Did a lot of research and I would like to confirm what I have learned. It has been a very long time since I did any work on a rear end.

My truck is a 1993 F150 w/300, 5 speed, and 2.73 gear ratio open diff and 30 inch tires. I want to change the gear ratio to a 3.55 and possibly LSD. So what I have is a 8.8 with 31 spline. It appears that the 1995 through 2001 Exploders and Mountaineers had 31 spline 8.8 rearends also. I only intend on using the differential, not trying to swap the whole rearend to gain rear disc, due to the poor design of those specific rear brakes and the axle width difference. I would like to be able to simply swap it in, well, as easily as possible.

The two things I am not 100 percent about are the following:
The axle shafts should be the same diameter, right?
Does the Exploder uses the same type of VSS for those years?

Thanks for your answers.

 

Bump.

 

if you just want to use the center section of the diff, and the ring and pinion gears then they will drop right in. but you cant use the axle shafts off the exploders or the axle assembly either, just the center section.inside the housing.
and anything on a f150 with an 8.8 axle will swap over.

on another note, unless you have sourced a LSD that is in an exploder, you'll have an easier time finding one out of a f150.

 

Thanks for the info.
yeah, I am just going for the center diff unit, or the pig as we used to call it. I realized the axle shafts wouldn't work since the width of the whole axle is different, just wanted to make sure the shafts from my F150 would mate up to the Exploder diff. From the research on the interwebs it was looking like the LSD was fairly common in the Exploders, more so than the F150s, but it was peoples' opinion. At least this way I can keep my options a little more open.
Thanks again!

 

i think it depends on where your at in the country, i know most of the 150's round here have H9 axle code which is 3:55 LSD even the 2x4's out here have them. but i live out in the ozarks in MO and we have some hella hills.
do some search too, mustangs with 31 spline axles you can use the carrier out of too.