Rearend question

What do you guy think about using a f*rd 8.8 Explorer rear end in a 47-53?
They come cheap with disc brakes and limited slip with a nice array of gear ratios. Any one with experience running on of these?

[Daniel U]

You said the "f" word.

Yea i know i said the "f" word but at the price for these rear ends ill just grind the oval off.

[Brent5631]

i have one on my 56. i haven't run with it yet but they are supposed to be pretty strong and are a good width. mine is out of a 97 exploder with disk brakes and 3.73's

[1-ton of fun]

nothing wrong with those. the should have a trac-loc with factory 31 spline axles in them.

Thanks guys good to know. I'm going to pick up one out of a 96 exploder with discs, trac lock and 3.73's for $200, which is less than the disc brake coversion cost for my 10 bolt.

[mcarrel]

Originally Posted by TH53

Thanks guys good to know. I'm going to pick up one out of a 96 exploder with discs, trac lock and 3.73's for $200, which is less than the disc brake coversion cost for my 10 bolt.

When I did mine I thought about using the Explorer rear end looks like it would be a good fit but then I found out they have an off-set pinion I think it was about 2 1/4 inches. Not sure how this will effect the drive line. Anyone else?

I ended up finding an 8.8 out of a T-bird turbo coupe 3:73 limitted slip. It fit really nice and the pinion is centered.

[1-ton of fun]

i only paid $200 for my 10-bolt disc conversion

yes the exploder is offset. the turbo coupe is centered, so is the mustang, and lincoln mark vii.

Well ive been doing some reading and not finding a whole lot on the 8.8's so far i have figgured out that not all exploders came with a off center pinons maybe just 4x4 or AWD? or maybe the other way around? any way i am going to be heading to the junk yard in a couple of weeks when i go on spring brake as they have alot of these rear ends laying around. i will measure the
2wd the 4x4 and the AWD and let you guys know what i find.


Also about the offset center sections, i know hundreds of cars/trucks are made with offset center sections hell mopars came with there engines offset by somewhere around a inch? I think most cars pinon offset is done with up and down not side to side... as a completely straight pinon angle will cause vibration. So i guess the question is how much off set (side to side) is safe without causing vibration?

[michael bustamante]

I work for an extended warranty company and we see alot of these rearends faililng. I dont think I would install one of these unless its already been rebuilt

I have read that the f*rd ring and pinon gears suck, so i am thinking about replacing them with currie, or richmond, ect ect. but the rear ends are nice length with limited slip and discs, and can be found readily avaliable for $200 maybe less. The 10 bolt i have is about an inch narrower than i would like and has a 3.55 open with drums, not to mention alot smaller axles, i am not going crazy with power, somewhere right around 400hp so i do not need crazy upgrades just reliablity and the ability to handle my heavy foot.

[53lochevy]

if you look in the picture of the explorer rearend its too long ur wheel center is going to be all the way on the outside of the wheel and wont show any of the inner wheel hub like on the new cars of today I like mine sitting center or alittle farther back than center to show off the inside of the wheel. My advice get the wheels and tires u want with the amount of offset and get them up under the truck and get one cut to length either send that one in or buy a complete new one built to your needs.

Which picture are you talking about? mcarrel's pic above is of a t-bird rear end i believe... i am pretty sure the explorer rear is 59 3/4" which is narrower than stock i think.

[53lochevy]

maybe just the pic angle really looks long. I believe the stock width is 58-60 so if its within that I say ok.

I think that rear end looks really long too, maybe its a narrowed back half? or maybe the t-bird rears are longer? the 58" 10 bolt i have in looks like the tires will almost rub the frame.

[53lochevy]

get ur tires up under the fenders and then measure from hub end to hub end to see what the distance is. longer or short will tell ya how much offset to use if its not right or keep the tires and wheels and sent off to get cut to length.

[1-ton of fun]

the turbo coupe rears are pretty wide. i know they are wider than the mustangs (like 1.25" on each side wider) so a mustang rear may work. actually the turbo coupe and mustang rear housings are the same width, but the axles are longer. i have an 8.8 in my garage with fox mustang length axles. the sn95 mustang axles (94-98) are a total of 1.5" wider (.75" on each side) the later sn95 (99-04) are even wider (i forget how much)

just food for thought....

Ive thought about the mustang rears but they are harder to come by and more expensive, also they have 28 spline axels not 31 also are not wide enough (94-98) at 58" i think.

I just read that you can have 1" of offset for every 20" of driveshaft, any one ever heard this before?

[mcarrel]

Originally Posted by TH53

I think that rear end looks really long too, maybe its a narrowed back half? or maybe the t-bird rears are longer? the 58" 10 bolt i have in looks like the tires will almost rub the frame.

Actually the 8.8 T-bird rear end is 59" 1 inch narrower than the original. I will probably need to put mini-tubs in the bed. Must be the pic that makes it look long? I have been told the Ford 8.8 is a very dependable rear end even though it is 28 spline I installed new hardened axles I think I am ok. If you are pushing mega HP than I think 9" 31 splines is the way to go. My engine should only be about 300 HP.

see more pics of my project here http://www.tagworld.com/azmark

[slimneverdies]

Hey guys, I've been searching all day through junkyard after junkyard for the last 2 weeks for a 8.8 out of an explorer. For some reason all of the junkyards show me a rear end that measures 57- 1/2" after all my research I see that its suppose to be 59-3/4". All of the shorter rear ends seem to be in the price range of $175-$300. The only one that I found that measures 59-3/4" the guy wants $400 which I talked him down to from $500.

It has 3:73 gears, Disc brakes, sway bar, and it has 33,000 miles out of a 2001.

So my question is, is $400 a good price? (remember- I live in South Florida and everything is expensive)

[hotrodrookie]

I dont know if it helps you or not but I just paid 150 for mine in northern California. Mine had more miles then yours but I dont know If I would pay 400.

[slimneverdies]

Damn, I keep hearing about these $150-$200 deals. Then on other sites I hear people paying 500-600 dollars for them. Ive searched high and low and cant find the price on the low end

[IL boy]

(remember- I live in South Florida and everything is expensive)

that is saying it mildly

[orgalmeister]

Funny that after reading this thread I find this on CL. Not mine and don't know nothing about nothing regarding it.

http://raleigh.craigslist.org/pts/1237706340.html

[slimneverdies]

Now thats crazy. Of course even if its good, it has to be 900 miles away.