hey ya'll, so me and my uncle are picking up a project that my grandpa has let sit for 10-15 years. anyway, it has a lincoln rear end, 5x4.5, and it came with disc brakes. i need to get all of the disc brake set up but my grandpa dosn't remember what year its from. can anybody give me and idea of the year and possibly models this rear end could have came from?
going to guess that its a 8.8 out of a late model town car or similar.. think late 80's.. if it is, get ready for sticker shock when you price rotors and calipers..
S407F= lincoln continental '85, lincoln mark series '87-92 http://www.fordification.com/tech/rearends_ford13.htm the date code is N88, i assumeis a 1988 mk series
The rotors aren't too bad a price, ($36+ core) but calipers are spendy! About $57 a piece, plus core charge that takes them to around $80. I'd head to the u pull it and see if you can find rotors and calipers.
The rear end is essentially the same as used in Mustangs too, so that is another model source for brake parts and more plentiful than the Lincoln. For that matter, look at the Explorer too, lots of 8.8 axles under Ford products.
Actually, I think the 8 L 10 is the date code. 1988, Nov. or Dec. 10th. Should be from a 1989 model. Not positive, but would guess the N88 just means 8.8" ring gear. I've had 8 and 9 inch Fords that had 8's and 9's after the gear ratio on the tag.
You may run into issues with using another 8.8" Ford disc system, as the axle length may not line up with the bracketry and caliper setup for a different year. If you decide to try a different year 8.8" donor, then take careful measurements of your mounting flange on the axle, and distance to the flange on your present axle, so you can determine if the rotor and caliper will sit in the proper location to align with what you have now.
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