Let me fill in a few things. TTB in the Explorer was 91-94. 95 and up is the IFS. In the RANGERS, TTB lasted until 97, and then they too went IFS. The Dana 35 in the TTB is plenty stout for mild wheeling, and good for up to 33" tires. Common gears for the TTB D35 are 3.55s, 3.73s can be found in Explorers with tow packages. And 4.10s can be had in Rangers with the 4 bangers...
The Dana 30 from the Cherokees isn't a bad axle, lots of people in the RBV (Ranger Based Vehicle) world bag on the D30 like it'll explode just looking at it. Its not that bad, get the later model years with the bigger Ujoints in the axles and you won't have many issues. As long as you drive it sensibly. But the D30 *IS* a weaker choice. Mainly because of the axle tube size and the ring and pinion sizes are fairly small.
Why use a D30 then? The coil spring spacing is nearly identical to the Ranger/Explorer. The front driveshaft for any RBV with the D35 will bolt right up the D30. Shocks are about the same places too. And the existing brake hoses bolt right up. And, you can use the D30 tierod and drag link. You will need a left side Ranger tierod end on the drag link to match the taper of the Explorer pitman arm.
You will need to fab a trackbar. You shouldn't need to plate the frame for the steering box, but it never hurts. And, it provides an easy place to mount the trackbar to. After that is the long arm setup. It will be difficult to make the Explorer radius arms work with the D30. However, lots of folks use the Cherokee type long arms and fab frame side brackets. Nobody makes a kit to make the D30 work under the RBVs... But someone should. One last major detail. The springs for the Explorer will be super stiff with a solid axle. The TTB acts like levers and the srprings are REAL stiff. Some 3-4" (or taller depending on what you want) Grand Cherokee springs will be better suited since the Grand Cherokee springs are about an inch taller than the Cherokee, and the Grand is heavier. The spring cup on the frame will need to be altered since the Jeep springs seem to be "upside down" compared to the RBV springs.
I was going to do this very thing to my own Ranger with 6" lift. I have some 6" XJ coils and figure I could make some sort of XJ like spring retainer. And I still might do this swap if I get another Ranger or Bronco 2 soon.
I know of 2 Explorers running around locally with D30s under them, and they are both hack jobs. Doesn't mean they don't work, but one really looks unsafe, someone managed to line up the factory links with homemade mounts on the frame. Also, the Explorer is quite a bit heavier than even the Grand Cherokee. So seriously consider an axle truss for the D30.
I mean the coils are already there and most just use radius arms, other than a track bar thats all it needs. But what are the explorers weak points:-\ What gearing needs to be replaced, transfer axle gears, and does the steering box need to be plated? Any weak points i should know of for running 33's maybe 35's
