live with drums. out of curiosity, is there any kit to swap it over to dics? i have done so before on an older k-20 mudtruck i had w/ a 14 bolt.

customzj73

Not true, pre 95 8.8 only had 27 spline shafts as well as drum brakes, and thinner axle tubes. Not worth it id say. Try finding a newer one, why put work into the weak one ya know?

WantACherokee

I'm pretty sure all Explorers have 31 spline axles and the beefier tubes, it's the Rangers where a lot of them had 28 spline and smaller tubes. These are some pretty helpful links on the Explorer 8.8's: http://www.therangerstation.com/tech...plorer8_8.html and http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/Axles.html

customzj73

I stand corrected!!