Joe,
Thanks, the rear end from the 1986 Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer 4.6L v-6 4WD fit my 2001 XLT 4.6L v-6 4WD Explorer. Both rear ends were 4L10 88 and the only difference was that the older rear end had a large "weight" bolted to the differential whereas my truck has a small shock bolted to that spot. The bolt patterns were the same so I had no trouble connecting the shock.
I was extremely lucky that the rear end I bought seemed to have new gears in the differential (at least they looked new when popped the cover off) and the disk brake pads were brand new. The only hassle was that the emergency brake shoes were shot so I had to remove the ones from my damaged rear end and put them on my replacement. And that was a real?*%#* (Use your own expletive).
This page has some good pictures and instructions for anyone trying this themselves for the first time.
Thanks again,
Dave
Friday, February 26th, 2010 AT 11:32 AM