Differential Swap

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piratenorm
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Differential Swap

Post by piratenorm »

Good evening all, first post. I have a '50 Meteor with an S354M rear axle from a '98-2001 Ranger which according to the chart here has a 3.73 rear end. That's too high for me to get any kind of gas mileage. I saw a rear end on the same chart from an '87-89 Lincoln that might work, S404E or S404F, it has the same 8.8" housing but only 3.08 gears. Is this a viable swap or not? Or a S350A from a 95 Ranger has the same 3.08 gears. Or one of the sets with 3.27's would save me money as well. What do you experts recommend? Thanks for the anticipated help and fuel savings.
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Ranchero50
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Re: Differential Swap

Post by Ranchero50 »

Swapping gears in a 8.8 can be an exercise in frustration if you don't understand what you are doing. Unlike a 8 or 9" removable carrier rear the integral 8.89'" uses spacers to set the lash as well as preload the bearings (A real PITA at times). A 9" takes about five minutes to dial in, the 8.8 can take and hour a a handful of shims / spacers.

Google and youtube will do a better job of explaining what you are up against. Not impossible and also a good time to go posi. I've done a dozen or so over the years. Having a pile of old spacers makes it a lot easier. Setting the lash on the loose side is better for the gears. Too tight equals whine.
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piratenorm
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Re: Differential Swap

Post by piratenorm »

Good to know. Thanks lots. Anyone else who can let me know if the difs I mentioned are compatible? Thanks.
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