Need help deciding what to do? Replace 4.10's or go 4.88's?

[AlaskanJack]

I recently discovered that I busted up my Pinion gear and the ends of 4 teeth are busted. The rear is clunking from this.

Now here's my question. Should I go buy a new set of 4.10's for the rear so I can go 4xing; or just spend the money for a set of 4.88's and forgo any wheeling opportunities until next year? Why well I can't afford to get the front gears done now for one and two I am going to be getting new front and rear axle this winter. But if I upgraded the gears in rear to 4.88 then I would keep the 8.8 and not use the 9" rearend.

So would you just slap in some 4.10's and be able to do some offroading or slap in 4.88's and wait until front axle is swapped next yr to wheel?

 

[JGAMBLE]

get the 4.88's.

 

[410Fortune]

What axle do you have up front? D44? Because they dont make 4.88 for the D35 ttb........
ONLY THE 8.8

Screw 4.88, you want to go wheeling? go 5.13

 

[JGAMBLE]

yeah, I'm looking at a set of 5.13 for around feb or tax time myself

 

[AlaskanJack]

My bad. I thought they did make the 4.88 for front well no matter because I am going to be doing a D44 solid axle conversion out of a 77 Early Bronco.

So what gears do you reccomend.

And you guys would take the 8.8 rear end over the 9" rear end huh?

Well basically I am buying the 302 engine, C4 tranny D20 T-case and 9" rear end all for $900.

Hit me with reccomendations knowing that my 8.8 rearend gears are shot and my tranny has no OD and no torque lock up. I did just do the manual t-case conversion in it.

 

[410Fortune]

do it all at once!
I would not take a 8.8 over a 9" ever, assuming its a decent 9" , not the small bearing unit.

The 8.8 is strong and its already under there, but by all means use the 9" if you are going to do all the rest.....



This will finally give you something to do during those long white nights........the 5.0L converiosn is not for th e faint of heart.....especially if you are a perfectionist...

4.88 would be great with 35's and that D44/9" setup

 

[JGAMBLE]

if you're going trail rig only, get rid of the 8.8 and put the 9 in. use the 5.13 gears and get some arb's while you're at it. This is the set up I'm gonna run with my 91 sport, I'm just looking to find a late model F150 to donate it's drive trail, sounds like a lot of fun

 

[AlaskanJack]

So both would use the 9" over the 8.8". Which I agree with. I may need to do some checking on the 9" 410. How can I find out if its the small bearing unit??

My thoughts were to build up both axles and in the meantime slap another set of 4.10's in the rear so I can go wheelin in it until the axles and tranny etc are ready.

But I can always slap in lower rear gears and do some 2wd wheelin which isn't much good up here where there is little rock crawling mostly boggy wet trails with lots of mud. There are some nice trails that I could 2wd wheel on see some beautiful sights, but w/o a winch I don't think it is advisable

 

[JGAMBLE]

personally I'd rather just do one gear swap and take it easy on it til I just did the whole conversion. That's just me though

 

[410Fortune]

check the Mustang boards, you can get 4.10 R&P for the 8.8 used el cheapo.
Of course its not a whole lot new either......I think it was $130 + install kit......


No way would I use 2wd, keep your 4x4.
Also you can sell the D35ttb and 8.8 with 4.10 when you go solid and 9"

I dont think that 9" is the weak one, but check the numbers, I think the crappy 9" was in the 60's early 70's

 

[AlaskanJack]

Originally posted by 410Fortune
check the Mustang boards, you can get 4.10 R&P for the 8.8 used el cheapo.
Of course its not a whole lot new either......I think it was $130 + install kit......


No way would I use 2wd, keep your 4x4.
Also you can sell the D35ttb and 8.8 with 4.10 when you go solid and 9"

I dont think that 9" is the weak one, but check the numbers, I think the crappy 9" was in the 60's early 70's

Yes but I can also get new R&P sets on Ebay for $128. Just tell them what you want gear wise anything from 3.73 up to 6. something. So that was what I was contemplating. As far as the gear set up I don't worry about it. We just did one on my buddies Ex installing 4.56's. Well I watched mainly and helped some but it isn't that difficult just time consuming.

Oh and my 8.8" rear has an Auburn LS or No-Slip I don't know which but its an Auburn. But I think some crap got into it since the rear wheels sometimes turn in opposite directions and other times the same direction, then maybe only one wheel will spin. I think some metal is stuck in the side gears.

What is the difference in the Auburn LS and the No-Slip?? I was also considering the resell factor once I do the axle swap. Which was why I was looking 4.88's. I know a lot of Jeepers like running 4.88's up here.

 

[410Fortune]

factory L/S is usually good for about 30-40K miles, I have seen some that still grip after 100K, but those were "wife's" Explorers with highway miles.

If you are getting rid of it in a year dont mess with the L/S, you can rebuild it if you want, the kit is cheap.

You can get a little more grip out of it without using the friction modifier.

As to who makes your I believe the stock units are made by Ford, not Auburn

 

[AlaskanJack]

No I was saying that my 8.8" rearend has had an Auburn put in it by a previous owner. I also know that Auburn makes a LS and a No-Slip unit but don't know what the difference is. I have a few Ford LS carriers in my garage so I know the difference in their looks.

 

[410Fortune]

well I dont know about Auburn but to me limited slip means it has a breaking point, certain ft/lbs and NO slip = locker.
Buit who knows what Auburn means by No Slip........

 

[james t]

good or crappy 9" really has nothing to do with the bearing size. obviously the big bearing would be better, but small bearing rear's are ok as thats just not something that breaks unless its wore out. what makes the EB 9" weak is the stock 28 spline axles. whatever you have, pull an axle and see what the spline count is. someone before you may or may not have upgraded it to a 31, 33, or 35 spline. all EB 9's came with 28 spline axles stock.

 

[SteveVB]

If you are getting an EB to use the Engine, trans transfercase, and SFA and suspension, why not just put the explorer body on the EB frame?? Anyone know if the body widths and the frame widths are similar? Seems like it would be a whole lot easier to swap the body than remove everything and try and make it fit on the explorer frame. Moving a few body mounts will be a whole lot easier than making new cross members engine mounts, suspension mount points, etc.

maybe Im missing something- like you arent getitng a frame with all that stuff or the frames not in good enough shape??

Just a thought.

BTW- I have a set of NEW FMS 4.10s for 150 +ship if you go that way

 

[AlaskanJack]

Originally posted by SteveVB
If you are getting an EB to use the Engine, trans transfercase, and SFA and suspension, why not just put the explorer body on the EB frame?? Anyone know if the body widths and the frame widths are similar? Seems like it would be a whole lot easier to swap the body than remove everything and try and make it fit on the explorer frame. Moving a few body mounts will be a whole lot easier than making new cross members engine mounts, suspension mount points, etc.

maybe Im missing something- like you arent getitng a frame with all that stuff or the frames not in good enough shape??

Just a thought.

BTW- I have a set of NEW FMS 4.10s for 150 +ship if you go that way

I knew you had the gears I checked that out. But the frame and body are in very poor shape. 80K original miles. It will be stripped down here in the next week and all useable parts are being removed then the frame and rusted body parts are being cut up.

Way in the back of my head I would like to build up the 302 and swap it in. My primary focus is are the axles and tranny. I will need to get a C5 bellhousing to mate up with my 4.0L. I am considering using the D20 t-case but for now I will use the BW1354 Manual t-case. It will probably be 6 months or so before I get everything ready to go on. So in the meantime I wouldn't mind being able to join my comrades in some upgoming 4x4 trips.

Without checking I am betting that the splines on the axleshafts are 28. The rig was probably never really wheeled just used the 4x4 in the snow. It looks like it did a lot of sitting based on the old tires and rust. But the items I am getting look real good and that darned engine is strong running with no visible leaks which surprised me.

 

[mrboyle]

If the 9" you are planning to use is from the EB you are taking a step backwards in strength. All EB 9" axles ran small bearing axles and weak 28 spline axles. You can upgrade the 3rd. member and axles to 31 spline (35 and 40 spline axles are also available) but the small wheel bearings aren't any better than what you already have with the 8.8.

 

[AlaskanJack]

But there are considerably more choices out there for a 9" rear vs the 8.8 rear. There are numerous Detroit lockers available on Ebay everyday for the 9" averaging $150. I knew I would possibly need to upgrade the to 31 spline axleshafts. I think for the cheaper parts available it makes sense. I just found some Currie 31 spline axleshafts for the 9" for $65. So you can see why this is such a draw for me to swap to a 9".