8.8 - 4.88 gear issue

[theviper90210]

OK guys question. DO i need the notched cross shaft for 4.88 gears in the 8.8 with the limited slip carrier? is a cross shaft needed for the limited slip carrier? I know you need it for the open carrier but what about the limited slip carrier??

 

[IZwack]

I dont think it matters between the LS carrier and non-LS carrier.

The notch is there so you can push the axle shaft in so you can remove the C-clips. And the reason why you have to push the axle shaft in is because the ring gear is too thick to allow the cross-shaft to be pushed out of the carrier. And the ring gear's position is relative to the pinion gear. And the pinion gear's position is dependant on the differential housing -- not the carrier design (LS or non-LS).

 

[theviper90210]

IZwack so i need the notched cross shaft for the 4.88? Right?

 

[IZwack]

That is correct theviper90210 .

 

[ld50]

Because this won`t work!
Where do you get a notched pinion shaft from?

 

[IZwack]

ld50 -- You have to remove the ring gear first. First rebuild the center stuff (spider gears or locker or whatever you're putting in the middle), and then put the ring gear on.

 

[Yomie]

Because this won`t work!
Where do you get a notched pinion shaft from?

Yeah that sucks, you need the cross shaft

 

[ld50]

If I do that, I cannot get the c-clips in afterwards IZwack. The axles cannot be pushed in far enough to get the C-clips on because the pinion shaft is in the way.

-It`s a friend of mines 8.8 from 91 Ex
-6 hours later we had the 4.88 gears in and setup, the c-clips on, detroit EZ locker in place and ready for the pinion shaft, then the big WTF!
We kinda thought grinding some teeth would help, but I don`t even understand why a gear set is sold that won`t allow a pinion shaft to go in, seems dumb(?)

 

[IZwack]

The axles cannot be pushed in far enough to get the C-clips on because the pinion shaft is in the way.

Yeah thats what the notched pin is for. But same deal -- assemble the center first then bolt the ring gear on.

The pin is notched at the center on one side -- so you rotate the pin which allows you to push in the axle shaft one side at a time.

And BTW I got my notched pin from Randy's Ring & Pinion. But you can notch it yourself with a grinder. Of course I would ask around for a picture because I dont remember exactly how much metal was removed from the pin.

 

[ld50]

Aha, that makes sense. Now, I`ve looked here and some people claim you shouldn`t use a notched pin with a lunchbox style locker so I`m leary of doing that, whaddya think?
I suppose if the notch was in the right spot it shouldn`t matter..

 

[IZwack]

I have no idea since I didn't put a lunchbox locker in the 8.8. But I guess at this point, you'll just have to try it out . Ideally you're right, the notch shouldnt matter since the upper and lower spider gears (or lunchbox locker halves) are in single shear .. but of course not many things in the real world is ever "ideal" . So I say try it out and see. Just know that all the power coming down the rear driveshaft is going through that pin in order to turn the wheels -- scary. But then again, I dont think I've ever heard of anyone running an 8.8 w/ a notched pin that has ever broken one. I guess my advice would be to buy a notched pin from say Randy's Ring and Pinion because most aftermarket notched pins are heat treated and whatever so it's probably stronger than the stock Ford pin.

 

[ld50]

Kay, we`re a little iffy on the notched pin, I`m thinking the notch would have to be considerable in order to accept the cups that sit inside the locker halves, if it was just spidergears, the notch wouldn`t have to be as large since it is only the shaft ends that would need to enter a notch.
I still haven`t found a pic of a notched pin, but we`ve tossed that idea on the basis of the pain in the ass it would be to ever remove and replace the luchbox locker (they do wear out) AND the iffyness surrounding a notched pin and a locker (even tho` when I formulate an image of the configuration spatially within my brain, I see nothing that could hang up on the notch during operation)

So we`re grinding our way in, we only need about 4 mm of the top of one of the teeth and perhaps a smidgeon off another. Research indicates this has been done with good results and it`s not my axle eh

I`ll take some pics for posterity and post them for my Explorer-smitten brethren.
I hope it`s alright with the original thread owner, but this is now officially MY thread. :mattmoon:

 

[IZwack]

Yeah looks like you're in quite a bind.. I would call an Eaton/Detroit support line just to confirm that this locker is going the right way into this specific axle.

 

[ld50]

My buddy talked to the Jeep/4x4 place and they said that`s what they do when they swap larger gears into the 8.8. (The Axle is going into a Jeep). So he said tons of guys do it so it`s okay, he actually apologized for not mentioning it.
I told my bud to spring for a full carrier locker, but hey, he`s a Jeep guy so ya can`t tell him anything.:
I`m probably going to help him with his front end and I saw the new carrier for it. -I`m not even sure what it is yet and he`s not too saavy on that stuff, he just ordered by Jeep model and year. I figured it was a D35 but holey smokes the carrier is tiny, I think it might even be a D30 because the front explorer d35 carrier is much larger. I told him he better leave it open anyway, but he wants to put 35s on it. so i`m ascairt...

(see how I steal the thread and keep leading it further away from topic? I hate when people do that!)

 

[ld50]

Alrighty, we used a big dremel / die grinder from work, I THINK it`s a 25,000 rpm unit, but could be 28,000 I just can`t recall.
We used a flapper wheel on it starting with 60 grit, then 80 grit (we coulda stuck with 60 but we had a smaller 80, which just fit better).
Anyway the dremel with flapper allows you to go slow and grind with minimum heat build-up. We took most off one tooth with a smidgeon either side, hit the edges with some emory cloth. Then cleaned all the components real well before putting it all back together. Ideally we would have done this first, but we only found out it had to be done at the last minute. We had covered the bearings with latex gloves in case you're wonderin what that green thing is.
-here are the pics...

 

[Hokie]

Think it'll give you bad gear whine/noise?

 

[ld50]

I dunno, the Jeep guys seemed to say it was alright, we even asked him about evening it up on the other side for balance and he said don`t bother. I don`t know the guy or anything, so I can`t vouch for him, but the amount of material we took off was so minimal. I can`t see it whining, plus the material taken was not into the contact area of the pinion gear as indicated by the gear paste.

 

[IZwack]

whine in general is attributed to the ring and pinion not meshing properly. So you'll be fine as long as you didnt grind into the two gears' contact area.

 

[Fusion213]

I'm not sure if I remember correctly but I THINK I got my 4.88 gearset notched instead of the crosspin because i'm also running a lunchbox(aussie locker). I've had the gears and locker in there for a while and still running good!