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Originally Posted by Jim_Sams
The problem is there are no 8.8" swaps that are "Direct Bolt Ins"
The Explorer versions are still a hack job.....
You can buy "New" direct fit 9" housings on Ebay for $295 or so. I can't see the bargain in an 8.8 swap just yet.
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I understand what you're saying, Jim, but the sad reality (outside of buying a custom-built 9-inch housing) is the original "built-to-fit" 9-inch rears are going the way of the dinosaur.
If a person cannot come up with an original, affordable, Ford-produced 9-inch rear end assembly, that would basically bolt-into their vehicle, (outside of paying for a custom-built housing), it means they will have to settle for a wrecking yard 9-inch from a Ford truck or car, if they are dead set on a wrecking yard 9-inch. That most likely means having to get a 9-inch rear end housing that's too wide for their intended application, and in the case of many later '70s passenger cars --that means coil spring rear ends, and in the trucks it means removing the shock mounting brackets and flipping the perches to the under side of the axle tubes and relocating them more inboard.
If this is the case, that means they will have to cut the axle tubes down narrower, get custom axles of the right length [and lug pattern] to accomodate the shortened housing tube length, weld the spring perches on for a 43-inch leaf spring spread, and remove all the associated bracketry that's not needed. If having to make some mods to the 8.8" constitutes as a "hack job", then this senario for the 9-inch would also fall under that same classification, and that's what it's all coming to.
As JohnnyK & I had stated, in order to get the 31-spline axles, decent rear ratios, Traction-Lok, disc brakes, etc. for the 9-inch, you are going to be spending a
lot more money beyond the initial $295.00 cost of the custom 9-inch rear housing in order to have the same equipment that already comes stock on many of the 8.8" rears for a lot less cost to get there with the 8.8" to start with.
If we are talking all new parts to build a 9-inch rear, [assuming the wrecking yard supply has completely dried up], custom axles for a 9-inch (regardless of spline count) are in the ~$300.00 range. A Traction-Lok differential ~$280.00-$400 (depending on type), discs would be ~another $400. A complete 3rd member depending on case type [whether N-case or C7AW case], and depending on the differential type and gear ratio is going to range from ~$550-1,000 +. --Assuming the cheaper end of the parts spectrum, you are looking at ~$1530.00 dollars for
new parts to put a bullet-proof 9-inch together, not including the $295.00 custom 9-inch housing itself to put all those parts in/onto.
I gave $200.00 for the '96 Explorer 8.8" I bought and the only thing it didn't have was a Traction-Lok differential --which I can pick up for $50.00 or less.
I wish the 9-inch was still plentiful, but the reality is the salvage yard units are becoming extinct a little more each day, and the reality is that we as older car owners will have to adapt to other, cheaper, more abundant means to accomplish the same basic end results if money
is an object.
The Explorer 8.8" rear I have has leaf spring pads on 39-inch centers. Just from breifly looking at it, it looks like all I will have to do is move the pads 2" outward on each side to put them where they need to be. The only other bracketry welded to this housing are the two pads the factory sway bar attaches to.
There are no goofy eyes on the upper, center, portion of the housing or on the axle tubes, for a 4-link, that would need to be removed like you would find on an 8.8" from a Mustang or Lincoln Mk VII. So, it's pretty uncluttered and from what I can see, only minimal mods would have to be made in order to make it work and have a very strong rear end assembly for (relatively overall) little cash expenditure in the process.
