Gears & Axles - 8.8 how to... now with pics!!!

I done the math on this and hope to get it finished up or at least most the way done this weekend.

Where do i start?

Find a 8.8 rearend. Mine came from a ranger that had 3:73 gears and a truetrac(ford posi)

Got a 8.8 now what?

Take it apart leaving the pinion in. First remove the ten bolts holding the cover in place and drain the fluid. Then locate the 8mm retaining bolt for the center pin. Remove pin. Shove axles all the way in and remove the c clips, slide the axles out and discard. To make mine lighter to maneuver I took a torch and cut the ends off with the brake drums.
Done, now what am I supposed to do with my mangled hunk of a rearend.
Either remove your 10 bolt or buy another one.

Ok? It's out...

Remove the cover drain the oil locate 8mm retaining bolt and slide out the pin, remove axles and save them.
Slide a tape measure all the way through and measure tip to tip. 61 7/8 is what I came up with.
Keep the tape in. Look through the hole for the center pin and find the center of the hole. What's your measurement? I came up with roughly 30 15/16

My head hurts! Should I give up and buy a prefab?

No! Take a level and get your rearend level from front to back by using the cover plate opening. Use an angle finder to measure your rearend geometry.
Spring perches are 6* angled to the rear. And the brake plates are ~19-20* angled toward the back. On the ten bolt its 25" between the brake line clips and 16 3/8 distance across the 8.8 center section which gives me 4.315 on each side to play with, but since we want to weld them on let's do 3.315 overlap with the tubes.

Time for a beer?

No! Quit being a baby your almost done with highschool math. Cut the axle tubes right at the pumpkin. (on the 10 bolt)
Take a chopsaw and cut the 8.8 axle tubes 4 inches from the centersection. Deburr. And test the 10 bolt axle tubes. If they are too large you will need a sleeve made. Or if too large put on a lathe to where they fit but are snug.insert tape measure down the tube to the center of the center pin measuring to 30 15/16.
Level the rearend housing with the earth. Then rotate the tubes to 6* on the spring perches and make one tiny tack weld to hold it and same for the other side. Test fit the axles and make sure it works. If it does then weld fully doing 1/2 beads on opposing sides so as not to warp the tubes.
Reinstall cover and rearend.

I'm sure I will run into more things to add but this is how I done/in the middle of doing my 8.8 bastard rearend and really hope it helps other people.
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii46/sparksmakefire/utf-8BSU1BRzAyOTMuanBn.jpg
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii46/sparksmakefire/utf-8BSU1BRzAyOTQuanBn.jpg
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii46/sparksmakefire/utf-8BSU1BRzAyOTUuanBn.jpg
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii46/sparksmakefire/utf-8BSU1BRzAyOTkuanBn.jpg
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii46/sparksmakefire/utf-8BSU1BRzAzMDAuanBn.jpg
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii46/sparksmakefire/utf-8BSU1BRzAzMDEuanBn.jpg
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii46/sparksmakefire/utf-8BSU1BRzAzMDIuanBn.jpg
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii46/sparksmakefire/utf-8BSU1BRzAzMDMuanBn.jpg

I done the math on this and hope to get it finished up or at least most the way done this weekend....

Where do i start?

Find a 8.8 rearend. Mine came from a ranger that had 3:73 gears and a truetrac(ford posi)

Got a 8.8 now what?

Take it apart leaving the pinion in. First remove the ten bolts holding the cover in place and drain the fluid. Then locate the 8mm retaining bolt for the center pin. Remove pin. Shove axles all the way in and remove the c clips, slide the axles out and discard. To make mine lighter to maneuver I took a torch and cut the ends off with the brake drums.

Done. Now what am I supposed to do with my mangled hunk of a rearend?

Either remove your 10 bolt or buy another one.

Ok? 10 bolts is out...

Remove the cover drain the oil locate 8mm retaining bolt and slide out the pin, remove axles and save them.
Slide a tape measure all the way through and measure tip to tip. 61 7/8 is what I came up with.
Keep the tape in. Look through the hole for the center pin and find the center of the hole. What's your measurement? I came up with roughly 30 15/16....

My head hurts! Should I give up and buy a prefab?

No! Take a level and get your rearend level from front to back by using the cover plate opening. Use an angle finder to measure your rearend geometry.

Spring perches are 6* angled to the rear. And the brake plates are ~19-20* angled toward the back. On the ten bolt its 25" between the brake line clips and 16 3/8 distance across the 8.8 center section which gives me 4.315 on each side to play with, but since we want to weld them on let's do 3.315 overlap with the tubes.

Time for a beer?

No! Quit being a baby your almost done with highschool math. Cut the axle tubes right at the pumpkin. (on the 10 bolt)

Take a chopsaw and cut the 8.8 axle tubes 4 inches from the centersection. Deburr. And test the 10 bolt axle tubes. If they are too large you will need a sleeve made. Or if too large put on a lathe to where they fit but are snug.insert tape measure down the tube to the center of the center pin measuring to 30 15/16.

Level the rearend housing with the earth. Then rotate the tubes to 6* on the spring perches and make one tiny tack weld to hold it and same for the other side. Test fit the axles and make sure it works. If it does then weld fully doing 1/2 beads on opposing sides so as not to warp the tubes.
Reinstall cover and rearend.

I'm sure I will run into more things to add but this is how I done/in the middle of doing my 8.8 bastard rearend and really hope it helps other people.

It helps me! Subbing for more updates as well. There's TONS of Rangers in the yards around here. Good info thus far.

Hope you don't mind the way I spaced and bolded your original post......

Dont mind at all, its hard to do it in proper format, falling asleep and on a phone lol. I will get pics taken Saturday. From what I can tell my ten bolt tubes will slide right in. I can verify with the calipers tonight but I have a bowling thing for big brothers big sisters tonight. So Saturday is the day for the fun.

Excellent work man! I am searching for a 8.8 rear myself now, and this thread is something i needed. Is there any particular year ranger rearend to look for? And thanks for posting so much detail keep it up!

I'm not even sure what year mine came from, my buddy gave it to me for free. I just did a rough check on the axle tubes and I think I am going to be forced to have my ten bolt tubes put on a lathe. I need to Deburr the 8.8 to get a proper measurement.

Are you gonna do a short ladder bar set up or build a mount for the torque arm? I have a spare 10 bolt and have been itching to find a 8.8 and start this

That short ladder bar set-up sounds pretty cool... details?

It's basically a mini control arm from the lower control arm to the top of the rear axle, I will cover it in detail as well tomorrow

That short ladder bar set-up sounds pretty cool... details?

8.8 with mini ladder bars (http://ls1tech.com/forums/12014466-post1.html)

Wow. That's pretty neat, actually. Thanks for posting that.

Any pro's or con's with a ladder bar set-up vs a torque arm? Doesn't exactly look street friendly.... Maybe I'm wrong. Just looks like it doesn't give the rear much up and down travel.

Hiltsy856 has an AWSOME torque arm mount for the 8.8. Have you thought of using it? Instead of the ladder bar set up?

I would need a chassis mount torque arm for this plus its more of a hassle. If I don't like it then I can always take it off. Updates soon I've been checking clearances on the axle tubes to see how close I am and it about .020 difference.

Forgot I had a wedding to attend today, so I will finish it up tomorrow.I just need to fit the tubes in and weld them up.

Mini bar set up sucks.... car rides like crap, ruins the instant center!!!!!!!!! Feels like an old mopar launching...Save yourself a ton of grief and use the tq arm .........

I'm a street car so it'll have to be a full length anyways. Def doing the relocation kit though.

Why the HELL hasn't someone marketed these yet? I just don't get it.

I'm a street car so it'll have to be a full length anyways. Def doing the relocation kit though.

Why the HELL hasn't someone marketed these yet? I just don't get it.

That's what I'm curious of too...don't want/need to spend the cash on a 9" or 12bolt, 8.8 would be good for my needs, but don't have fab skills or equipment.

If I had the cash I'd start doing them for other people... It takes me about 2 full days to do one...

How much would/did it cost you to fab up?

About 5-600 just for the 2 rearends plus 2 days of labor.it would be around 1000 bucks for the rearend minus a torque arm bracket .

Pm hiltsy855 about a torque arm mount. You will not be disappointed. It's the best one I've seen, and it's vey simple too. It would be a great addition to a great write up on this very popular subject.

I'll be doing this as soon as I find the right 8.8 to start with.

Me too. Salvages open here tomorrow and I'll be on the hunt.

Bumpin this up for Travis to see so maybe he will post some more pic up and get this lil project finished.

Damn it kenny, you know on tuesdays I have to watch the kiddo so I cant get anything done with him... Hell Monday when the wife got home with him he ran straight for the torch saying preeeetttty. I've got my Buddys welder so tonight I can get something done if i dont have a heat stroke in the 97 degree weather.

Tell me about it, it was 92 today in gillette today and shit went down hill in a hurry when we had to give our track and time back at 1600... It was 1725 when we finnaly gave it back, im still waiting for the phone call with an ass chewing.

Tell bnsf to suck it. They will be ok its only hour and a half!
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii46/sparksmakefire/utf-8BSU1BRzAzMDAuanBn.jpg
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii46/sparksmakefire/utf-8BSU1BRzAzMDEuanBn.jpg

Those are just teaser pics till i get it done. I had to quit tonight after I got that side done since my 2 year old thought he needed to stick his hand in the gears while I was rotating the axle. And don't mind the bird shit welds I used a 110 flux core to tack it so i can take it to work to fully weld it.

you dont think you needed a jig to keep everything straight and true? how much play is allowed with the axle into the carrier?

I doubt its off enough to affect it very much if at all. And the clearance is about 1/2 I think

I doubt its off enough to affect it very much if at all. And the clearance is about 1/2 I think

Perfect! Cant wait to see what the torque arm mount looks like.

Perfect! Cant wait to see what the torque arm mount looks like.

Have you read any of the thread? :confused:

Hes doing mini ladder bar setup, so their is no TA. His axle tubes from the 10bolt fit snug into the tubes of the 8.8 so i doubt there is gonna be much issues with alignment.

Ok the rearend is finished, I will do some editing of the thread and posting the pictures.

Waiting!

there ya go guitar
just have another pic or 2 to put on

What no badass pic of the welds???

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii46/sparksmakefire/utf-8BSU1BRzAzMjcuanBn.jpg

they are just mig spot welds looks tig welded

Nice man! Can't wait to hear how it feels when you get it installed.

I need to save up $400 first for the bearing kit, girdle cover, carbon clutch kit, and the dom tubing and rod ends for the Pete z bars to get this baby movin out

I would of used a truing bar or jig..... also the mini ladder bar ride and handling sucks... im using hiltsy mount , nice piece.

also did you use an angle finder or anything before you welded it? like on the pinion flange? to get the right angle between the flange and the suspension brackets?

Not to be rude but its in the first post that I used an angle finder. I went off the cover mounting flange on the 10 bolt to get it plumb 0* and then I went off the spring perches 6* and the brake mounting brackets 19* I'm not a machinest so I couldn't make a trueing bar.

didnt see that. i used a truing bar , youd be surprised how far they are off with out using one , ive built 4 8.8s so far for f bodys. first one was with out truing bar , kept leaking at the axle seals... funny wear on axles and spline area.... junked it.

What is a trueing bar?

didnt see that. i used a truing bar , youd be surprised how far they are off with out using one , ive built 4 8.8s so far for f bodys. first one was with out truing bar , kept leaking at the axle seals... funny wear on axles and spline area.... junked it.

I dont see why you couldnt build a rearend stand to support the center section and get it PERFECTY level then slide the F body tubes in and make a stand for those tubes and get it so they are perfectly level and then get it alll tacked and welded. Any objections?

I wish someone would market this motherfucker already. I don't have the time nor the equipment to make it.

Any ideas what one would cost if bought outright, ready to bolt on?

Dr after labor and parts your talking around 1500

fwiw, 8.8s from pull-a-part are only $115.00 disc to disc. If you look for explorers, most had 3.55-3.73 with a 31spline trac-loc. I dont remember width, but they are narrower than a fbody.

I'm $340 into mine, I didn't pay for the ten bolt or the 8.8 and I'm not done
$115 carbon clutch pack
$75 bearing kit
$150 for rearend cover.
Most people will use...
Axles $300
Gears $200
Torque arm mount $?
And I still need the seals and bearings for the axle tubes.
It's a budget rearend not free.

Still though, bottom line is 1500 isn't a bad price for those of us that are pure street.

Mine will be a street.driven drag car. After the engine is in its going to Missouri to be painted

Any updates?

Setting up gears sucks balls... I've been fighting it for a few days now.

how do you make a truing bar?

Setting up gears sucks balls... I've been fighting it for a few days now.
i feel your pain. Just put 4.56s in the front AND rear of my 95 z71. Anyone that says its not a big pain in the ass and it takes no time isnt setting them up right lol

I've had the carrier in and out over 20 times trying to get it right. And now I'm saying heck with it and taking it to have it done.

Did you ever finish this?

Update this thread!! :ripped:

Curious to know how it all turned out.

Update?

He finished it up, but hasnt ran the car yet. Hes swapping his 6.0 into a different fbody should be running in a couple of weeks ill update thread if Travis doesnt, Im also building a 8.8 I whould have my axle housing machined down this week and welded shortly after that.

How do u do away with or use the torque arm?
And what axles do u use?

How do u do away with or use the torque arm?
And what axles do u use?

He is using a mini ladder bar setup so no torque arm required. Their is another thread that has an awsome mount for the TA. Hiltsy is the one who makes them and sells them for a good price. I believe he used the stock Fbody 28 spline axles.

Oh I didn't realize stock axles worked

He is using a mini ladder bar setup so no torque arm required. Their is another thread that has an awsome mount for the TA. Hiltsy is the one who makes them and sells them for a good price. I believe he used the stock Fbody 28 spline axles.

If you are referring to Hiltsy, he didn't use stock Fbody axles. He got his 8.8 out of an Explorer with a 31 spline posi, so he had custom 31 spline axles made to the right length.

You can use the stock 28 spline axles without any work. Just have to get a 28spline carrier out of a mustang. I finished my 8.8 build a couple weeks ago using stock tubes, stock axles, hiltsy t/a mount. Its been through about 20 4k rpm clutch drops on slicks and I've driven it probably 250be miles with no issues. I have tons of pics and will try to upload everything i did within the week

If you are referring to Hiltsy, he didn't use stock Fbody axles. He got his 8.8 out of an Explorer with a 31 spline posi, so he had custom 31 spline axles made to the right length.

I was refering to 97badass axles, I said Hiltsy had a BA TA mount. Nothing about his axle.

I was refering to 97badass axles, I said Hiltsy had a BA TA mount. Nothing about his axle.

Gotcha, my bad. Misunderstood what you were referring to.

Has anyone done this with a 8.5 ten bolt? There just easier to find for me

Mine will be a street.driven drag car. After the engine is in its going to Missouri to be painted

Its funny, I have taken a car to Kansas to get painted and will be taking my blue one hopefully before too long to get it painted in Kansas too. Witchita to be exact.

Fwiw, if you want 31 spline axles and a nice differential get the Ford Racing posi unit on Summit that is for the Cobra, it has carbon fiber clutches and I think when I bought mine it was the same price as a non-Cobra 31 spline diff. I got Moser axles made for 10 bolt width and the thing works like a charm.

Fwiw, if you want 31 spline axles and a nice differential get the Ford Racing posi unit on Summit that is for the Cobra, it has carbon fiber clutches and I think when I bought mine it was the same price as a non-Cobra 31 spline diff. I got Moser axles made for 10 bolt width and the thing works like a charm.

I used dutchman performance axles for my 31spline axles. They were $100 cheaper. I did have them made 1/16" shorter than the stock axles bc the mustang carrier i was using had a 3/4" center pin. When i put the explorer 31 spline carrier in it had a 7/8" center pin (1/8" bigger). So making the axles a 1/16" shorter each set them in the same location that they were in. Just a fyi. -Josh

I used dutchman performance axles for my 31spline axles. They were $100 cheaper. I did have them made 1/16" shorter than the stock axles bc the mustang carrier i was using had a 3/4" center pin. When i put the explorer 31 spline carrier in it had a 7/8" center pin (1/8" bigger). So making the axles a 1/16" shorter each set them in the same location that they were in. Just a fyi. -Josh

Good catch Josh. Not a big difference but the 31-spline 8.8 does have the larger 7/8" center pin. If I'm not mistaken the 10-bolt also has a 3/4" FWIW.

Fwiw, if you want 31 spline axles and a nice differential get the Ford Racing posi unit on Summit that is for the Cobra, it has carbon fiber clutches and I think when I bought mine it was the same price as a non-Cobra 31 spline diff. I got Moser axles made for 10 bolt width and the thing works like a charm.

Blue - Did you use C-Clip axles?

FWIW - I'm sure the FR posi is nice but if you get an Exploder or other 31-spline 8.8 with a posi you can install a FR carbon fiber clutch kit for about $70. Just make sure the spider gears & pin are in decent shape.

No, Cam made my 8.8 so it has the 9" axle tubes and bearings so there's no c clips in mine. I had to buy all the internals so I figured it would be best to get all new stuff an stumbled upon the Cobra diff while on a summit shopping spree.

Update??

is it finished yet? installed? update plz