pelliccio7

I have searched and searched on the forums for this solution and have not been able to find it so any help would be great!!!

What I have:
1997 Ford F-150XL-WT 2WD
4.2Liter v6
Open Differential 8.8inch
Disc Brakes - front
Drum Brakes - rear

What I want:
A complete rear axle from a 2WD F-150
LSD Differential 8.8inch

Situation explained:
I have an open differential and I am tired of getting stuck and having no faith in my truck's off road capabilities whatsoever. Since I do not know how to disassemble a rear diff and swap the gears I am looking for a complete rear axel swap. Is this possible? If so what truck do I need to look for in the junkyard? I am thinking a 2WD 5.4 v8 with the same size rear end (8.8) with an lsd and drum brakes. Does that exist? And if it does, can the swap even be done? I dont have the tools or the skills to take apart the gears. I just want to drop everything and replace it from another truck with an LSD rear end and hopefully keep my crappy drum brakes so I do not have to run hard lines, pull master cylinder, etc.

Any help or advice is much appreciated! Thanks in advance!

Also I have my truck all of the time so any more information you need I can get if you tell me what you need and how to get it.

Just to give you an idea of my extent of rear end knowledge. My other vehicle is a Nissan 240 and I know everyhting about the rear end in it but, unlike my truck, it has cv axles and does not have the solid rear end. Swapping diffs in it is a piece of cake and I have done it a dozen times. So pulling junkyard nissan diffs gave me this idea to pull a ford rear end and swap it. Please tell me it will work! I absolutely love everything else about my truck it has been so faithful to me! Thanks again for your time and efforts!

-Tony

Nate07DSGSCrew

They made 2wd V8s with a drum brake. They also made ones with a limited slip. They both have the same 8.8 rear end, so I don't see why it wouldn't work. Now, as far as ones with a limited slip having drum brakes, I don't know.

From a brief google search, you'd be searching for a truck with axle code H9 (limited slip 3.55s) or B6 (limited slip 3.73s) as shown on the door sticker.

Also, if you are changing your gear ratio your speedometer will not read correctly.

tansupercrew

I think you are over thinking this. Measure form behind the drum backing plate where the axle tube bolts on, to the other side. This is the total length. Then measure from the backing plate to the shock on each side. Then crawl around the junk yard and compare. It's really not that complicated.