dirty white boy
50 yr old Juvenal delinquent
when doing the 8.8 swap the extra short side axle dose it matter if its a drum brake axle if you got a disc brake rear end??
8.8 swap ????'s
- Thread starter dirty white boy
- Start date
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weedburner
Well-Known Member
The drum and disc Explorer axles are the same length. With two short side axles the rear will be 56-1/2" axle flange/axle flange. Drums are 1/8" thick and will add 1/4" overall, discs are thicker and will add 1/2" overall. All 5x4-1/2" lug pattern. All Explorer 8.8's had 31spl axles and came with the big housing ends and bearings to fit the big 1.625" dia axles. It's a heavy housing overall, a big ugly abs sensor guard on the center housing and heavy 3-1/4" dia x 1/4" thick axle tubes. You can remove that ugly abs guard with a cutoff wheel...
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The Ranger 8.8 housing when narrowed on one side to use two short side axles will get you 53-1/4" axle flange/axle flange. All 5x4-1/2" lug pattern. Most Rangers came with 28spl axles, but a few models did come with 31spl. Same center casting as the Explorer and F-150. The axle tubes themselves were swedged, large 3-1/4" dia where they plugged into the center casting, then tapered down to 2-3/4" dia where the small ends were welded on. The small housing ends were the same as the Mustang, and used bearing to fit the small 1.40" dia axles.
The FOX Mustang 8.8's used the same length axles on both sides, for an overall width of 59-1/4" AF/AF. The FOX drums were 1/8" thick, so 59-1/2" overall. These were the lightest housings overall, the axle tubes were only 2-3/4" dia and much thinner than the Explorer and F150. Small dia axle bearings as well. These housings are the big reason you see 8.8's that have extensive bracing added to keep them from bending. All FOX's came with 4 lug axles, but you can add right side Aerostar axles to get a junkyard 5 lug conversion. The Aerostar axles are 3/32" shorter, but that difference doesn't seem to cause any problems.
In my opinion the Crown Vic 8.8 housing is the best compromise between strength and weight. Much wider in stock form, but the center casting is light and uses medium thickness 3" dia axle tubes. All Crown Vics used the small 1.40" bearings, but if you are going to narrow the housing it's pretty easy to add 9" style housing ends and axles which will eliminate the 8.8's c-clip axle retention. You could also add big bearing ends to allow installing Explorer axles and 31spl diff.
If you are getting the 8.8 from a pick-and-pull style yard, you could put together a frankenstein 8.8, basically pick and choose which housing/axles/brakes/diff/gears/etc you want before packing it out. Much cheaper than buying a few different housings to build the rear you want.
Explorer open diff ratio codes...
43 = 3.08
41 = 3.27
45 = 3.55
44 = 3.73
Explorer limited slip ratio codes...
D1 = 3.27
D4 = 3.73
D5 = 3.73
D2 = 4.10
I've narrowed hundreds of 8.8 housings over the years, most to custom specs with a torque arm and 9" style "Torino" ends. Here's a pic of the torque arm solid axle conversion i used to make for an IRS car...
Due to the fuel tank location on those cars, we used an offset un-equal length watts link located in front of the axle to center the rear...
Here's a pic of the torque arm setup installed on my car, note that the nose anchor assy doubles as a driveline loop...
Grant
The Ranger 8.8 housing when narrowed on one side to use two short side axles will get you 53-1/4" axle flange/axle flange. All 5x4-1/2" lug pattern. Most Rangers came with 28spl axles, but a few models did come with 31spl. Same center casting as the Explorer and F-150. The axle tubes themselves were swedged, large 3-1/4" dia where they plugged into the center casting, then tapered down to 2-3/4" dia where the small ends were welded on. The small housing ends were the same as the Mustang, and used bearing to fit the small 1.40" dia axles.
The FOX Mustang 8.8's used the same length axles on both sides, for an overall width of 59-1/4" AF/AF. The FOX drums were 1/8" thick, so 59-1/2" overall. These were the lightest housings overall, the axle tubes were only 2-3/4" dia and much thinner than the Explorer and F150. Small dia axle bearings as well. These housings are the big reason you see 8.8's that have extensive bracing added to keep them from bending. All FOX's came with 4 lug axles, but you can add right side Aerostar axles to get a junkyard 5 lug conversion. The Aerostar axles are 3/32" shorter, but that difference doesn't seem to cause any problems.
In my opinion the Crown Vic 8.8 housing is the best compromise between strength and weight. Much wider in stock form, but the center casting is light and uses medium thickness 3" dia axle tubes. All Crown Vics used the small 1.40" bearings, but if you are going to narrow the housing it's pretty easy to add 9" style housing ends and axles which will eliminate the 8.8's c-clip axle retention. You could also add big bearing ends to allow installing Explorer axles and 31spl diff.
If you are getting the 8.8 from a pick-and-pull style yard, you could put together a frankenstein 8.8, basically pick and choose which housing/axles/brakes/diff/gears/etc you want before packing it out. Much cheaper than buying a few different housings to build the rear you want.
Explorer open diff ratio codes...
43 = 3.08
41 = 3.27
45 = 3.55
44 = 3.73
Explorer limited slip ratio codes...
D1 = 3.27
D4 = 3.73
D5 = 3.73
D2 = 4.10
I've narrowed hundreds of 8.8 housings over the years, most to custom specs with a torque arm and 9" style "Torino" ends. Here's a pic of the torque arm solid axle conversion i used to make for an IRS car...
Due to the fuel tank location on those cars, we used an offset un-equal length watts link located in front of the axle to center the rear...
Here's a pic of the torque arm setup installed on my car, note that the nose anchor assy doubles as a driveline loop...
Grant
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