8.8 inch ford good or bad

[smoothdime]

ive been told that an 8.8 takes less power to turn than a 9in. and is also lighter. if true wouldnt it be a better alt for an s10. maybe one out of an explorer would be the right width. http://www.s10v8.com/images/smilies/icon_confused.gif

[afghanimobilerawks]

yeah apparently they are good and strong and whatnot.... you can swap one in form a ford exploder, but you need a different backspacing..... i know at least one guy on here has done the swap....

[smoothdime]

is a explorer wider or narrower than an s10

[rayL]

il bit wider

[smoothdime]

is it about the same price as 9in to narrow well for the axles i mean ill narrow the rear myself

[s10ratrod]

null (http://null)8.8 swap (http://24.16.249.197/axleswap/index.htm) hope this helps. i plan on doing it as soon as i can find a decent rear end.

[racer1182]

get ahold of Knauthrup he has a full write up on this subject im him and he will give you the link or send you a copy of the file. Hope that may help you.



Greg

[redneckgames]

If you go with the 8.8, I wouldn\'t worry about narrowing it. I believe that Knauthrup said it was only 3in wider. In his pics you couldn\'t really tell.

[racer1182]

he shows a pic of each rear end side by side anbd it shows that it is only 3 inches wider which isn\'t bad all you would have to do is find some wheels with a little more offset to them. And with it in the truck you can\'t really tell with only a 1.5 inches difference. I just found a rear end with disc brakes.yeah buddy

[adh383]

hEY sMOOTH--- i put one in my 84 If you want your tires under the fenders you will have to narrow an 8.8. The rearend will bolt right in. The main brake line even bolts to the ford lines. the perches are about a quarter of an inch wider than your s rearend but will snap in place. If you decide to use one i would suggest you go ahead and narrow it to be the same width as your stock rear. I used moser axles and a detroit locker. If you can find a explorer factory posi unit just bolt it in and see how you like it with a factory posi. The way to tell if the ford rear is a posi. On the metal tag on the rearend -- depending what ratio it is - for instance if it reads 3L73 8 8 it is a 373 posi. if it reads 373 8 8 it is a 373 just not a posi. need more info? ahogtyed@aol.com dennis

[rayL]

If you want your tires under the fenders you will have to narrow an 8.8. \"



This cant be made up with backspacing??? if the rear isnt much wider i wouldnt see a problem?

[smoothdime]

im gonna norrow it so thats not a problem. its getting mini tubs so the rear tires will tuck up inside the bed. im runnin 275/60-15 bfg drag radials and i can get what ever backspacing i need. thanks for all the help fellas. it will make the swap very easy. smooth

[Knanthrup]

My 8.8 Swap Write-up (http://24.16.249.197/axleswap/index.htm)



I did the original write-up earlier this year. I heard rumors floating around about the 8.8 being a damn close swap so i went down tot he yard myself and took some measurements. Sure enough it was damn close. 3 inches extra on each side. That can easily be made up with backspacing... keep in mind that\'s only an inch extra than the 4wd\'s using the exact same body style.



If you\'re really picky you can narrow it no problem. It is true, this rear is something like 60-80 lbs lighter than the 9inch and gives less drivetrain loss. But also keep in mind that the 9inch has it\'s advantages with full floating axles (no c-clips), and it\'s strength and aftermarket advantages.



All that being said, if you\'re running anything short of monster strip power with huge mega slicks on, the 8.8 will handle the power great. I would not be afraid to run 12\'s and quicker on a completely stock 8.8. If you want to get more serious, the c-clip eliminators and possibly aftermarket axles might be a good idea.



A potential weak point of the rear... the axle tubes are pressin into the housing with studs... it might be a good idea to weld around the tubes if you\'re really beating on it.



Other than that, great choice for a rear. I literally bolted mine up in a period of a day as you can see from my write-up. As a bonus, if you get one from \'95-newer you will have disc brakes. Be sure to check the axle tag on the diff cover, it will tell you the gear ratios and whether its a posi. I scored mine with 3.73\'s and posi up the way I wanted it with no work involved.



Good luck, let me know if you need help.

[smoothdime]

where would you get new backing plates for when i narrow it?

[adh383]

Hey smooth---- use the ford back plates and brakes---are you using the ford disc or drum brakes? Also you will not need those mini tubs. i run 275 60 15 drag radials on an 8 inch rim---4 1/2 inch backspace works perfect

[smoothdime]

the truck is lowered 5in in the back and it has bolt in c-notch so i want to make sure its not gonna rub inside. and what your saying is i can reuse my backing plates? i want the truck as low as i can have but still be functional. how low is your in the back? does it rub?

[DROPPEDATBIRTH]

I put an 8.8 out of a 92 explorer, it has drums and not disks but other that that I am happy, it was a pretty straight foward swap, the only problum was the difference in bolt patterns, so I has a machine shop down the road do the converson (90 bucks). Its a 4L10, it made a hell of a difference and cost me a total of 350 bucks. that was a month ago. last friday my b&m 3000 stahl came in, put it in on sat. the b&m was 230 bucks. these two together the best 600 I ever spent, my 83 holds me in my seat now. http://www.s10v8.com/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif

[Knanthrup]

On 2005-08-23 21:17, DROPPEDATBIRTH wrote:

I put an 8.8 out of a 92 explorer, it has drums and not disks but other that that I am happy, it was a pretty straight foward swap, the only problum was the difference in bolt patterns, so I has a machine shop down the road do the converson (90 bucks). Its a 4L10, it made a hell of a difference and cost me a total of 350 bucks. that was a month ago. last friday my b&m 3000 stahl came in, put it in on sat. the b&m was 230 bucks. these two together the best 600 I ever spent, my 83 holds me in my seat now. http://www.s10v8.com/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif



yep, isn\'t it great? it really is the best rear swap for the money. you can have a really nice solid setup for less than $350. My rear cost me $175, add the cost of the lug conversion $75. The best thing to do is search for the one with the right set of gears and posi by checking the tag. My whole rear with 3.73\'s and posi cost me less than the posi alone for my 7.5 not to mention gearing and overall strength of it.

[smoothdime]

sounds like a good deal. hopefully mine works out like that. smooth

[DROPPEDATBIRTH]

I forgot to menton above with 3 inch backspacing my tires stick about a half inch or so out of the rear wheel well, but you can barely notice it, with 4 1/2 I dont think anyone will know the difference.

[adh383]

Smooth----my truck is lowered 4 inches in the rear. there is plenty of room from the top of the tire to the fender well. i used the ford backplates and drum brakes. A note of caution-- on the inside of your fender wells there are 2 bolts ---one on each side of truck at the inside of tubs that need to be cut off before you put your tires on they could puncture your tires.

[smoothdime]

thanks ill be sure to remove those before it hits the road. smooth

[s10ratrod]

whats involved in the lug conversion?

[adh383]

Since i narrowed mine i just went with the gm pattern in the new axles. Or you can drill the ford axles. or you can use the ford pattern wheels.

[Knanthrup]

On 2005-09-08 19:07, s10ratrod wrote:

whats involved in the lug conversion?



I had mine re-drilled. You can use adapters but they take space in an already wide axle. Can change axles or use ford wheels as mentioned

[s10ratrod]

is that something i can do myself? how would i measure and what not. im just afraid that nobody around would be willing to do it plus the only machine shop is for engines and they already told me they wouldnt do it. im looking forward to monday tho. got me a 95 rear end 3.73 posi, discs with only 85,000 miles on it for only 300 bucks. ill be usin your write up as a guide knanthrup so it better work or ill kick yer ass! http://www.s10v8.com/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif

[stangetr]

what about the offset pinion,, has this created any problems with exhaust or gas tanks? i have a 8.8 in my wrangler with 4:10 detroit ,, i goota say its the toughest rear i\'ve had in there yet,,, again big note weld the axel tubes, how are you guys doing your e-brakes??or arn\'t you?

[s10ratrod]

my stock cables got in the way of my exhaust so i took them out in the rear. depending on where the new t-5 shifter comes out between my seats i want to try to convert mine to a hand brake and re route the cables to the new rear end. anybody have info or ideas for doing this?

[rudedogg]

you can also get an 8.5\"rear from a 74-81 camaro,the only drawback is you will need to use wheels with the 4th gen camaro or corvette back spacing however the ss style 17x11 look real good http://www.s10v8.com/images/smilies/icon_wink.gif depending on how low you have lowered your s-series.......

[blue82s10]

I am intersted in a 8.5 out of a 70-81 camaro.Anybody done this one?