8.8 swap

[ChromdOutDubs]

Ok i got a 8.8 rear end sitting at my house, just has been freshly sandblaster, painted, and cleared. I rebuilt it with ALL new races, bearings, and seals. And i swapped gears from the 3.27 to the 3.73. OK i got the 2.3L stang now '93 LX hatch. I was wondering does this rear end bolt right up, cuz i measure and it is a bit longer than the stock one, but someone told me that there is anough play that so they wont matter. And also what about those quad shocks. Does my car some with mounting bracks for those??? Thanks for yaur help!

-AJ Newman

 

[Red_LX]

Yes, it'll bolt right in, everything's the same under there. The only thing that is different is where the brake line goes from the frame to the axle...you might have to change it, but I don't really know.

Also, the holes that the quad shock brackets mount to are on the frame, but the brackets themselves are not there.

 

[ChromdOutDubs]

Yeah i am already planning on plumbing new lines, my friend did a cobra brake swap and he ran some new lines and just gonna match his, i went to ford and got them to print me up the brake schematic so i knwo exactly hwo everything it ran stock for a '96 GT. the quads, i heard are mandatory, just gives u better traction, and cuts down on wheel hop, right?? If this is the case i don think will need them right now, i wont be swappin the engine for a while. Thanks

 

[Red_LX]

In my opinion, the quad shocks don't do jack for reducing wheelhop, because my turbo coupe has quad shocks on it and I've experienced pretty bad wheelhop on several occasions. I suppose they're better than nothing at all though. Probably would be better off with some sort of traction bars or lift bars.

 

[QUICK91LX]

f the quad shocks, a good set of aftermarket lower control arms are all you need

 

[ChromdOutDubs]

Well guys i started on my swap today, went and got some 75w-90 for the rear end. I also got some new brake pads and i ordered all the rubber brake lines that are for the rear calipers. I dropped the old rear end out today, it came out super easy, took me a bit to figure out half the stuff under there is metric (so GAY) american car with metric ****...... Well anyways came out with no problems, i got the new 8.8 rear end up in there pretty easy aslo, the rear coils were a sinch, i thought they woudl give me problems, but i guess it helps it have a full 2 post lift in my shop Only problem i had was that the little raised up part on the pinion flange was a a lil beat up from wheni was tryin to beat the old pinion gear out, so it go to dark, so i stoped, im gonna take a file and file it down smooth again, cuz the drive shaft wasnt mounting flush cuz it couldnt go around the lil flange thing... Should all be good 2morrow,i will start on the 5 lug conversion on the front tomorrow aslo, oh yeah the 8.8 rear end i got now is from a '96 GT so i will have disk and 5 lug all around. I will get some pics of my progress soon, soo yall can see whats going on. Thanks for all the help guys, i think im not gonna get any qauds.... I will prolly get some good lower controls arms like "quick" said. Ill post some pics tomorrow for yall. I got my tires today to, they will be gogin on my new '03 GT wheels...
-AJ Newman

 

[ChromdOutDubs]

pics

This is what she looked like before the swap/5 lug conversion/disk brake conversion...
Another shot!
This is the new 8.8 posi rear end out of a '96 GT thats going into it, this was before i sandblasted it and painted and cleared it, it looks alot better now...
This is the front spindles, hubs, and other components not pictured. I have everthing need for the conversion though! DISK BRAKES ALL AROUND WOOOT

I will have some other pics tomorrow in the daylight to see the new rear end installed!! Check back tomorrow sometime.

-AJ Newman

 

[ChromdOutDubs]

new pics

Ok guys i got some news pics, here they are, i also got my brakes lines re-ran for the rear calipars, i ordered the rubber ones for each side, but autozone is a bit slow, so i have to wait for them, i got my friend that works at a Dodge Dealership machine my rear rotors for me, they looks nice.... I get my new tires in 2morrow from tirerack, they are 245/40ZR/17 to go on my new wheels, im getting him to mount and balance them for me, man i love having hook-ups lol. Look below for pics!






I saving some money right now so i can get some lowering springs, i know i will want it lower than the stock hieght, im not sure how much though, What do yall recommend for 17's, 1" all around or what, thanks for the input!

-AJ Newman

 

[ChromdOutDubs]

got a question for you smart guys out there, when was stand blasting the rear end that big weight thing on the bottom of the diff, i took it off, whats is that even for, doesnt seem liek its functional or anything, not sure if it was to balance it or summin, heres a pic of what im talkin about....

Its the thing thats resting on the ground underneith the entire rear end........

Do i need to put it back on, i reall dont wanna screw nuttin up by not using it, what do yall think?

-AJ Newman

 

[Red_LX]

That's a counterweight that was supposed to dampen vibrations from the rearend...I think you can toss it, it weighs a couple pounds easy.

 

[ChromdOutDubs]

OH MY LORD..... Nothing went right today. I made atleast 15 trips to like 3 different part houses today. I would get started on summin, then find out i need seomthing else, i woudl get the part, and then get going good again,a nd have to go get summin else. I did the front 5 lug conversion today, i had my dad fabrication shop make me some custom spaces for the ball joints so it didnt runout of threads, front was pretty smooth, but most of the day was getting brakes done, for everyones future info, just go ahead and buy all 4 new OEM brake lines, would be much easier, for some reason ford has sum screwed up engineering stuff on the brakes, lol. To much to explain, but in the end, all im waiting for is, the 1 rubber brake line which runs from the driver side caliper to the hard line, and im waitin to get my new tires mounted on the new wheels, which will prolyl be friday. Will have some new pics up soon for yall to see the new progress.

-AJ Newman

 

[88stangmangt]

If the tax man is good to me i am just gonna skip the hassle and get a cobra 5-lug conversion kit from summit.

 

[RustBucket]

Check with Summit before you order the rear axle set. A couple of months ago I tried to get the 5 lug axle and drum kit and ran into supply issues. Jeg's, Summit and Powered By Ford showed national backorder with 3 month or longer wait times. Needless to say, I went aftermarket with the axles and drums and I'm happy I did. It started out as a just a couple of weeks, then after that I called and the date got pushed back. When that date came and went, I called again and it got pushed back even farther. Being patient, I waited once again and when I called the last time the date was ridiculous, so I cancelled the order. I was given some excuse about how the stuff had to come from Germany. I told the lady at Jeg's I knew it wasn't her fault, and that it was Ford's, but I asked if she agreed that Germany was still on the same planet as the US and therefore within a 3-4 month shipping window. She laughed and said yes and that she didn't understand it herself, and that she was just relaying what FRPP had told her.

 

[ChromdOutDubs]

well im pickin up my last brake line friday, that shoudl all be done, cept for the ebrakes, who needs em EL OH EL!!!! Monday i get the tires balanced, so it should be completly done monday. Friday my dad is going to Turkey Rod at Daytona Speed way, im hoping he finds me a 351w block so i can start my v8 build up. I have to work tomorrow "my birthday" so i wont be able to go and check out all the parts. Pics of the completed system will be on monday.

-AJ Newman