8.8 = Toast (just what I needed!)

[rookieshooter]

I agree with some others here, that this would be good time to learn. Then I can watch how you do it and learn also. I plan to do my own and use an ARB also. Somewhere I saw a video for sale on setting up an 8.8 I've never done an 8.8 but have set up the pumpkin style rear 59 Olds. which was a really strong rear we used to use in our drag cars. It had what you call a crush sleeve. I don't know that an 8.8 even has one? I need to get a dial indicator anyways for degreeing in the cam on the 302 and I am sure i'm going to need one for the rear. I wonder if Sears sells one? This would really be a good learning experiance for you and a lot others if you did do it and post How to. HINT HINT

 

[410Fortune]

HAHAHAHA you guys crack my ass up.

Bill, no 4.56 because I would have to do this all over again in the front, and I have another project currently (I just wanna friggin drive the damn BII and pre p it for Moab with a cage and finally finish my current suspension (coil buckets, fix rear shock mounts) With the V8 and the 4R70W the 4.10's are great for the 33's and do-able for the 35's (actually 35's = realy good on the highway!, er say on the way to Moab)

I have a 8.8 axle that needs a rebuild anyways (180K miles). I want a rear ARB.
The D44 TTB or SAS is DOWN the road, I plan to mob this setup I have now, its not even finished and I've only had it a couple years

Kirby, you nailed it. Brett would be required for the tooling and other brain to do this rebuild with. He is a little "tied up" currently hahahaha.
I will be really really lucky if I can get his help converting this 8.8 to spring over for the BII.

I will not re-use the 8.8 that is currently in the BII, It was never right from day 1. I have some "contacts" around town, including two buddies who do this for a living, I buy parts, dissasemble 8.8, take it to them, drop it off.
Pick it up 2 days later, BAM done.

I would love to learn gears here, I would love to go full width, I would love to put on 4 piston Brembo calipers and slotted rotors, truss the 8.8, and do a 4 link, but now is not the time. Snow is coming, I have 3 trucks currently. none of them driving

I cannot bring myself to just simply replace the 4.10 thats in there with another because I believe the 8.8 is bent, fixing the shock mounts is on the list for Moab 06 anyways, and the trucks been limited off road a bit due to lack or rear locker (also on the Moab 06 list

Here is the plan:
remove 8.8 from explorer (sitting right next to teh BII in the garage, hahaha)
remove all AWD brackets, axplorer spring under mounts and tabs
weld on new perches, setting pinion angle.

have it ready for gear/locker on Monday

The BII will likely get a solid axle, D44 with ARB, trail rig.
A 2wd Ranger project is in the back of my mind.
Nothing has been decided yet! hahaha

 

[Msupertek]

Just a little info.

Gear marking compound would be necessary since you don't have a pinion depth gauge just to be 100% positive the tooth pattern is good. Pinion Pre load or the torque it requires to turn the pinion with everything else removed of course (ring gear and carrier out) should be about 16 inch lbs with old bearings or 24 inch pounds with new bearing ( I like setting them up on the tight side). The pinion to ring gear back lash should be about .008 inch to .016 inch. Preferred setting is .012 inch however I set mine previously near .008 since I was using it for offroading I wanted less slack (when I had an 8.8). Most likely you will just make minimal adjustments and if you do it yourself be sure to use locktite on all the ring gear bolts, carrier caps and pinion nut. Ring gear torque on that model I believe is about 85 ft lbs and so are the two differential bearing caps. Good Luck fortune and I hope you get it going soon. Let me know if you have any questions on setting it up.

 

[Numidian]

With 35's you should really look at 4.56's or even 4.88's you have no clue what you're missing.... And hell you've gotta spend the money anway....do it right... And it's not like the front chunk can't be pulled in 30 minutes anyway... Just drop off the 8.8 and your front chunk and get 4.88's... You really just have no clue what you're missing out on... Imagine putting 31s on your truck right now and thats a pretty good estimate of the difference in power you'll feel

 

[bmxking5]

With 35's you should really look at 4.56's or even 4.88's you have no clue what you're missing.... And hell you've gotta spend the money anway....do it right... And it's not like the front chunk can't be pulled in 30 minutes anyway... Just drop off the 8.8 and your front chunk and get 4.88's... You really just have no clue what you're missing out on... Imagine putting 31s on your truck right now and thats a pretty good estimate of the difference in power you'll feel

Whoa, whoa... you do know he has a 302 correct?

 

[410Fortune]

First off 4.88 is not available fort he D35 TTB pig.
I just did the gears 2 years ago with a new limited slip and a re-freshed ARB.
My $$$ right now is going into the explorer project, I jsut need the BII back on the road now.

I will be replacing the R&P using either Ford or Yukon gears, I will be fixing my rear shock mounts (never correct) and adding a Currie rear 8.8 cover I believe. I am waiting estimates as we speak.

for daily driving I run 33" tires, the 35's are for 4x4ing trips. I would love to go 4.56, but with the V8 its not needed and dropping the front diff for a re-gear is not something I have the $$$ for right now.

I'l still race ya with the 4.10's!! hahaha

I am going to bite the bullet and pay a shop to do the work this week, I have gotten back to concentrating on the explorer project, as we got our first snow TODAY! and my donor explorer is now sitting in 4" of slush = have to wait for it to dry out before I can pull the drivetrain I need.....

 

[rookieshooter]

Am with you on the $$$$. I was wondering about all those 4.88 teeth on a ring gear that's not even 8" in dia. I guess that's why they don't make them? Even though My TTB 35 and 8.8 came out of the same donor they have different diameter ring gears. You got your hands full now with the Bachlors pad, Ex, Boat? and B11. HA HA, must be nice

 

[410Fortune]

Rookie they do make 5.13 for the D35 reverse rotation, so go figure that one out

Yes my hands are full fer shizzle! hahaha Oh and dont forget I am dating girls again too, so yeah hands full. Yard work, house work, painting, decorating, building custom computer desk, planning deck for hot tub, new vinyl windows for the house, winterize and store boat for snowy season, drivetrain swap in explorer then new front clip, airbags and windshield, strip rolled truck and catalog/store parts, then crush...etc etc etc it goes on and on.....

Anyways here is an update:

Yukon ring and pinion delivered to shop that will be doing the work with the master install kit: $203 and $99, so $302 total.
I got the ARB RD81 for $660, hahahaha thats right WAY under list. Being shipped to my door today...I got 4wheelparts.com to price match a small ring and pinion dealers advertised online price, free shipping, no extended warranty (if it breaks I will have it rebuilt or send it to ARB directly)

I am going to re-use the 8.8 that is already under the truck, it has been determined by me and a friend that my 8.8 is not bent, it was most likely overheating that caused my ring gear bolts to loosen.

My shock mounts will be re-positioned (correctly finally) when the work is performend.

Total estimate for work is $750 including the $302 for the gears and install kit.
Might go up slightly since I am now doing the locker

Cannot WAIT to be locked front and back....
Now I have to build a new ARB switch holder for my dash...3 switches instead of the two I have currently, bummer

hahaha

Expect work to be done on Monday.....as long as the locker arrives in time.

After the break in period with the new gears I will swtich to synth 85W-140, add the friction modifier (Have been hearing it helps with foaming, even withouth a limited slip) and hopefully the SVO cover with girlde support for the ARB.

Two things I can check off the list before Moab 06, rear locker and fix shock mounts. all thats left is sliders and roll cage....

So $750 + $660 = $1400, figure $1500 by the time this is all over with. Man expensive hobby! Oh well nothing is too good for my baby (hahahahaha and I wonder why I am not married)

 

[rino351]

sounds like fun!

 

[410Fortune]

Locker arrived finally!!! Ahhh nothing like coming to work and seeing an ARB sitting at the doorstep! Almost like early Christmas!


Installation tomorrow, I will be talking to the shop owner today (friend) about me helping, I wanna learn how to do the gears and locker, also give input on the shock mounts they will be replacing, etc. So hopefully tomorrow I can watch/help them install my new pride and joy:

I will run the line to the compressor, install the wiring, solenoid, and switch myself.

 

[mynameisaric]

your truck has enough goodies.. give some stuff up to us poor IFS guys.

but seriously.. that looks sweet. i wish i could have afforded ARB's, but i dont wheel hardcore enough for em, so i think my no slips will be quiet alright.

You gonna bring ur BII out to the badlands for the 10th aniversary run? thers gonna be another BII there.....

 

[410Fortune]

hey the TTB is a form of IFS

Limited slips are okay but a locker will make your wheeling experience night and day. IN Colorado with lots of snow I prefer a selectable locker and open diffs, so my obvious choice is ARB

Only reason I can even come close to affording this stuff is because I try to do most of the work myself (bad example here) and I have not had a car payment in like 11 years

 

[410Fortune]

Hehehehe

ARB's and 4.10's complete.

They ran out of time to do my shock mounts and also forgot to install the E brake shoes I brought them (sheessh) so I will be going bakc to see the shop owner (friend of a friend) this week.

I plumbed the airline to the air compressor, installed the new solenoid and wired it up.
Installed the switch and wired it up. This was really simple since I already have a front locker, the ARB compressor comes with the wires for all 3 switches (compressor, rear, front)

What I found interesting is that with the stock ARB wiring I cannot active solenoid #2 unless solenoid #1 is on.
Meaning I cannot lock the front unless the rear is already locked.

Not sure if I like this, a simple wiring change should allow me to do whatever I want.

I need a ARB switch mount to match the other 2 I have and then I will cut a new stainless plate to house all 3 switches under my dash.

Locker works flawless I do have a small air leak on the solenoid for the front locker, must have happened when I did the 5.0L conversion, I need a part to fix this.

Testing soon!! Now I am looking forward to the snowy season

Having an open diff in the back took some getting used to again, that factory limited slip (rebuilt) was doing more gripping on the street then I thought!

 

[tdavis]

What I found interesting is that with the stock ARB wiring I cannot active solenoid #2 unless solenoid #1 is on.
Meaning I cannot lock the front unless the rear is already locked.

This is why I never used the ARB wiring harness. It really isn't that hard to make your own harness.

 

[410Fortune]

the harness itself is fine and was already run, it is just a simple jumper to allow you to run both solenoids independantly

I was actually impressed! The ffactory ARB harness was the correct length for my install! hahaha

You dont have to tell me about building your own harness I have tackled much larger projects then that! I do wonder why they made it that way though? I guess they figure you dont need the front locker until you get stuck with the rear already on...

 

[Creager]

I do wonder why they made it that way though? I guess they figure you dont need the front locker until you get stuck with the rear already on...

less physical wiring possibly?

 

[410Fortune]

Creager, I doubt it because basically switch #2 is not powered until switch #1 is activated, all you have to do is move the switch #2 power feed to the same power feed for switch 1, they are int he same spot about 6" up from the switches.

The more I think about it the more I think it makes sense, you dont need your front locker until you get stuck with the rear locked. I mean how often would you run an open rear and then lock the front? Can you think of any reason to leave the rear unlocked and lock up the front?

I may just leave it as is, so far I am impressed with this setup, the rear locker is alot of fun! There is nothing like the look on peoples face when your compressor kicks on or when you de-activate a locker and it goes "wooosh" hahaha people think my truck is nuts

 

[tdavis]

Can you think of any reason to leave the rear unlocked and lock up the front?

Sure. When I want to swing the rear around in a tight spot, unlock and give it power - the front digs and moves, the rear stays put.

Yes, it's not a effective without cutting brakes and rear disconnect, but it still does help.

 

[410Fortune]

Ah I knew that was coming....

You mean that Zuki gets in tight spots? hahaha