I'm thinking I would like to take my open diff, 2.75 ratio rear and swap the third member out to a 3.55 ratio limited slip...Any thoughts on where to go?
You might consider an 8.8 out of an '90s Town car, crown vic, or big merc. Comes with disc brakes and posi. That's what I use and the width was perfect for my '29 A. You can pick one up all day long for 100-300 dollars all day long. Although they're not as beefy as a nine inch, they work great unless 500 or more hp and race it or have an extremely heavy foot
I could be wrong, but isn't an 8.8" a different design than 8". Will it fit the same housing or an 8.8" housing only. Good luck finding an 8" - 3.55 posi.
Yep, the 8 and 8.8 are not the same. He is looking for a replacement center section for his 8 incher. Wherever you go, do not buy from a guy from Pa who sells on Ebay. He has a great rating because people put in feedback as soon as they get the product before they use it, however, after a while they start leaking. We have bought two nine inchers from him at the same time and both are leaking from the front seal. We sent one back and he redid it and it is leaking again. Just a word of warning. They also whine like a quickchange. Don
I've never seen anything but 2.79's and 3.00's in Granadas. MII's have 3.40's in some of them. As a matter of fact in hundreds of 8" rear end tear downs, I have never seen a set of 3.55's, though they are available new.
I'm trying to avoid the 8.8 swap. I'm thinking I'm looking for a vendor to purchase a complete third member from....Any thoughts there?
I bought my posi and gears at Randy's Ring and Pinion. They have 2 web addresses: www.randysringandpinion.com or www.ringandpinion.com expensive.....mine was about $1200
My 2 cents is for the money your getting close to 9" territory.8" are weak and small and were never designed for any sort of power/abuse. I put one in my 29 because it was free and everybody said with my light car small motor I'd never hurt it.......................
Listen, 8 inch rear are strong if there built properly. I purchased my 69 Ranchero 12 years ago and beat the shit out of it for 8 years of every day driving. Before i decided to remove the 302 and c4 and install mustang two suspension with a 351C and a c6 with 350 hp. I just last year decided to remove it and replace the clutches and brgs. But If your looking for a replacement center section listen to what is sai. Get one from Randy's ring and pinion. There build good stuff and i myself have purchased ring and pinions and other parts from them. They now there shit. If you decide to go to a 8.8 you won't be able to change the center section, You have to know how to rebuild it yourself, or dring it to someone that knows how to build them. Other then that the only thing i can tell you is. Remember: When It Sounds Good - It Looks Good. RC
Used them forever and only lost one. Best gear I ever found was a 3.40 open. it worked well with a 29" tire
I've heard great things about Randy's. What is odd is that 9 inch rear center sections are usually cheaper than 8 inchers. Not sure if it is because more 9's were built or what. Don
The Mustang Two and Pinto with the V-6 engine had a 3.40 or 3.50 gear and will drop right in to your 8". There is a trick to redo your open so it performs like a locker. you need Ford washer #C90Z4238H. Drop me a PM and I'll have my buddy tell you how it's done.
I agree with what RCDARKKNIGHT<SCRIPT type=text/javascript> vbmenu_register("postmenu_7410749", true); </SCRIPT> said.. if built right, with the right stuff and maintained, it will take years of use..Usually a rear end failure is due to something not playing well in the set up (tollerances, bearings, lash..used parts etc.)..not so much the difference in between a ford 9" or a ford 8" you may have more ratio options no question the bigger 9-inch is superior in the strength category, the 8-inch shouldn't be totally disregarded. They share the same excellent design and both use 28-spline axles. 9-inch rears can be equipped with much stronger 31-spline and larger axles, in most cases, the smaller 28-spline setups are more than strong enough for 300hp cars for street use If your running more then 300 HP on the street and plan on abusing it, than maybe a 9 would be the way to go..also conciter tire size and width and if you can get those tires to stick or not..thats usually what starts breaking shit thats built right to begin with..dont just assume an 8" is weak..because even a shitty built 9" can blow apart the same way a shitty built 8" can
While not the cheapest option, Currie sells an aluminum diff housing for the Ford 8". They also have several different limited slip units, and the ring/pinion ratio you want.
3.55 is the lowest factory 8-inch gear ratio. Anything else 3.73 or 4.11 or whatever lower than 3.55 is aftermarket only. Finding a 3.55 is hard enough, a 3.55 factory limited slip is like hen's teeth. You can find the 3.55 in Mustang II or Pinto/Bobcat. Not sure they were ever used in others. Early Mustangs might have that 3.55, although I think they were typically 3.25 as lowest gear? Anyone confirm that? Most all 8-inch I have run across are 3.00 or 2.80 gears. Those are super easy to find. As for my opinion on strength, I would put an 8-inch up to about 350 hp without much concern; it will be plenty reliable and take the power without any troubles. Assuming you have street tires and not slicks that will make good traction. All 8-inch have 28 spline axles, same as 9-inch small bearing 28 spline axles. 8-inch also have the 3rd small pinion support bearing like a 9-inch which makes them stronger than they would otherwise be. Ford put the 8-inch behind most all small blocks, only the highest performance small blocks received the 9-inch. The Ranger or Exploder 8.8 is popular because many are 3.73 and limited slip. Plus now they are easy to find in the junkyards. Cars with 8-inch are less popular now as they are all 70's and earlier for the most part.
Actually ... Ford offered a 3.80 gear set for the 8 inch. Fairlane = WCL-G WCL-P ... WDK-E And I pulled one from a early Falcon station wagon also
V-8 Mustang II's came with a 3.00 8" (I believe the 3.55 may have only been an option in a V-6 car) but the limited slip option was only from 76 to 77. I bought a 78 M-II new in 78 but had to put my own posi unit.. The 8'' is plenty strong, I broke the 4 speed 6 times but only once for the rear end!
I bought a mustang II 8" from an ad in the paper for $50.00. Took it home and found out it had 3:55 gears and was limited slip, talk about shocked. I ended up selling the center section to a friend for that same $50.00 to use in his B/FX style Comet cyclone. Matt
Can you fit in the Explorer 2wd 8.8" ? That came with the 3.55 you mentioned,..as well as disc brakes, hat rotors with park brakes. 4TTRUK
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