Ford 8.8 Swap

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i really like the idea of the 8.8". I have a ford 8" in my dart right now. I havn't wanted to spend the money on a nice locker in fear that I might brake an axle.

Whats the prosses of removing the axle tubes on the 8.8? In one of the pictures in one of those link's it looked like it was just a big set screw that held the axle tub to the center housing?

Is there an 8.8 out of anything else that would just bolt in? What about the fox body mustangs?

How much are you shortening the axle by shortening? stock A-body length?



thanks for the link
Jake
 
You don't HAVE to cut down an 8.8. They are wider than A-Body rear end but narrower than some B-Body rear ends that a lot of people put under neath A-Bodys and simply run a bit more backspace on the rims.

Now if you are going to minitub your A-Body, narrowing the 8.8 would probably be a good idea as getting a rim with that amount of back spacing could be a bit of a challenge.

Regards,

Joe Dokes
 
I know the Ford 8.8 is great to bolt up to a jeep for a rear axle change. I know that in the full size trucks the 8.8 did not hold up. if i was going to put a ford rear axle then i would find a 9" the are just as strong if not stronger than a dana 60, has three pionion bearing instead of two, and parts are all over the place.
 
I haven't ran it yet, but I put a Ford 8.8 under my Scamp. The long side axle was cut down to match the short side and a second short axle used. I think I ended up cutting out 2 3/4" if my memory is correct. With the spring inboarded, it bolted right up without having to move the perches.
 
i wouldnt hesitate for a minute to do the swap. 8.75 a body rears are pricey, and you'll have to get narrowed c-body axles and drums anyway to get the 4.5" pattern. too much money

finding 8.75 rears in junkyards with anything over 2.94 gears is almost extinct these days, and LSD's are worse than that. the rebuildable ones seem to be made of gold too. too much money

no 8.75 ever came with disc rears.

8.8's are VERY common. they were standard in 5.0 mustangs up through 1/2 ton trucks and vans. I have an F150 with one and a stout stroker mustang with one, never had an overpower issue. i'd argue that in most cases, they are as good as an 8.75 in terms of durability. junkyards are ful of good gear ratios and most of them were LSD's to boot. If youre looking under explorers, 3.27 is the worst gear you will find. 3.55 and 3.73 are the most common, occasionally youll find a 4.11, but i wouldnt even call it a rare find. posi's can be rebuilt without taking the rear end apart like you have to in an 8.75, and cheaply too!

the weak spot on an 8.8 is the pressed in axle tubes. too much torque and they can twist and cause a leak. when rear end shopping, if its got a leaky spot at the axle tube-to-center housing, pass it up. find a good one, and before you put it in, while youre welding on the perches, weld the axle tubes to the center housing. done, and damn near bulletproof.

disc brake parts are cheap and in stock everywhere. the same 4.5" pattern is an added plus too. have your driveshaft modded and drive it
 
A friend gave me the 8.8 that I have for free. I just modified it by shortening it. It's a 3.73 gear with LSD and disc brakes already. I don't have to touch it at all, the internals look good. I could have ran it without shortening it, but the perches would have to be moved and the 1/4 lips rolled.
 
Ranger guys who wanted rear discs would raid exploders for the same parts and do the same modifications. I'm pretty sure Ranger axles have centered diffs, and they did finally get rear discs for … 2011 iirc

Also, FX4 Level 2 Rangers had 31 spline axles. The rest had 28s
 
Not to hijack a thread but if anyone needs a 8.8 posi unit, I have one. The only Ford part I have.
 
I know the Ford 8.8 is great to bolt up to a jeep for a rear axle change. I know that in the full size trucks the 8.8 did not hold up

I've never seen an issue with an 8.8 in a full size truck. They held up a hell of a lot better than Dodge's 9.25.

In an A-body, you're not going to hurt an 8.8

In a hemi car or something like it, yeah, I wouldnt use an 8.8. but then again, even Chrysler refused to put an 8.75 in a hemi car.....


theyre both good rearends. brand loyalty is blind loyalty
 
393foureyedfox said:
I know the Ford 8.8 is great to bolt up to a jeep for a rear axle change. I know that in the full size trucks the 8.8 did not hold up

I've never seen an issue with an 8.8 in a full size truck. They held up a hell of a lot better than Dodge's 9.25.

In an A-body, you're not going to hurt an 8.8

In a hemi car or something like it, yeah, I wouldnt use an 8.8. but then again, even Chrysler refused to put an 8.75 in a hemi car.....


theyre both good rearends. brand loyalty is blind loyalty
Click to expand...

That is not exactly true, The hemi's with a 727 came with 8 3/4's. The 4 sd. came with a dana 60.
 
MrCuda68 said:
X2, and I really would hope that more members share that passion.
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It's not a passion, it's called personal preference.. It's people that want to keep their car original. I personally would rather spend less than $800 on a LSD with 4.11 or 3.73 gears than to spend 2k+ on an A-body 8 3/4 with the same GR and suregrip.

NOW with that said, if I was going all original in my car, 8 3/4 would be in the books.

Don't knock it because you wouldn't do it. :wack:

Dakota
 
I have an 8.8 in my 65 A, springs relocated. It came out of a 91 ranger so its 28 spline axles and I have a Auburn LSD and a 3:55 no issues with 450hp. You can build fresh around $1000.
 
:sign3:
393foureyedfox said:
I know the Ford 8.8 is great to bolt up to a jeep for a rear axle change. I know that in the full size trucks the 8.8 did not hold up

I've never seen an issue with an 8.8 in a full size truck. They held up a hell of a lot better than Dodge's 9.25.

In an A-body, you're not going to hurt an 8.8

In a hemi car or something like it, yeah, I wouldnt use an 8.8. but then again, even Chrysler refused to put an 8.75 in a hemi car.....


theyre both good rearends. brand loyalty is blind loyalty
Click to expand...
:sign3::sign3::sign3::sign3::sign3::sign3::sign3::sign3:
 
brand loyalty is blind loyalty
now thats a bunch of bullshit
 
393foureyedfox said:
I know the Ford 8.8 is great to bolt up to a jeep for a rear axle change. I know that in the full size trucks the 8.8 did not hold up

I've never seen an issue with an 8.8 in a full size truck. They held up a hell of a lot better than Dodge's 9.25.

In an A-body, you're not going to hurt an 8.8

In a hemi car or something like it, yeah, I wouldnt use an 8.8. but then again, even Chrysler refused to put an 8.75 in a hemi car.....


theyre both good rearends. brand loyalty is blind loyalty
Click to expand...


8 3/4 rears were available in a HEMI car,, drag racers used them in hemi powered super charged dragsters back in the day
 
Motopsycho said:
brand loyalty is blind loyalty
now thats a bunch of bullshit
Click to expand...
I think its a great quote!

I used to hate gm (chevy really) because they were dirt common mostly, but they build the best pushrod motor ever these days and i have owned (own) plenty of them now. i have 40+ cars in my yard and they cover the big 3 plus amc. all of this from a kid that wanted a trans am, and became a mustang guy as a teen. my first muscle car purchase, a 1970 Duster, i couldn't afford a mach 1 lol. That was in 1987.

the cars out there and the parts on them all have positives and negatives, if newer technoilogy exists thats better and cheaper than old its a no brainer. not for the resto guys but perfect for the rest...

i have run 12 flat @ 113mph on a stock 130k mile 4 lug 28 spline 8.8 with slicks in a 3300lb car and never had an issue. Made about 60 passes in that car and towed a trailer 6000 miles as well. Sold it to a friend 3 years ago, still going strong. My 70 duster has a good 8 3/4 in it or it would get an 8.8, my 68 amx has a good amc 20 in it but is getting an 8.8 anyway because 1 piece axles for it would cost as much as the rear swap and i get discs to boot.
 
i used to hate all things gm too. but with age and gaining some maturity, Ive realized that GM, Chrysler, Ford, AMC.....theyre all cars, they all had some great cars and a lot of shitty ones. They all had positives and negatives. It comes down to personal preference, and I am no longer one to slam someone else because their preference is different than mine.

There is not a single musclecar EVER built that I would leave 100% stock. Every car built has something about it that doesnt sit well with me. Compound in a few decades of technological improvements making things better, and a couple of decades of parts getting scarcer and more expensive, and you end up with most people realizing the advantages of letting go of the outdated/pricey stuff and stepping into the cheaper/better built stuff.

If you want to be one of those guys who has to keep everything 100% stock, that is fine. But your opinion isnt the only one. The guys who prefer 100% stock cars are likely not the guys who enjoy driving them regularly, I imagine. 40 year old technology with it's undersized drum brakes, relative lack of machining precision, carbueration, suspensions, wiring, etc.....doesnt add up to a pleasant car for the road.

ANd if getting my car to a more enjoyable state requires that I use a part from another manufacturer, I will do it.....particularly on something as nearly universal as a rear axle. I prefer not to limit myself to inferior parts/higher priced parts/poorer parts selection, simply because I give a crap what someone else thinks.

motopsycho, by age 44, I'd have hoped youve matured enough to see things this way as well
 
393foureyedfox said:
i used to hate all things gm too. but with age and gaining some maturity, Ive realized that GM, Chrysler, Ford, AMC.....theyre all cars, they all had some great cars and a lot of shitty ones. They all had positives and negatives. It comes down to personal preference, and I am no longer one to slam someone else because their preference is different than mine.

There is not a single musclecar EVER built that I would leave 100% stock. Every car built has something about it that doesnt sit well with me. Compound in a few decades of technological improvements making things better, and a couple of decades of parts getting scarcer and more expensive, and you end up with most people realizing the advantages of letting go of the outdated/pricey stuff and stepping into the cheaper/better built stuff.

If you want to be one of those guys who has to keep everything 100% stock, that is fine. But your opinion isnt the only one. The guys who prefer 100% stock cars are likely not the guys who enjoy driving them regularly, I imagine. 40 year old technology with it's undersized drum brakes, relative lack of machining precision, carbueration, suspensions, wiring, etc.....doesnt add up to a pleasant car for the road.

ANd if getting my car to a more enjoyable state requires that I use a part from another manufacturer, I will do it.....particularly on something as nearly universal as a rear axle. I prefer not to limit myself to inferior parts/higher priced parts/poorer parts selection, simply because I give a crap what someone else thinks.

motopsycho, by age 44, I'd have hoped youve matured enough to see things this way as well
Click to expand...

What are you, one of them "hot rodders"? ;)

Well said!
 
393foureyedfox said:
i used to hate all things gm too. but with age and gaining some maturity, Ive realized that GM, Chrysler, Ford, AMC.....theyre all cars, they all had some great cars and a lot of shitty ones. They all had positives and negatives. It comes down to personal preference, and I am no longer one to slam someone else because their preference is different than mine.

There is not a single musclecar EVER built that I would leave 100% stock. Every car built has something about it that doesnt sit well with me. Compound in a few decades of technological improvements making things better, and a couple of decades of parts getting scarcer and more expensive, and you end up with most people realizing the advantages of letting go of the outdated/pricey stuff and stepping into the cheaper/better built stuff.

If you want to be one of those guys who has to keep everything 100% stock, that is fine. But your opinion isnt the only one. The guys who prefer 100% stock cars are likely not the guys who enjoy driving them regularly, I imagine. 40 year old technology with it's undersized drum brakes, relative lack of machining precision, carbueration, suspensions, wiring, etc.....doesnt add up to a pleasant car for the road.

ANd if getting my car to a more enjoyable state requires that I use a part from another manufacturer, I will do it.....particularly on something as nearly universal as a rear axle. I prefer not to limit myself to inferior parts/higher priced parts/poorer parts selection, simply because I give a crap what someone else thinks.

motopsycho, by age 44, I'd have hoped youve matured enough to see things this way as well
Click to expand...

You are contradicting yourself here.
 
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