Hey guys, Before I put my rear end (HA!) under the knife, I wanted to get a few opinions. *When using another 'short-side' axle shaft, most guys online seem to agree the the appropriate amount to cut off the axle housing (tube) is 3" on the long side of the housing. BUT The actual difference in axle shaft length is 30.5" - 27.625" = 2.875" Or 2-7/8". Should I cut 3" off the long side? Or should I cut 2-7/8" off the long side?
Never done it so my advice is worth what it costs. I would shoot for 2.875". You don't want your splined end bottoming bottoming out before the bearing is fully seated. That said, I don't think .125" variance is all that critical.
Can't answer, but those 8.8 rears sure seem be plentiful and cheap, with good gears and posi. What width are you going to end up with?
I, too, would think the 2 7/8" would be the number to use. Better and 1/8" shorter than an 1/8" too long. Ray
Remember, on an 8.8, it needs to be really close because the shaft is held in with a C clip. The early Ranger 8.8 is 56 5/8 outside to outside. How narrow did you need?
So that gets you 53 and change with the one side narrowing? Not much narrower than the S10 at 54 and change.
Cut the exact same as diffeerence in axle length. 2 7/8". The 8.8" Ford is a excellent choice, and very reasonably priced for a strong rearend. Just put a '93 8.8" in my 454 powered Falcon. It's a 3.73 posi for a whopping $175 at the local wrecking yard.
measure the axle, people say 3'' if it's 2 7/8 do it the same ,i have used 2 of these under a 40 coupe and a 33 worked fine...but had a good friend do the narrowing, he also has one under his 40 vert no problems.look for the posi one , plenty out there ...have fun
The 8.8" is pretty much a copy of GM 12 bolt rear, but later 8.8" have 31 spline axles, while early have 28 spline. The 12 bolt GM has 30 spline. So the later 8.8" is slightly stronger axles than the 12 bolt.
Wow! Thanks for all the replies, guys! I plan on pressing one of the tube out of the housing, much like this fellow did: http://www.stangfix.com/testforum2/index.php?topic=11946.0 My end goal is to have an axle that is 56-5/8" WMS to WMS. It'd be just about perfect, and I believe it's where two short axle shafts will get me. Thanks again HAMBers.
I've done this with an OT car. I'd go with the 2 7/8". I didn't push out the axle tube, just shoved something down the tube to keep some bits of metal out of the center section.
I like to update/close my threads, normally. Here's the progress on the shortened 8.8. I've drilled out the welded "plugs", and pressed the tube out of the center section. Then I measured exactly how different the axle shafts were using a rather creative set up! (Those little rare earth magnets are super handy when you need to hold small objects in place.) Comes out to 74mm difference. That's exactly how much I'm removing from the axle tube before pressing it back into the center section. Eyeballin' has its place... but I had the opportunity to do it (almost) perfectly, so why not!
I've got on sitting on stands that has been shortened with the pass. side axle--it's right at 57" backing plate to backing plate. The guy that did the shortening just cut the right amt. for the pass. side axle and welded up the tubes (strongly advised while its out) Mine has drums fyi. cooger
WDSTR, I am in the process of attempting this same mod. I ma having trouble. I drilled out the plug welds with a 1/2" drill, but I cannot tell if I got all of the weld. I am trying to press it out with the power pac, but it does not budge. Any suggestions? Thanks, Brad
From looking at my tube's plug weld, I'd say 1/2" isn't large enough to get rid of all the weld. I'd go closer to 5/8" or 3/4" to get it all. A little big wont hurt, but a little small wont let the tube push out, as you've discovered.
You need to set the pinion in line with the driveshaft. At this point you either decide what to cut to be even with where you want your wheel flange to be. Most of the time you have a wheel & rim size selected. If so you need to figure where you want the rim to sit. measure from the back side of the rim mounting surface to your rear. This sets how much you cut off. You can also guess where to cut the axle then play with different rim back spacings. You can take a stock 8,8 and cut 1-1/2 off each side of the tube and axles. This will allow for propped spline engagement with stock parts. We used c-clip eliminators to hold axles in.
Normally we cut the ends of the housings off. And reweld them on after you narrow the tubes. You must use a jig for welding..
never figured out what year/model 8.8 yours is from. from another site I got Rangers 90-92 = 56 1/2" 93 up = 58 1/2" Explorers = 59 1/2" - info may help others with figuring out what to use for their particular ride.
WDSTR, I drilled the plug welds out with a 3/4" drill bit and the tube still won't press out. I tried applying pressure to one side while carefully hammering on the leaf spring perch on the opposite side. No luck. Would it be advisable to heat the casting to expand it? This seemed like an easier approach than cutting and welding the tube, but now I am not so sure. Thanks, Brad
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