So tax time has come, and I'm looking for my replacement rear axle. So far, every place I've looked has non-locking ones. How much importance should I be placing on that feature? If I grab one with non-locking, could I make it locking?

 

Which read end do you have? Or are you looking to replace the entire axle and not just the carrier?

Lockers are nice if you plan on going to the track a lot. Just don't plan on making any turns real fast or doing a lot of donuts with one

 

I'm replacing the entire rear axle with a Ford 8.8, and I'm going 3.73 ratio. I've been looking at '95 to '01 Ford Explorer rears.

My plans for the vehicle, when it's finished, is mostly to drive it around a bit when weather permits. I don't go places often but, when I do, I usually have some fun with it. I'd like to hit up the drag every so often as well. That is likely to only happen a handful of times a year though.

 

You might be able to find one that already comes with a limited slip. Which may be a better option for you. A locker is nice, but if you forget that you have it and give it some throttle coming out of turn it'll lock up on you and that kind of surprise can cause you to lose control real fast. You won't have that problem with a limited slip.

That being said, if you feel you're memory is good enough to not forget that little detail, a locker is a real nice thing to have at the track.

 

I think maybe this is a case of terminology, and Geaweil doesn't really mean locking, but rather limited slip. Not sure why you're having trouble finding a LS explorer rear axle in 3.73, as they seem to be abundant at the local wrecking yards here. Last trip to one local pick n pull we found 6 of them in 3.73, and just had to decide which had the best clutches, and least miles.

 

I finally found one with limited slip, but the local yard had to order it from another site in their system. Which I'm assuming was out of state, as it won't be here until Monday or Tuesday.

Terminology wise, I think that is the issue. I was looking for limited slip/posi traction, but everyone I kept emailing kept giving me locking information. The good thing is, I'm learning a whole lot trying to start putting her back together. Hopefully it warms up, so pain goes away, and I can start getting more done!

 

I picked up the new rear end. It came with disc brakes as well! Though the ones on it are rusted to hell and need replaced. The rest of it looks very good, it just needs a paint job. I'm working on finding someone to weld it to size. One thing though. The spring mounts on it don't look as stable as the ones on the existing axle. The existing has that indent that the springs set into. The one on the Ford axle doesn't have that. Should I have the ones off the existing put on the new one?

 

The factory spring mounts on the Explorer are just fine. The Camaro spring mounts wont fit without modification as the Explorer tubes are 3.25", not 3" like a Camaro. With the proper U bolts (hope you got the Explorer U bolts!) it will be fine. They will need to be removed and relocated to match your spring width anyway. If you find someone to "weld it to size" are talking the perches? If so, make sure whoever takes the factory perches off doesn't cut them off with a torch! They should be removed with either a parting disc or plasma cutter to avoid the heat, or possibly cutting into the tube.

 

I thought that the Explorer center hub was offset slightly (I actually haven't measured it yet), making one side longer than the other. Which would require cutting the longer side to match the length of the shorter side.

Unfortunately, it didn't come with the U bolts. It didn't come with any of the suspension hardware on it. I'll upload some pics of it here in a few. I took pics of it, so that I remember how everything goes back together.

 

Here are some pics of the new rear. I just went out and measured the difference, to be sure. I went from the center most bolt, to the edge of where axle where the brakes connect. One side is 25 1/2" and the other is 28 1/2". The one off of the Camaro is approximately 28 on both sides. Looking at the leaf mount placement, there is no way (even if the diameter was the same on both) that they could be mounted. The 25 1/2" falls about 3/4 into the Camaro mounts. So, the leafs would be off. If all that makes any sense.