'96 8.8" rear end, ebrakes?

[v8jeep]

I found one today (over the phone) at a yard from a '96 with 4.10 and discs. All the 4.10's come with 31 spline axles right? Do those things have ebrakes, I guess they'd have to? Was only $250, complete, sounds like a good deal.
thanks,
big ed

 

[Alec]

That does sound like a good deal. Yes, it should be 31 spline and have the parking brakes. Good luck with the swap.

 

[yob_yeknom]

Yes they have 31 splines and e-brakes. They have disc brakes with a drum brake built into the rotor for the e-brake. Only $250? Lucky you!

That's weird... Alec's post wasn't there when I first read this and replied...

 

[Alec]

That's because you were about 30 seconds too late
Look at the time posted.

 

[v8jeep]

Thanks guys,
one more question y'all might be able to help with:
will disc brakes from a 8.8" swap to a 9"?

Yep, I lucked out on the price! I was ready to pay $400 but I ain't telling the yard that!

 

[v8jeep]

how about this?

ok, no one seems to know that one, how about:

Does anyone know if calipers from a Lincoln 8.8" rear end will fit on my '96 8.8"? I thought the rear end was "complete" but it didn't have the calipers on it. Will be calling the autoparts store soon to see what they run $$ new.

Also, I heard the the weak link on the 8.8's is the carrier. Is this general knowledge? I was thinking of getting a lock right for it but this doesn't replace the carrier (a detroit would though). Any thoughts on this topic? Are mini spools available for an 8.8?

One more thing, what the hell is the electrical connection on the top of my 8.8? It would appear to be some type of limited slip, does it work good? Or is it for abs brakes?

 

[GJarrett]

Hi Big Ed, I can't help you on the Lincoln calipers.

I am not aware of carriers being any sort of weak link; the weak link is generally considered to be the diff cover housing that can flex under extreme load, thereby twisting the carrier and unit. the "weak carrier" is a symptom of the real issue, the weak cover/housing allowing the entire innards to move around inside.

Even in stock form though it is still extremely strong. Though our vehicles weigh much more than something like a YJ, failures are still almost unheard-of. Search this site for complaints of grenaded rear ends and the only ones you will find seem to be the ones that contained the old model ARBs. It was an ARB issue, not an 8.8 issue.

If you really plan on extreme hammering your Jeep, aftermarket diff covers that stiffen the housing and have bolts that hold against the carrier to strengthen the entire assembly are available.

If you have a 4.10 it probably has a TracLoc limited slip installed, which are much more effective than the "CrapLoc" TracLocs that come in Jeeps. 4.10 opens are out there but rare.

The electrical plug is probably the ABS unit, as you have guessed. However my '99 4.10 rear has its electronic VSS sensor there instead, so if your axle came from a '99 4x4 it very well may be the electronic VSS that functions as the speedometer sensor.

 

[v8jeep]

cool, thanks for the reply. makes sense to me. I've seen the covers that brace against the carrier, may look into them. Not sure what my YJ weighs. The bumpers added 300 lbs, along with a TH350, a chevy V8, and 35's, it's definitely getting up there!

I may just keep this trac lock thing and see how it does? we'll see, thanks!

i'm going to go to the yard and get some calipers off the lincoln and just try them out.
later
big ed
Dead Link Removed

 

[satan]

Ed - The covers support the carrier bearing caps. The 8.8 is strong enough (and the carriers too!) so that if you apply liberal HP/torque the carrier bearing caps will flex allowing the ring/pinion dimention to change (a bad thing). Mostly used in rapid accelleration (drag) applications. The unfortunate thing is that with your fuel tank located where it is, most cap-supporting covers won't fit if you don't move the axle forward an inch or so (or add about 7" more lift so you won't compress that far).

(Supporting a rotating carrier would indeed be a trick for a cover!)

Depending on the Lincoln caliper's you're thinking of, they may fit (the rear calipers off of mid-90's Lincolns with the 8.8 in the rear), the piston size is a bit larger, something to address when you change your master cylinder/proportioning valve to accomodate the larger flow volume. be sure to get the rubber hoses and banjo-bolts while you're scavenging - they cost about as much as a caliper.

 

[Charly]

Maine huh?

I'm up here in Old Town.

I have a 99 8.8 and it has the ABS tone ring in the housing with the electrical plug on top.

I din't know anything about the VSS being moved there.

The axle girdles (bearing support covers) won't fit YJs with most springunder lifts. You'll have to be SOA to get the clearance for the cover.

Want to come up and wheel sometime?

Charly

 

[Tman]

Ed and others. Sorry to chime in, I'm in the same situation as Ed. My 8.8 was stripped in the yard and I'm in need of a good source for calipers loaded or unloaded. So far the best price I found was from carparts.com for $100 a pair loaded w/hardware. Even yards don't seem to have them for less then $35 a piece, unloaded. Also, does anybody know how thick is the wall on the tubes? I managed to grind into them a little (about 1/8) while taking the brackets/perches off and wondering if it'll affect the strength. I welded the grooves back up as best I could but I'd still like to know. Thanks for the help.

 

[v8jeep]

Don't worry, I gouged my tubes pretty bad also! I think they are about 3/16" thick.

Those calipers are definitely plated with gold! I've been hearing similar prices as those you quoted. I have connections at lots of yards and those calipers are hard to find, for some reason everyone cuts them off as soon as the axle comes in.

The e-brake pads need replacing on most of the axles too. Ford seemed to have a problem getting the pads to stay bonded to the steel. For you explorer guys that have this rear end and are having problems with the e-brakes holding, check these pads first!

 

[v8jeep]

Old Town is up there! If I had a decent tow rig I'm there but I'd hessitate to cruise the jeep that far. Let me know if you are ever near Auburn/Lewiston though! I know several guys that wheel a lot in/near Winter Harbor.

below is a link to the best jeep discussion available! I'm v8jeep on that forum

Dead Link Removed

 

[Charly]

Yep, OT is about 1.5 hrs away from Auburn.

I just went wheeling up by Patten (east side of Katahdin) which is 1.5 hrs away fro me, so I wouldn't hesitate travelling that far.

I am on the ORC board too (and JU, and POR and many others). Have you seen this one:
http://pub59.ezboard.com/bnewenglandwheelers

It's a relatively new board, (and not just jeep specific) but people are planning rips to Abbott all the time and other places. I am planning a trip "Eastern Maine Wheelfest" on July 13th-15th. You are welcome to join us. aetails are on the above New England board.

I was just down in Gray last week helping a friend with his 8.8 .

Charly

 

[Tman]

As far as I can tell the e-brakes on mine are in pretty good condition. Must not have been used much. I have some pictures of the axle, brakes, the gouges and welds on www.webphotos.com for you to check it out. Visit my album with the nick: "tibor". See what you think.

 

[mrboyle]

v8jeep, I noticed you mentioned earlier in the post that you were considering swapping to a detroit if necessary. I have talked to several people with Jeeps that are running detroits that wished they would have saved the money and just spooled the rear end. It seems Jeeps just dont have enough weight so the detroit never releases, making it for all practical purposes a very expencive spool. This may not be the case for everyone, it just seems to be a common complaint I have heared.

 

[v8jeep]

I never really considered the weight being an issue. I've actually been looking into a full spool for the 8.8" but it was going to end up costing me as much as the detroit. The 8.8" has c-clips so I was going to have to buy c-clip eliminator kits with axles ($375) and the spool was over $100. So I figured I'd just go with the detroit. I'm mostly concerned with wearing the heck out of my 35's when I'm on the pavement (which is to and from the trails since I don't have a trailer).

I did get to the yard to look at the disc brakes on the Lincoln VII 8.8", they are different. The ends of the axles are TOTALLY different the loncolns have some type of speed sensor or on each flange and the calipers don't look like they will line up.

Tman, nice pics. I will have my pics up soon and will post. Did you re-set the pinion depth, I noticed that you have a backlash pic? If so, what parts did you need just to reset it? I'm just trying to get a list of parts I'll need to put the detroit in.

big ed

 

[Tman]

I was just trying out the equipment to see how it works. I was also checking and recording the current backlash for reference. For the ditroit you'll need a basic setup kit (shims, ring gear bolts, marking compound, etc.) if you reuse your old carrier bearings. You don't need to reset the pinion depth because you won't touch it anyway. You use enough shims equally on both sides of the carrier/ditroit until you get a tight enough fit so you'll have to gently hammer the ditroit to make it go in place. This is your carrier preload. Once it's set you'll check the backlash as seen on my picks. You'll need to move shims from one side to the other to increase/decrease backlash while keeping the preload. Once backlash is set you'll need to check the pattern. Depending on the pattern you'll need to make further adjustments to the shims. It's advised to set the backlash pretty tight since the ditroit has quiet some already. Your main goal is to reach a good pattern any way you can. This will determine the life of the gear set. You can have the carrier bearings pulled from the old carrier and pressed on to the ditroit by a shop if the shims are on the outside of the bearings since you can change the shims easily. If the shims are between the bearing and the carrier/ditroit you're out of luck. You'll need access to a shop press many times while you pull/press bearings as the setup progresses. That's why I built myself a press. If I were you if you like the 4.10 gear ratio then just go with the Lock-Right, they're plenty strong for the 8.8. Some Explorers come with V8 also. Chances are in a couple of years you'll want to regear to 4.88 or 5.13 anyway so you can put in a ditroit then. But the Lock-Right should last just fine if you're not crazy with the go pedal. Just my 2c.

Originally posted by v8jeep

Tman, nice pics. I will have my pics up soon and will post. Did you re-set the pinion depth, I noticed that you have a backlash pic? If so, what parts did you need just to reset it? I'm just trying to get a list of parts I'll need to put the detroit in.

big ed [/B]