Any Longterm Success with Keeping a Hawks 8.8 QUIET?
11-06-2018, 12:51 PM
#1
Any Longterm Success with Keeping a Hawks 8.8 QUIET? Guys I'm considering a Hawks 8.8 to replace my Strange 12-bolt which is just a howling whining nightmare after several gear replacements and no assistance from Strange. They are well known to make noise. Hawks specifically mentions the 8.8 as a quiet solution. Anyone put medium power to one through an auto and drag radials and had it stay quiet?
http://www.hawksmotorsports.com/hawk...-end-assembly/
http://www.hawksmotorsports.com/hawk...-end-assembly/
11-06-2018, 01:06 PM
#2
I am also considering an 8.8. I have no experience with one personally, but the way I look at it is this. Thousands of heavy explorers and mountaineers are out there for 200,000+ miles with no problems and many many foxbody mustang's have gone and continue to go to the track also with little to no problems. Seems fine to me, give it a shot!
11-06-2018, 02:07 PM
#3
I am also considering an 8.8. I have no experience with one personally, but the way I look at it is this. Thousands of heavy explorers and mountaineers are out there for 200,000+ miles with no problems and many many foxbody mustang's have gone and continue to go to the track also with little to no problems. Seems fine to me, give it a shot!
11-06-2018, 02:56 PM
#4
"Problems" ranging from noisy operation to total failure and everything in between. Sorry, could have worded that differently.
11-07-2018, 06:35 AM
#5
What causes that in 12 bolts? I really am curious as to why this seems to be so common in those rear ends.
I've owned several 8.8 vehicles and they mainly only seem to fail if they aren't properly maintained, or if they are overloaded, which I have done in 2 of them and when I inspected it it was mainly bad pinion bearings with some ring and pinion wear, which is normal for 200k+ I would assume. The last one that failed was on a E-150 and it had bad pinion bearings and .19 backlash which I assume was due to the wear over time and abuse, the ring gear looked a little sharp too. By overloading I mean loading way more weight than recommended by ford and hauling it for a prolonged duration of 100 miles+ but they usually make it past 200K even when not maintained.
I've owned several 8.8 vehicles and they mainly only seem to fail if they aren't properly maintained, or if they are overloaded, which I have done in 2 of them and when I inspected it it was mainly bad pinion bearings with some ring and pinion wear, which is normal for 200k+ I would assume. The last one that failed was on a E-150 and it had bad pinion bearings and .19 backlash which I assume was due to the wear over time and abuse, the ring gear looked a little sharp too. By overloading I mean loading way more weight than recommended by ford and hauling it for a prolonged duration of 100 miles+ but they usually make it past 200K even when not maintained.
Last edited by erickk120; 11-07-2018 at 06:43 AM.
11-07-2018, 01:44 PM
#6
TECH Enthusiast
Get an 8.8 under there with some torque arm action and I assure you it will be making the same noise as the 12 bolt. Very similar rears, but surely the strange housing is better than an OEM 8.8
11-07-2018, 01:47 PM
#7
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I have an 8.8 in my Iroc with a different setup than you are after... but mine is pretty quiet, except on decel, but I think my 4.11 gears weren't setup correctly. I have an 9" in my Formula and it is quite louder.
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11-07-2018, 02:08 PM
#8
What causes that in 12 bolts? I really am curious as to why this seems to be so common in those rear ends.
I've owned several 8.8 vehicles and they mainly only seem to fail if they aren't properly maintained, or if they are overloaded, which I have done in 2 of them and when I inspected it it was mainly bad pinion bearings with some ring and pinion wear, which is normal for 200k+ I would assume. The last one that failed was on a E-150 and it had bad pinion bearings and .19 backlash which I assume was due to the wear over time and abuse, the ring gear looked a little sharp too. By overloading I mean loading way more weight than recommended by ford and hauling it for a prolonged duration of 100 miles+ but they usually make it past 200K even when not maintained.
I've owned several 8.8 vehicles and they mainly only seem to fail if they aren't properly maintained, or if they are overloaded, which I have done in 2 of them and when I inspected it it was mainly bad pinion bearings with some ring and pinion wear, which is normal for 200k+ I would assume. The last one that failed was on a E-150 and it had bad pinion bearings and .19 backlash which I assume was due to the wear over time and abuse, the ring gear looked a little sharp too. By overloading I mean loading way more weight than recommended by ford and hauling it for a prolonged duration of 100 miles+ but they usually make it past 200K even when not maintained.
I know that rear ends can stay quiet under big power if you don't hook off a transbrake or launch on slicks. It's absolutely absurd that an aftermarket F-Body rear end that costs $3k+ can't stay quiet on a goddamn bolt-on street car that primarily spins the tires and spends all of its life on a drag radial and stock stall converter. It's ABSURD. My 10 sec turbo Silverado (4WD) would spin the tires all day long in RWD but the stock 8.625" 10-bolt with stock 3.42 gears and a TruTrac never ever made a peep! At the track I 4WD launched it and it would 60ft 1.6x and the diff never made noise after years of abuse. I've also had fox bodies that were silent even after being launched of off the rev limiter on slicks. Althought in an F-body, if you are a stick car and launching at the track, all bets are off and in my opinion because the torque arm mount is on only one side. It's a strange design for sure.
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11-08-2018, 08:17 AM
#9
11-08-2018, 09:37 AM
#10
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Yup....some of the bearings are even the same.
the 8.8 is no where near as bullet proof as the mustang crowd leads people to believe either. They're just ALOT better than a 7.5.
mwc 9" is my vote. You can get the base package from them pretty reasonable then source even a stock 9" carrier and have a decent piece and it comes with a tq arm.
the 8.8 is no where near as bullet proof as the mustang crowd leads people to believe either. They're just ALOT better than a 7.5.
mwc 9" is my vote. You can get the base package from them pretty reasonable then source even a stock 9" carrier and have a decent piece and it comes with a tq arm.
11-08-2018, 03:30 PM
#11
Yup....some of the bearings are even the same.
the 8.8 is no where near as bullet proof as the mustang crowd leads people to believe either. They're just ALOT better than a 7.5.
mwc 9" is my vote. You can get the base package from them pretty reasonable then source even a stock 9" carrier and have a decent piece and it comes with a tq arm.
the 8.8 is no where near as bullet proof as the mustang crowd leads people to believe either. They're just ALOT better than a 7.5.
mwc 9" is my vote. You can get the base package from them pretty reasonable then source even a stock 9" carrier and have a decent piece and it comes with a tq arm.
11-08-2018, 03:35 PM
#12
11-08-2018, 04:06 PM
#13
I've had a Hawk's 8.8 with 4.10's in my 91 RS for three years and 10,000 miles. It's still quite. The car makes 465 whp & 442 wtq. The car has street tires and chirps them with ease when power shifting etc.
My 99 TA also has a Hawk's 8.8 with 4.10's for a year and a half and 12,000 miles. It's still quite. The car makes 517 whp & 471 wtq. The car has street tires and chirps them with ease when power shifting. The rear end survived the car being stolen and having the hell beat out of it by the car thief. The K-member shifted slightly with the pounding and Dukes of Hazzard **** that was done. The 416 broke after a mechanical over-rev. The McCloud RXT clutch feels different
However, both the Magnum & Hawk's 8.8 are exactly like they were new.
One of my friends was impressed the Hawk's 8.8 held up as well as it did and considered one. However his goal is 1,500 whp so he went with the Midwest Chassis aluminum 9 inch and is very happy with it. The MWC aluminum 9 inch was about $2,000 more than my Hawk's 8.8, he showed me his invoice for what he paid. He's very haply with the MWC aluminum 9 inch.
If the car is 1,000 + hp I'd definitely want the MWC. If slicks and side stepped clutch at 6,000 rpm is your thing week after week, ideally the MWC.
I can replace a couple of pinion bearings in both of my 8.8's for $2,000 and I'd buy the Hawk's 8.8 again.
My 99 TA also has a Hawk's 8.8 with 4.10's for a year and a half and 12,000 miles. It's still quite. The car makes 517 whp & 471 wtq. The car has street tires and chirps them with ease when power shifting. The rear end survived the car being stolen and having the hell beat out of it by the car thief. The K-member shifted slightly with the pounding and Dukes of Hazzard **** that was done. The 416 broke after a mechanical over-rev. The McCloud RXT clutch feels different
However, both the Magnum & Hawk's 8.8 are exactly like they were new.
One of my friends was impressed the Hawk's 8.8 held up as well as it did and considered one. However his goal is 1,500 whp so he went with the Midwest Chassis aluminum 9 inch and is very happy with it. The MWC aluminum 9 inch was about $2,000 more than my Hawk's 8.8, he showed me his invoice for what he paid. He's very haply with the MWC aluminum 9 inch.
If the car is 1,000 + hp I'd definitely want the MWC. If slicks and side stepped clutch at 6,000 rpm is your thing week after week, ideally the MWC.
I can replace a couple of pinion bearings in both of my 8.8's for $2,000 and I'd buy the Hawk's 8.8 again.
11-09-2018, 02:26 AM
#14
TECH Enthusiast
Originally Posted by lxcoupe
MWC what sort of policy do you have when a customer buys your top of the line 9" with say a 3.40 or 3.50 or 3.70 ratio and the unit makes noise after a while. How often does that happen, all BS aside? Because for a bolt-on A4 street car like mine I'd rather just do a braced 10-bolt because I know for a fact that a 10-bolt will stay quiet as long as you don't shock it with a clutch dump and hook.
11-09-2018, 07:36 AM
#15
MWC what sort of policy do you have when a customer buys your top of the line 9" with say a 3.40 or 3.50 or 3.70 ratio and the unit makes noise after a while. How often does that happen, all BS aside? Because for a bolt-on A4 street car like mine I'd rather just do a braced 10-bolt because I know for a fact that a 10-bolt will stay quiet as long as you don't shock it with a clutch dump and hook.
Mid-West has top notch quality and customer support. I don't own one but I have two friends that do they haven't had any issues. Both have only good to say about MWC.
One thing that can help any rear end stay quite is after heat cycling and break in, say 500 miles or so is to change the differential fluid and get contamination out from break in.
Likewise, beating on the car changing diff fluid as part of normal maintenance helps.
Last edited by 99 Black Bird T/A; 11-09-2018 at 07:42 AM.
11-09-2018, 09:25 AM
#16
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Yup....some of the bearings are even the same.
the 8.8 is no where near as bullet proof as the mustang crowd leads people to believe either. They're just ALOT better than a 7.5.
mwc 9" is my vote. You can get the base package from them pretty reasonable then source even a stock 9" carrier and have a decent piece and it comes with a tq arm.
the 8.8 is no where near as bullet proof as the mustang crowd leads people to believe either. They're just ALOT better than a 7.5.
mwc 9" is my vote. You can get the base package from them pretty reasonable then source even a stock 9" carrier and have a decent piece and it comes with a tq arm.
11-09-2018, 11:18 AM
#17
11-09-2018, 01:45 PM
#18
MWC what sort of policy do you have when a customer buys your top of the line 9" with say a 3.40 or 3.50 or 3.70 ratio and the unit makes noise after a while. How often does that happen, all BS aside? Because for a bolt-on A4 street car like mine I'd rather just do a braced 10-bolt because I know for a fact that a 10-bolt will stay quiet as long as you don't shock it with a clutch dump and hook.
11-09-2018, 01:54 PM
#19
Let me guess you've experienced Moser customer service and Moser build quality?
Mid-West has top notch quality and customer support. I don't own one but I have two friends that do they haven't had any issues. Both have only good to say about MWC.
One thing that can help any rear end stay quite is after heat cycling and break in, say 500 miles or so is to change the differential fluid and get contamination out from break i
Likewise, beating on the car changing diff fluid as part of normal maintenance helps.
Mid-West has top notch quality and customer support. I don't own one but I have two friends that do they haven't had any issues. Both have only good to say about MWC.
One thing that can help any rear end stay quite is after heat cycling and break in, say 500 miles or so is to change the differential fluid and get contamination out from break i
Likewise, beating on the car changing diff fluid as part of normal maintenance helps.
11-12-2018, 03:27 PM
#20
When will pricing be out on them? I have been holding off on ordering my S60 from Eric due to my upcoming back surgery, but may have to go ahead and jump on a deal for the Fab 9"