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Explorer or Ranger rear end swap on ‘48 Chrysler Windsor?


LrudyD

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I read somewhere, not sure on this forum or another, that an Explorer or Ranger rear end will retrofit on my ‘48 Windsor.  Of course I can’t find the thread!  Anyway, I’m thinking of going disc brakes, so thought I could swap out the whole rear end.  Any experience in this? Your thoughts/recommendations?

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Explorer is a common swap, newer ones 1996 or so and up have disk brakes. You do need to cut of the spring perches and weld new ones on where needed.

Tractor supply sells spring perches that will work .... The explorer has several gear ratio options. Is a 8.8 and a very strong rear end. Has right bolt pattern.

 

Also Jeep Cherokee is a common swap and same reasons as with the explorer.

 

I measured a rear end from a late 80's Bronco II, Think is same platform as a ranger, at the time and it was a few inches narrower, would need wheel spacers, and a smaller weaker rear end ...Maybe newer ranger is different?

 

One thing to keep in mind when doing the swap, when you grab the rear end from donor vehicle, grab all the emergency brake cables and brackets to go with rear end.

Would be possible to add to your car and keep original E-brake handle, and adapt cable to use E-brakes from modern rear end.

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1 hour ago, Los_Control said:

Explorer is a common swap, newer ones 1996 or so and up have disk brakes. You do need to cut of the spring perches and weld new ones on where needed.

Tractor supply sells spring perches that will work .... The explorer has several gear ratio options. Is a 8.8 and a very strong rear end. Has right bolt pattern.

 

Also Jeep Cherokee is a common swap and same reasons as with the explorer.

 

I measured a rear end from a late 80's Bronco II, Think is same platform as a ranger, at the time and it was a few inches narrower, would need wheel spacers, and a smaller weaker rear end ...Maybe newer ranger is different?

 

One thing to keep in mind when doing the swap, when you grab the rear end from donor vehicle, grab all the emergency brake cables and brackets to go with rear end.

Would be possible to add to your car and keep original E-brake handle, and adapt cable to use E-brakes from modern rear end.

The part in bold is very important. You will be glad you got them once you get started on the swap.

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One thing you do not mention, is your motor/trans. Are you running stock? 218 with manual 3 speed? or is it a bigger engine with a overdrive trans ... depends on what gear ratio you want to look for.

 

I have read some users opinions, one person owned 2 different 218 flathead with T-5 trans, one had 3:55 gears and other 3:73 gears.

The 3:55 cruised well on the freeway, but at a mild hill it was out of torque had to downshift to 4th all the time. While the 3:73 had plenty of torque and could pull same hill in 5th gear.

See where I am going? Picking the right gear ratio for a enjoyable driving experience is important also. It depends on what you have.

 

2 minutes ago, YukonJack said:

Doesn't the 48 Chrysler Windsor have the larger bolt pattern wheels? Not 5 on 4 1/2?

I have no idea, I know the 3/4 ton trucks have the 5 on 5 bolt pattern ... do the big Chrysler's have same?

Are they the same axle width as the other cars and trucks?   I dunno.

A guy on Facebook I have been chatting with, just installed a rear end from a 90's chevy pickup 3:73 ratio, 5 on 5 bolt pattern and over all width is 1" wider then his stock 1949 3/4 ton truck. I always assumed the chevy was too wide, until I measured ... they are really close. I need a seat for my dodge and my chevy seat is 1" wider then the dodge.

 

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I am a total contrarian on the issue of brakes and rear axles.

When you pull apart a Mopar rear axle the only thing that's old timey are the tapered & keyed axles.

You have to remember that's what pretty much every car used before the war and clear into the 1960s.

All the bearings are Timkin Tapered Roller Bearings and you can't get much better than that.

The seals are old fashioned unless you get modern seals but they have them.

For a Plymouth there is an upgrade path for better brakes. Original 10 inch, DeSoto 11 inch or Chrysler 12 inch.

Ratios available for the 8 1/4 rear axle go from 3.36, 3.54, 3.73, 3.9 and 4.1, what more could you ask for?

It is an excellent design having a 3rd member (pumpkin) for easy ratio changes.

The axles are necked down in the middle to spread the torque load. No stress points at the splines to snap off.

(Check any flanged axle and you'll see they all break at the inner spline. Have fun fixing that!)

From a Plymouth to a Chrysler they all use 5 on 4.5 inch bolt circles and there are lots of wheels available.

When you change rear axles you can easily end up with different wheels front and rear.

Then there's the engineering to make your hybrid brakes work. Thank no, not for me.

The hydraulic pieces for my Plymouth are exactly the same as the DeSoto or Chrysler Windsor (which I got my brakes from).

If you find the 8 1/4 is not strong enough, you can get the next in the line of evolution 8 3/4. It's the same design only larger has a very good reputation and can be had with tapered and keyed axle if you want to be stealthy about an up grade. They even look the same and if you don't have an 8 1/4 sitting right next one you have to have a sharp eye. 

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6 hours ago, LrudyD said:

I read somewhere, not sure on this forum or another, that an Explorer or Ranger rear end will retrofit on my ‘48 Windsor.  Of course I can’t find the thread!  Anyway, I’m thinking of going disc brakes, so thought I could swap out the whole rear end.  Any experience in this? Your thoughts/recommendations?

I started this thread in 2015.  I wanted to change the rear axle for years.  There is a lot of information on this tread, I finally went with a 2000 Cherokee with a 3.55.  https://p15-d24.com/topic/37940-sucessful-rear-axle-swaps/#comments

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3 hours ago, Los_Control said:

One thing you do not mention, is your motor/trans. Are you running stock? 218 with manual 3 speed? or is it a bigger engine with a overdrive trans ... depends on what gear ratio you want to look for.

The stock engine was a C38, 250.6ci - the PO said he blew the original and then put a D24 230ci in its place (2” shorter, so he set the radiator back also).  The trans is the original fluid drive.  I’d like to get it back to the original engine size. My leaf springs are flat, so I’m replacing them, and since I have the leafs off, I figured maybe get a new rear end with disc brakes.

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1 minute ago, 48ply1stcar said:

I started this thread in 2015.  I wanted to change the rear axle for years.  There is a lot of information on this tread, I finally went with a 2000 Cherokee with a 3.55.  https://p15-d24.com/topic/37940-sucessful-rear-axle-swaps/#comments

Awesome, thanks for mentioning this! I knew I had read it somewhere on the forum!  I’ll read it up!

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