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Picked up an 8.8 rear out of a 1994 Mustang. It's a 2.73 with a limited slip carrier, obviously we'll be doing a gear swap on this thing! I'm thinking 4.10s. Unfortunately it didn't come with calipers or brackets but I already snagged a set on ebay. I also ran to the junkyard and grabbed a set of 5 spoke wheels off a 2003ish Explorer that oddly enough look very similar to the factory Silverado wheels. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4906/...5a366c00_b.jpg Also tossed in a $40 ebay intake - simply remarkable how they can include all these decent quality pieces for so little - gotta love that cheap overseas stuff. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4886/...4501cd25_b.jpg Next up - electric fan swap to free up some room under the hood. I snagged a set of '99 F-Body fans in the junkyard and will be wiring up my own relay pack to drive it all. |
Over the weekend I finished up the e-fan swap to free up some space under the hood. I used junkyard fans from a '99 V6 Camaro and made up a couple brackets to hold it in place. They're controlled by 3 relays that switch from series to parallel and are triggered by the PCM for seamless operation. I removed the grille to scope out the space for the intercooler, definitely will need to trim the hood latch diagonal bars. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4876/...752bf81b_b.jpg The bed makes for fantastic parts storage https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4819/...ce7fe649_b.jpg |
Got some things knocked off this past weekend. Installed the 4L80E Transgo HD2 shift kit, took me about 2 hours going very slowly and cleaning as I went. Very simple as long as you stay organized. The fluid in the trans looked bright red and new. I was told it came out of a fleet truck, 2500 crew cab that was used by the highway department here in NYS. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4841/...66580bed_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4902/...09cd7a2f_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4880/...a5235240_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4911/...283f6505_z.jpg Fresh filter and RTV'd the shit out of the pan to prevent future leaks. Hopefully I never have to open the trans again! https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4811/...f00f4655_z.jpg Finally I temporarily plugged the cooler fitting holes (which reminds me, I need to buy new fittings) and power washed the whole thing to get the road grime off it. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4844/...ce37b1f4_z.jpg I still had some time left over Sunday after the Bills game so I pulled the 8.8 into the garage and hoisted it up onto my custom inspection stand https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4917/...fa03efe9_z.jpg So this came out of a '94 Mustang...the story is that this rear end was removed and replaced with a new one in order to try to solve a vibration issue but ended up not being the problem. It sat in a guy's shop for 20+ years with what looks like the original fluid in it. I would bet there was some minor moisture that mixed with the oil because what came out looked like baby shit. Luckily there was no corrosion on anything, everything was still oily. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4822/...d1a4b88d_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4895/...2584ff8c_z.jpg I let it drain for a while which made it a bit less messy to work on https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4822/...a16476d0_z.jpg Pulled out the axles (which are equal length), since this didn't come out of an explorer I won't need to shorten one side. All the bearing caps, bolts, and shims were otherwise bagged and tagged, and will be reused wherever possible. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4878/...7bf8b3b8_z.jpg The Denmah turbo kit is in from VS Racing, Billet 7875, 80lb injectors, etc etc. I have some time off coming up over the holidays so I'm going to try to smash out as much as I can in that time. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4893/...4211ca8e_z.jpg |
Nice! Keep up the good work and keep posting. I'm especially interested to learn what it takes to adapt the 8.8. |
I just did an explorer 8.8 into a squarebody. all I has to do was move the spring perches out 1.5" per side (i think) and lip the hard line around on the axle so the axle to frame brake hose was on the pass side |
Why are you swapping the stock 8.5" for the ford 8.8"? Why not just do put a good diff and gears in the stock axle? |
Originally Posted by truckdoug
(Post 20017332)
I just did an explorer 8.8 into a squarebody. all I has to do was move the spring perches out 1.5" per side (i think) and lip the hard line around on the axle so the axle to frame brake hose was on the pass side
Originally Posted by onebadbowtie86
(Post 20017360)
Why are you swapping the stock 8.5" for the ford 8.8"? Why not just do put a good diff and gears in the stock axle? |
Just curious, seems like it would be easier to just put a good diff and gears in the 8.5. With a good eaton or trutrac diff the 8.5's are pretty stout. |
The parts are really rolling in now, I have 2 weeks off coming up and really want to hammer out as much as possible over the Christmas break Wait, huh? WTF is this shit? https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4822/...9ba40cf6_z.jpg PHEW, that was a close one. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4867/...3c9d812c_z.jpg Got these wired up, just need to clean up some wiring. If I ever want to run "stealth" mode I figure I can cover up the gauges with an orange camo trucker hat... https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4821/...f13ff27f_z.jpg I have one of these in the mail too along with a bunch of v-bands, flanges, etc. Figured it wasn't worth my time hacking up a passenger side manifold, getting nickel and dimed on v-bands and clamps and bends, and having flow issues down the road. Jeg's had it on sale for $270, can't beat that... https://www.jegs.com/images/photos/5...20-8512hkr.jpg |
yeah that mani really is a good deal. I plan on trying one soon |
why are you swapping in a 8.8? Done close to 1200 wheel on the 10 bolt with an eaton tru trac and upgraded axles... or you could do a 14 bolt from a escalade or SS and be good for BIG horsepower and bolts right up. |
So the holidays came and went. Lots of good things came: https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4881/...bd912c99_z.jpg Including a new daily to replace my Pathfinder. It's a 2009 BMW 335i Xdrive, 6 speed, Space Gray over Saddle Brown, heated seats and steering wheel. It's getting DCI and MHD tune, and nothing else besides maintenance. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4865/...bd62a41e_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4868/...f1da94b0_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4808/...5600edfd_z.jpg Finished the install and setup of the 4.10s with the 8.8. All existing shims were reused, looks like I got a nice pattern, and backlash came to .011". https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7874/...d30f33fa_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4843/...3fe3e94e_z.jpg https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7863/...361e229d_z.jpg Gotta sign your work! https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7840/...01663696_z.jpg I did mock up the 8.8 under the truck, going to have to run spacers if I want to use the Explorer wheels that I have. I may even switch them out to some lower offset wheels to buy even more breathing room since I don't have much space between the insides of the tire and the leaf springs. Also drained the cooling system and removed both stock manifolds, of course there is 1 bolt broken off flush in the very back of each head. They shouldn't be too bad to remove with the MIG. I have a feeling the AC compressor will not fit with the Hooker turbo manifold on the passenger side. The upside to that is I can ditch the factory condenser to make room for the intercooler. More to come. |
5 Attachment(s) Ok boys and girls, time for an update. I changed jobs recently and had a bunch of time off so I have put in a ton of work on this thing over the last 2 weeks. Turns out the 2003ish Explorer wheels were way too high of an offset and actually hit the leaf springs, so I needed to move the wheels out. A 2" bolt on spacer combined with +0 offset 2001 CVPI wheels is the perfect width to make this '94-'98 Mustang rear fit in a Silverado. I run a 1" bolt on spacer on the rear of my dual duty street/track C5 and they've seen many thousands of miles of beatings, so they've earned my trust. I love these stupid Police Interceptors, I sold my '09 P71 this past summer and regret it, it was an awesome car and I would have loved to do the sloppy turbo combo in that thing. One day I'll do it. This '01 donated its front wheels to the cause. Attachment 715611 Finally bolted up to the truck. Perfect fit, I mocked up some generic leaf spring perches and it's just hanging from the u-bolts right now until I get the 4L80E in so I can figure out pinion angle before welding them up. Attachment 715612 Slop-tastic SS2 cam moments before getting slammed into the 4.great Attachment 715613 Forgot how easy it is to tear down these engines, had the whole cam swap done in under an hour. Hardest part as always was keeping the POS 3 jaw puller aligned on the balancer. Attachment 715614 Committed 2 major sins today. Not only did I open up the motor and let the magic out, but I also looked at the cam bearings. Attachment 715615 The upside to this is that despite my OCD I reused all the gaskets and didn't even think twice about the cam bearings, so I hope the LS gods let this one live a happy life :) |
So I have made a ton of progress over the past few weeks. Got the stock manifolds off and couple broken bolts removed. Huge pain in the ass based on the placement as they were both at the very backs of the heads. My weld blob kept breaking off the broken bolt stub in the head until I realized that the weld power was reduced because I was using an extension cord. Once I plugged it into a hard line in the house, I had a lot more luck. Got the Hooker manifold bolted up on the passenger side. The motor mount steel clamshell needed to be massaged (read: ground down and smashed flat in a press) as well as some material ground off the bottom of the manifold. Also cut the flange off the passenger stock manifold and slapped a V-band on it (welded beautifully with the MIG). Once all that was done, it was quick work to build an up-pipe, T4 transition pipe, and start the downpipe. I somehow managed to use an entire 3" J-bend with ZERO scrap by completely eyeballing the hot side, no tape measure at all. I guess that's the advantage of a gigantic engine bay. Also tossed in the Deka 80s (which needed some washers in addition to the 1/2" spacers to prevent leaks at the rail), as well as the 1218 springs. General questions: 1) I'm about ready to mount the wastegate on the up-pipe. I see there are a bunch of vacuum/boost ports on the wastegate - where do those get plumbed to? I know one needs a boost source to tell the wastegate when to open, but I plan on running spring only to start with while I shake the bugs out. 2) There are at least 2 vacuum lines, running from the intake manifold to the brake booster and valve covers. Do I need to install check valves in the booster line? Can I vent the valve covers to atmosphere or do I need a catch can with a check valve? Looking to keep this quick and dirty. 3) The stock fuel system on this truck is a return system with a FPR on the rail. Do I need to mess with this thing at all? What else needs to be done to the fuel system besides the Deka 80s and the Walbro 450 already installed to call it done? |
10 Attachment(s) Attachment 715521 Weld kept breaking off the booger Attachment 715522 Looking bleak, but I eventually got it out Attachment 715523 Attachment 715524 Attachment 715525 Welding is improving. We'll see if it holds! Attachment 715526 The hooker manifold exits pretty low and far forward, so that dictated the location of the turbo Attachment 715527 up-pipe from the Hooker manifold to the turbo Attachment 715528 Attachment 715529 Oil pan drain all done (had a buddy do this one) Attachment 715530 |
nice to see it moving along! |
Guys, a little tip when dealing with a broken bolt in aluminum (this case the head). Instead of just welding to the broken bolt and hoping it holds, put a washer over what’s left of the broken bolt and weld the bowler bolt to the ID of the washer. Then take a nut and weld it to the washer. Now use a wrench to back the broken bolt out. No need for vice grips and much better weld penetration. |
Originally Posted by LQ4-E39
(Post 20017226)
The Denmah turbo kit is in from VS Racing, Billet 7875, 80lb injectors, etc etc. I have some time off coming up over the holidays so I'm going to try to smash out as much as I can in that time. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4893/...4211ca8e_z.jpg FYI that is a cast 7875, not billet. Just wanted to let you know in case it is a mistake. |
Hey Norb! New project's looking good, and quick progress as always. Not sure if you knew but I had an '04 RCSB 5.3/4l80/on3 7875 combo I put together a few years ago, got rid of it last winter but it was pretty similar to this so feel free to shoot over any questions you have |
Hey Noor. I'll have to look up your old thread, sounds like a fun truck General questions: 1) I'm about ready to mount the wastegate on the up-pipe. I see there are a bunch of vacuum/boost ports on the wastegate - where do those get plumbed to? I know one needs a boost source to tell the wastegate when to open, but I plan on running spring only to start with while I shake the bugs out. 2) There are at least 2 vacuum lines, running from the intake manifold to the brake booster and valve covers. Do I need to install check valves in the booster line? Can I vent the valve covers to atmosphere or do I need a catch can with a check valve? Looking to keep this quick and dirty. 3) The stock fuel system on this truck is a return system with a FPR on the rail. Do I need to mess with this thing at all? What else needs to be done to the fuel system besides the Deka 80s and the Walbro 450 already installed to call it done? |
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