8.8 rear in my A-body. I cant be the first!

-
I'd like to be able to afford 8.75' a -body rears. The parts are stupid expensive and you still have to upgrade it to get big bolt pattern axles.

I have nothing against doing that. The whole rear is cheaper than a sure-grip unit for an 8.75! Quite a few guys on slantsix.org have dont the 8.8 swap.

My '46 Dodge rat p/u has a gm one wire alternator and a 318/904.

At least people are not talking about small block chevies in Mopars.
Anything but a Mopar engine in a Mopar FAILS HARD!!

A guy at the local drags put a chevy engine in a Duster. Why did'nt he just buy a Nova??? ::pUKE::
 
Man I really want to get started on this build asap! The wife will kill me if she finds I am doing more fab work on my car and not hurrying up to get to her 46'!
LOL I think if I gather all the stuff I knock out all the fab work in one afternoon.



So here is my list. Anyone with experience with this. Please feel free to add to the list.



1.-1993 and up 8.8 from an Exploder. (93 and up have disc brakes commonly)
2.-Flange on the yoke to house the u-joint.
3.-Spare drivers side axle.
4.-Spring Perches
5.-New 3.5" U-bolts
6.-E-brake cables from Exploder



Anyone got anymore?

Also, Jamesdart: Do you have some pics? You say you didnt "center" the carrier at all? You just re-welded the perches in the correct spots?
Please inform me a bit more. Thanks
 
4mulaSvaliant said:
LMAO.... ^^^^ hey man, I dunno about you but I have a budget to worry about. If I can manage my goal cheaper, and sell my 8-3/4 to fund the project thats even better. Not to mention if I pass this 8-3/4 on to a guy doing a resto.... All the better. My car was never a sought aftere car to begin with.

I have 3- explorer rear ends and "0" 8-3/4 rears... I'd be the dumbest mo-fo on the plant not to use the 8.8 in mine, the 3.73 gear and locker is just a no brainer for me...
Click to expand...
 
All this hype...you can put an 8.8 in it and go back to 8.75 just as easy. It's not like you are sub-framing and destroying the car. It's just an axle. Sheesh!
 
With what Jgale and Fishy68 have mentioned. I am wondering if its really needed to narrow it or not.
Anyone know how much longer the drivers side axle is? If it is comparible to the offset of our A-bodies, then the only reason to narrow it would be for the older deeper offset wheels.
While I do prefer a deeper wheel in the rear, I plan to run the Bullit style rims.

As Jamesdart has mentioned he didnt cut his. Id really like to see some pics of one of these under an A, and uncut.

I may have to go get one very soon! LOL
 
4mulaSvaliant said:
With what Jgale and Fishy68 have mentioned. I am wondering if its really needed to narrow it or not.
Anyone know how much longer the drivers side axle is? If it is comparible to the offset of our A-bodies, then the only reason to narrow it would be for the older deeper offset wheels.
While I do prefer a deeper wheel in the rear, I plan to run the Bullit style rims.

As Jamesdart has mentioned he didnt cut his. Id really like to see some pics of one of these under an A, and uncut.

I may have to go get one very soon! LOL
Click to expand...

I would be interested in seeing an explorer 8.8 under an A-body that hasn't been cut or narrowed on the one side.. If you want to avoid the whole cut/narrow issue just use the GT mustang 8.8, it's center section is more like the A-body and is in the middle and not offset like the explorer...
 
Digging for details!

1. Axle width is 59.25'' for the Explorer.

2. 2-3/8" offset to the passenger side

3. 1310 u-joint at dif.

4. The 'long' axle is 30.5" and the 'short' one is ~27.5", so it would shave about 3" off of the overall width and center the pinion.

5. Link: http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2400202/2

6. Link for setting up perches: http://www.fordmuscle.com/forums/rear-end-articles/489830-leaf-spring-perch-installation.html

7. 3.25" axle tube dia.

8. 1991-1994 versions had 10-Inch drum brakes and the 1995 and newer models come with disc brakes.

9. Found these 8.8 facts too.

Has 31-Spline Axle Shafts

Beefier 3.25-Inch Axle Tubes

10-Inch Drums From 1990-1994

1995+ Have Disc Brakes

Needs Shock Mounts Welded On

Needs Spring Perches Welded To Top Of Axle Tube

Most Have Limited-Slip (Traction Lok)

5x4.5 Wheel Bolt Pattern

10. Rather than welding the tubes into the diff housing, the tubes are just held in with pressed-in plugs. These plugs tend to stop doing their job under severe stress, so you really should weld the tubes to the housing with low-hydrogen rod.


Great info i dug up. This will do for now I suppose.
 
So based on the data I have dug up.

If I get two "short" axels and shorten the overall housing, it should go from 59.25" to 56.25".

Typical Bullit rims are a 5.72" back space. I may need that in the front but would love to run something wide in the rear. (like Jgale has posted).



Hmmm I think I may have to do a bit of wheel offset homework before going much further.
 
4mulaSvaliant said:
So based on the data I have dug up.

If I get two "short" axels and shorten the overall housing, it should go from 59.25" to 56.25".

Typical Bullit rims are a 5.72" back space. I may need that in the front but would love to run something wide in the rear. (like Jgale has posted).



Hmmm I think I may have to do a bit of wheel offset homework before going much further.
Click to expand...

I see a problem. Look at your Mopar close and you'll see the engine and trans. are not on center. They're approx. 1-5/8" off set to the pass. side. Cutting down the 8.8 axle making the u-joint centered will make for one heck of a bad angle on the u-joints.
 
fishy68 said:
I see a problem. Look at your Mopar close and you'll see the engine and trans. are not on center. They're approx. 1-5/8" off set to the pass. side. Cutting down the 8.8 axle making the u-joint centered will make for one heck of a bad angle on the u-joints.
Click to expand...

I thought the same thing was going to happen when I first looked into the swap but the 8.8 also has an offset pinion to the pass. side in the center section too. same axle length now but still the offset pinion. Its not perfect but close enough. Ill measure mine tomorrow if you want to. Hell my old gmc with the 6 inch lift had some crazy angles and I never had any issues but I figure Ill just check them out more often.
 
On some site I just found it shows the centerline of the housing to the centerline of the pinion being 3.875 offset. I think that 2-3/8'' is for the centerline of the chunk compared to the pinion center.
 
So the pinion shaft is also offset in the carrier?
To which side?
Does it help or make it even worse?



Not that I plan to install a rear end that is way off, but... As far as an offset drive shaft goes..
Its ok to have an offset that isnt extreme as long as the angles are the same at the axis of each u-joint.
In other words as long as the front u-joint and the rear u-joint are at the same position (angle wise and on both axis) all the time, you can safely have an offset drive shaft.

This is done on a normal basis in Jeeps and 4 wheels drives from the factory. The driveshaft is offset and of course has a typical "downward" angle toward the actuall dif.

Again its all about the U-joints staying in the same plane.
 
camd64 said:
On some site I just found it shows the centerline of the housing to the centerline of the pinion being 3.875 offset. I think that 2-3/8'' is for the centerline of the chunk compared to the pinion center.
Click to expand...

Wow that's a bunch of offset! The one in Pop's rambler doesn't look to be offset cause the engine/trans looks centered and the driveshaft is straight as far as I can tell. I didn't actually measure it but you can usually tell just by a glance unless it's just a small amount. Maybe it was cut down to center it up?

4mulaSvaliant said:
So the pinion shaft is also offset in the carrier?
To which side?
Does it help or make it even worse?



Not that I plan to install a rear end that is way off, but... As far as an offset drive shaft goes..
Its ok to have an offset that isnt extreme as long as the angles are the same at the axis of each u-joint.
In other words as long as the front u-joint and the rear u-joint are at the same position (angle wise and on both axis) all the time, you can safely have an offset drive shaft.

This is done on a normal basis in Jeeps and 4 wheels drives from the factory. The driveshaft is offset and of course has a typical "downward" angle toward the actuall dif.

Again its all about the U-joints staying in the same plane.
Click to expand...

I've read it's not a good idea to have them offset both directions. Some up and down offset is necessary to make the U-joints wear correctly but add side to side offset along with up and down offset and it's hard on u-joints. My guess is the offset is towards the pass. side as that's what all generally are. I think the main idea for the offset is to move the trans. tunnel over to give the driver more leg room.
 
i'm confused i read the pinion on the explorer 8.8 is 2 3/16 to the right depending on where you look for the 8 3/4 its to the right 1 3/16 - 1 3/4 to the right if you shorten the drivers tube 3" you would now be 13/16 to the left.. wouldn't you be better off leaving it alone? also couldn't you use the shock mounts from the explorer?
 
Best bet would be a Mustang 8.8. The 87-93 Mustang 8.8s have equal length axles. They come from the factory 28 spline 4lug. The Explorer rears are factory 31 spline 5lug with offset housing. You can use the 31 spline traclok differential from an Explorer or F150 rear diff (all 31 spline) with 2 left side axles and 5 lug drums from late 80's Ford Ranger pickups (31 spline & correct length for mustang 8.8 housing) to convert the Mustang 8.8 to 31 spline 5 on 4.5 bolt pattern. Its a common 5 lug swap for Mustang guys, giving them a better (31 spline) diff and more wheel options. The only downside is you still have drum brakes. Explorers and Rangers are a dime a dozen in junkyards around here, and the parts are cheap! Most explorers are 3.73 or 4.10s and the ring and pinion are a direct swap in the Mustang housing as well.
 
I just measured mine and it is offset about 1-3/8'', and thats after being cut. Might not be dead on in my measurements since I'm under the car using a tape measure but its close.
 
i dont see the benifet of the mustang axle housing other than not having to cut it it still has the pinion offset , and if the explorer is to the right and the drivers axle is longer the mustang should be offset to the left.
 
Def. Not going to bother with the Mustang rear just because i dont want to have to source all the parts in order to run the 5 bolt pattern.
 
Ok here is a pic of the 8.8 and the offset. just a pic no measurments. But you can start to add things up in your head now that you have a pic to see.
Dont mind all the junk on this axle, its being put in a Jeep apparently.

Below that is an 8-3/4

TJ8.8[1].jpg


mopp_0208_11_z+project_valiant_effort+rear_axle[1].jpg
 
your overthinking it. just go get one and stick it in the car and be done. i know i am not the only one running one in an abody that is not narrowed. if you want to run bullits for them being cheap they are 5.72 b.s. if you narrow the rear they wont work. there are wider ones available, there are also ones made for earlier mustangs with a little less backspace, i personally wanted the same size tire all around so i could get a std size spare, say a donut from a a mustang, and i could rotate my tires front to back, to me that was more important than having a big wide tire out back. are you moving springs in? minitub?
 
4mulaSvaliant said:
Ok here is a pic of the 8.8 and the offset. just a pic no measurments. But you can start to add things up in your head now that you have a pic to see.
Dont mind all the junk on this axle, its being put in a Jeep apparently.

Below that is an 8-3/4
Click to expand...

I'm doing the 8.8 swap also, in my openion, after you cut the one side down to match the short side you're close enough on your angles.. You're mounting the rear on leaf springs, if it were a drag car with ladder bars and a tight suspenion then I'd worry about it..
 
Its in my nature to over think it! LOL I design Industrial Compressor packages all day! Engineering is what I do! LOL

I do however plan to just go get one to compare however I very rarely move forward blindly. It always seems to bite me later.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top