If you are willing to get different axles, some of the F-150s and Explorer/Mountaineers came with 8.8 inch 31 spline Traction Loc rears. They will bolt right in with the addition of 31 spline axles, and then you won't ever have to worry about snapping axles. The truck Traction Locs are supposed to have bigger springs too, for increased locking ability.
i checked that thread out. but it said that sometimes when converting to 5-lug that people were having troubles with their center caps fitting on since the hubs were stickin out further. is this true only on certain setups? i wouldnt mind going to 5-lug though.
You can get 31 spline axles in 4 lug and make no other changes to your car, or you can get 5-lug conversion-specific 31 spline axles and have no problems. Do your research, I believe there are some differences between axles that are meant for disk or drum rear brakes. I'm sure those people were using the wrong parts somewhere. Maybe someone who directly ran into that problem will chime in here, because I can't say that I can help you any further.
im looking to build this rear with junkyard parts and cheap as possible. i searched and checked the junkyard parts thread but got a lil confused. just looking for someone who might have done this firsthand. my car use to a 4banger so its got the 7.5in rear right no. but i got a 8.8 housing out of a mustang for free.