8.8 = Toast (just what I needed!)

Okay I am now building a new 8.8 for my Bronco II, horrible timing, but out of my control.

My current ring gear is FUBARED.
I have never been 100% happy with the axle I have under my truck. I bought this axle many years ago, I paid way too much for it and have always suspected it to be bent on the D side slightly. When we setup the 8.8 to be spring over (donor was 97 AWD Explorer) the pinion angle was "eyeballed" and set for the amount of lift I had then. The shock mounts were "eyeballed" by me and never have been correct. I have learned a few things since then.

This 8.8 has served me well, it has been under the truck for many years and seen much abuse, however it is time to go.

The last few days the truck started to make a noise, nice rotating metal on metal noise, gets faster with tires, not with RPM. Getting worse, shake down test = nada, found some other issues and fixed those, but other then that everything looks as it did last time I installed it hahaha

Yesterday with the help of a friend, put the rear tires up in the air, put truck in D and click click click click...ear up to the rear diff confirms my fear. Its the rear diff...............again.

Flashback, 3 +/- years ago. When I (we thanks Brett) installed my bent beams I also installed a front ARB, 4.10 ring and pinions and had the factory L/S rebuilt in the 8.8. Local shop did the work, Wild West off road, good guys.
They went under a couple years ago now.
Lifetime warranty = out the window.

2 years ago, Move to CA, boat in tow. Go 4wheeling with Rangerx, Jefe,and a few other guys from the CA crew at Big bear. I peeled open the rear diff cover in a rock garden. make it home, just a slow drip. replace cover, replace fluid, when I got home there was still 3/4 the fluid in there so I thought nothing of it.

1.5 years ago, move back to CO, boat in tow.
6 months later (last Dec) BAM! Rear end problems. Open it up, find ring gear bolts backed out, about 3/4 of them. One bolt chipped a tooth on the ring gear, just a tad. replace bolts, lock tight, torque wrench. new cover, new fluid. Living on borrowed time. This was the last thing I did before I finally drove my truck with the 5.0L in it.

8.8 ring gear lasted until yesterday.
These are Ford Motor Sports, 4.10 ring and pinion. I believe the events listed above lead to the demise of my gears. That and I suspect my 8.8 may have been bent from day 1. I would like to say that the 5.0L, plus towing, plus 35" tires blew it up, but I believe that day at Big Bear was the beginning of the end

So the plan:
1-Use this as an excuse to add rear ARB locker (already have compressor and front locker)
2-Get new Ford 4.10 ring and pinion
3-Pull rear end from donor 96 AWD explorer.
4-Cut off un needed mounts from 8.8
5-weld on spring over BII perch's and shock mount tabs in a proper location.
6-pay drivetrain shop to install locker and gears
7-install in BII with new bearings seals, parking brake and disc brake shoes.
8- try to afford a SVO style cover with girdle supports for the ARB locker, and to help against rock peeling.

Crappy shock mounts: always getting hung up on these off road anyways:

I have 1 week or less, I am driving a borrowed car now.....a Jeep! NO!!! hahaha

Good news is I get spare axleshafts and brake parts from the junker 8.8, oh and I will be locked F&R finally (Moab! moab! moab!)

 

[Michael]

8- try to afford a SVO style cover with girdle supports for the ARB locker, and to help against rock peeling.

I've got an SVO cover for you, check your PM's.

 

[dman726749]

damn that sucks, but atleast you have a master plan and get to upgrade a bit

 

[RangerX]

I believe that day at Big Bear was the beginning of the end

Do you think something else happened that day, other than a slow leak from a tweaked cover? Or that driving with low fluid caused it.

 

[410Fortune]

I believe driving that far back from BB with not enough fluid = heat. Likely broken the seal on the thread lock

It was only a little while later that I hooked up the boat and dragged it back to Colorado, I am sure it got hot on that trip as well since it was 108 in the desert and the boat was full loaded with crap. It was only a short time after that some of the ring gear bolts came completely out. One of the bolts chipped a tooth, I figured not that huge of a deal, small chip, these gears are tough. Well that small chip chewed up everything now I suspect heat did the trick because I did not have any issues in the first year after the initial install and I trust the guys who installed it, they would be fixing it right now if their shop didnt go under.

I am now looking at Mustang forums, there are some good little tricks you can do to help keep the fluid cool.

 

[Rhett]

I am now looking at Mustang forums, there are some good little tricks you can do to help keep the fluid cool.

If ya learn any of these tricks let us know...

 

[410Fortune]

If I perform tricks it will be covered here in this 8.8 build thread I am oh so tempted to install my own gears and locker this time around, with some help of course.

 

[Creager]

whats the runout on that gear look like?

the 8.8 is cake to install gears on, easier then most the dana cooperate rear ends. if your not changing gear ratios then you practically dont have to do anything, just make sure nothing changes... and if it does make accomidations for it.

do you have a press? and a bearing puller?

 

[410Fortune]

Well I am building astock explorer 96 8.8 that currently is 3L73 to a ARB equipped 4.10 R& P ratio.

I suspect my current 8.8 has a bent tube.

I do not have those tools but I have friends that do

 

[Creager]

Well I am building astock explorer 96 8.8 that currently is 3L73 to a ARB equipped 4.10 R& P ratio.

You will have to make adjustments to the carrier shims, but the pinion shim should be the same.

install 'em yourself if you can, its not brain surgery.

 

[410Fortune]

I would love to, what about with the ARB? harder?
There are only a few things I dont do myself anymore, exhaust, alignment, rebuild a tranny, and set up gears.
Some things I would rather just pay for for peice of mind.
Alignment I can get close myself with tape measure
Exhaust I can do mostly of once I get my MIG
Auto trannies, I will skip, after watching what my buddy Brett went through trying his first a4ld

but the long term goal include doing all of this

 

[Creager]

I would love to, what about with the ARB? harder?

only real special part about the ARB is tapping the Airline into the housing, then on most models you notch the bearing cap to clear the copper air line to the carrier. Although ive never installed one, but it isnt something im not willing to tackle. it would take an extra hour to figure out, including drilling and grinding.

all you need is a die grinder and a drill, and the ARB part is taken care of.

doing your gears so easy to control. All you gotta do is check your pattern with the gear marking compond, and watch how your gears mesh. simple.

the concept is kind of hard to grasp at first, but once you see how everything fits, its easy.

 

[dreamr]

Subscribing to pilfer your research and use it for myself with my set of 8.8's

The Ex had a recent rebuild, but it will come up again and upgrades are always good.

The Other well lets just say it has seen a 170'000 miles in a 5.0 mustang and needs a lot of TLC................ and lower gears

 

[bmxking5]

I know something that would make this build much better. Use the 8.8 out of an F150 (And match it up with a built D44 TTB ) Haha

This sounds like a nice plan though. Mmmmm, ARB front and rear.

 

[RangerX]

Jamie, maybe I missed it somewhere, but, why are you going to 4.10 and not 4.56?

 

[Jefe]

. . .Go 4wheeling with Rangerx, Jefe,and a few other guys from the CA crew at Big bear. . .
. . .but I believe that day at Big Bear was the beginning of the end.

Yeah, just blame it all on us

Jamie, maybe I missed it somewhere, but, why are you going to 4.10 and not 4.56?

Because then he would have to change his name to 456Fortune.

I guess he has 4.10's up front and doesn't want to change ratios. . though this would be a good time to.

 

[Brian1]

410, dont know if you have seen this or not of an 8.8 build: http://www.code4x4.com/projects/axle_88/axle_88.html

Did you ever consider a 9" rear?

 

[Kirby N.]

If I perform tricks it will be covered here in this 8.8 build thread I am oh so tempted to install my own gears and locker this time around, with some help of course.

Do it Jaime. It is not that hard. If you would have bought the bullet and done it the first time around look how much $$$ you would have saved! I had a guy do my rear for $150. It turned out crappy and whines, so when I did my SAS I talked 4 buddies into going in for the press, calipers, gauges and what not and did it myself. We have since done 11 axles. It is not nearly as tough as people say it is, and if it is my truck, I make sure it doesn't whine. No problem with any of the ones I have done so far. To tell you the truth I am surprised you and the Mad Scientist (My name for brett since I saw all his stuff) aren't already doing it. From all the really complicated stuff you guys do, it amazes me you aren't doing gears!

 

[Kirby N.]

You will have to make adjustments to the carrier shims, but the pinion shim should be the same.

install 'em yourself if you can, its not brain surgery.

I disagree. If you were using the same 4.10 gear set that you used in the other 8.8, it would be different but since that set is trashed, you will have to set pinion depth again with the new set. Every gear set is different. You will have a really good place to start though from the other set, but there is not guarantee the pinion depth will be the same with the new gear set.

 

[Creager]

I disagree. If you were using the same 4.10 gear set that you used in the other 8.8, it would be different but since that set is trashed, you will have to set pinion depth again with the new set. Every gear set is different. You will have a really good place to start though from the other set, but there is not guarantee the pinion depth will be the same with the new gear set.

your right, but with that small of a jump (3.73 to 4.10) id imagin he would end up using the stock shim

shoot a jump from 3.27 to 4.56 i only had to decrease from the stock shim by .002 for it to line up correctly. It all depends on the housing really, where the pinion is relative to the axle centerline. but thats why they make gear marking compound.