8.8 rear end
- Thread starter dapenberthy
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the 8.8 rear end is a good one to use, with a few changes. the biggest one being installing a C clip eliminator kit. there are a few different types on the market, the best one replaces the housing ends with 9" ford ends, and the axles also get replaced as well to something more substantial. and since you are likely to have to narrow the 8.8, or modify it in other ways, you may as well upgrade it while you have it apart.
unless your running Huge power I wouldn't bother with a c clip kit, I would look for a 31 spline axle, I'm not 100% sure on the width needed but a late model 8.8 from an explorer should be 31s with disk brakes and 5x4.5 bolt pattern 
I need one for my cherokee
I need one for my cherokee
brianj5600
Active Member
Strong, cheap and everywhere. It all depends on how much power you plan to make. For a mild build an 8" is plenty. I originally put a 95 GT 8.8, which also has disc brakes, in my 67 with late model wheels and no spacers. I had less than $200 in the rear end. It held up fine at around 500rwhp with slicks and drag radials. I replaced it with another 8.8 from an F150 with 35 spline axles, spool, 9" ends and Explorer brakes. I have about $1000 in this one and don't think I will ever make enough power to break it. There are a bunch of options depending on what you are trying to do and what year car you have. A grinder and a welder is all I used to get the GT rear end in mine.
The new one.
The new one.
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unless your running Huge power I wouldn't bother with a c clip kit, I would look for a 31 spline axle, I'm not 100% sure on the width needed but a late model 8.8 from an explorer should be 31s with disk brakes and 5x4.5 bolt pattern
I need one for my cherokee
i personally just HATE c clips.
how many millions of them are out there and what % of them break? unless your doing something extreme, there is no reason to bother with the time and $$ to remove them to fix a nonissue.
Hell I run a Spooled c-clip 28 spline Dana 35 on 33's probably the worst axle in the world, and abuse the crap out of it for years with no issue, I don't see how putting a 31 spline behind a mustang would possibly phase it unless your running a stupid amount of power.
Rusty67
Dirt-Old 20+Year Member
Despite the C-Clip being scary conceptually and the evidence that they really don't fail under most conditions, I would still replace them if it was in the budget. Why ? I hate working with them. They are a pain in the neck when you are under the car and if they aren't there, no pain in the neck.
brianj5600
Active Member
if an axle breaks in a c-clip vs non c-clip it's going to break under the same condition, the axle shafts are the same strength. the only difference is that by modifying the axles to no c-clip your chances of leakage is higher. since your removing the outer seal that was designed for the axle and replacing it with a retainer.
yes if you break a shaft with a c-clip there is a chance the wheel and shaft will come out of the housing, but again the axles are both going to break under the same conditions, and even with a non c-clip your still dead in the water.
yes if you break a shaft with a c-clip there is a chance the wheel and shaft will come out of the housing, but again the axles are both going to break under the same conditions, and even with a non c-clip your still dead in the water.
zookeeper
Founding Member
I guess the 8.8 is a good, stout and affordable rear axle, but for the life of me I just can't understand the love affair with them. Ford 8 and 9 inch rears are not hard to find, are affordable, have huge aftermarket support and are lots easier to swap gears in. Plus, you don't have to use late model wheels, which is not exactly my favorite look. Want to drive it to work every day and drag race on the weekends? With a 9 inch, you can swap out gears in an easy couple of hours and a few bucks for a gasket. They already have retainers, so c-clip eliminators are unneeded and they are (IMHO) a better looking axle. But to each his own...
Rusty67
Dirt-Old 20+Year Member
The "love affair" is that they are cheap and readily available. You can get a 31 spline 3.55 8.8 out of a junkyard with disc brakes for next to nothing. The 8.8 will handle more power then an 8 by far and only uses slightly more energy to turn. The 9" can take way more abuse but at the same time is a much less efficient rear end.
I don't like the 8.8 but it is just so damned practicle.
brianj5600
Active Member
Stock vs stock, I'll take an 8.8. If you put much power to a 9" with a stock case/pinion support you are looking for trouble. They are known for pushing the pinion out the front and ruining the driveshaft and breaking the trans case. Most people in this section are safe with a stock case, but if you hook up and make over 500hp it would be wise to buy a good case and pinion support. I have about $1000 in my 8.8 and should be good to at least 1000hp.
WTFO
Member
No offense but you've got to be the only person in the world to rag on a Ford 9". With a stock nodular case you could easily put 500hp with a spool and slicks and have no issues. Thousands of drag racers do it every weekend.
8.8s also are used and abused by thousands of racers due to the ranks of Fox body and New Edge owners with forced induction or nitrous engines. As long as either axle and the car's suspension are set up properly dimension wise there shouldn't be very much part breakage.
brianj5600
Active Member
A nodullar case will take some abuse with a big bearing pinion support. They can be found, but most people are proud of them. A lot of people think that any old case out of a junkyard will be fine. I was not trying to rag on 9" rear ends. Properly built they are bullit proof. I am not sure that any stock case is stronger than an 8.8. Put a girdle on an 8.8 and it will be hard to break.
8 or 9" rears are not be hard to find? I guess that all depends on how hard you have to look. Even when you do, you'll probably find a open diff rear that is the wrong width w/ a bazillion miles on it. 8.8's are everywhere, in every junk yard in the US. A 95 GT mustang rear will have disc brakes and 5 lugs (5 on 4.5),will have a T-loc diff and will more than likely be a 3.73 ratio if the donor car had a 5 speed. It will only require cutting the lower control arm mounts off, and welding the spring perches on ( which can be bought brand new for cheap) in order to fit the car. Even in stock 28 spline configuration, a street tire'd car will not hurt it. (Tire spin being the buffer). However If you're gonna race it,28 spline axles are iffy as drag slicks and a the sticky starting line will definitely test them.
But I doubt the "benefit" of removing the street geared center section and swapping a 4-something ratio in place so you can go drag racing and then re-installing that heavy assed center back in on sunday night so you can go to work is truly a benefit. Just get a 5 speed from the same donor car as the rear and you can keep the 3.73's all week long.
When comparing the two in a head to head strength match, A 9" rear is so much stronger than an 8.8 even in stock form it's almost foolish to make that statement. W/ the c clips, as one drawback, the other is the tendency of the axle tubes to twist and actually bend forward under the stresses of a drag strip launch. ( If you haven't seen more than one 8.8 with the axle tubes bent to hell after being in a drag car, then you haven't seen too many 8.8's.) Additionally, the bearing caps are prone to breakage (hence the need for the girdle) If you're gonna expect the one you're building to withstand 1000 hp, you better consider doing the bracing as I saw no evidence in your pics.
I had an 8.8 in my 1400whp drag car. The Tubes were replaced w/ thicker stronger units, and were not only welded as in your picture above, they had tubular braces on both front and back that tied into the center. The caps were replaced w/ billet pieces and were held in place w/ studs. The girdle was an integral part of the actual bracing that spanned the entire length of the rear. I had 35 spline axles and a full spool w/ 9" housing ends holding thee axles in. Despite all of that, I still expected to break it. All just a tad north of "putting a girdle on it".
The bottom line is you can make a 9" bullit proof. You cannot do that w/ an 8.8, you can only get close.
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