I have an '88 Bronco and I am planning on installing a 6" lift next spring to accomodate larger tires. I have concerns about the durability of the rear 8.8 axle so I am considering swapping in the 10.25 full floating axle from my '91 F-250 when I go to 38" tires. Also if I do this, I would need to convert the front Dana 44 TTB axle to 8 lugs also. What would I need to do? Has anyone done this swap? You can see my Bronco at <a href="http://www.fortunecity.com/silverstone/gear/40">http://www.fortunecity.com/silverstone/gear/40</a> .

 

I wouldn't drive around with two different rims on my truck, you would need two spares. The 10.25 uses an eight lug rim which are generally only availible in 16 and 16.5. You can find, at least for a chevy pattern, a special eight lug 15" rim. You could use the same tires all around, but the rims wont match front and back. The bigger brakes on the 10.25 are cool but the easier thing to do would be to put in a 9". I had one in a truck with 38s and had no problems with it. The 9" has the biggest shafts in any 1/2 to axel I have ever seen, and it uses the standard 5 bolt pattern. Parts ( like Dertiot lockers)are cheaper and more availible too. You might have to change the spring pads to make it fit, if you do, angle the whole diff case up towards the transfer case. This helps the U-joint run straighter and last longer. Make new pads and weld them on, dont use blocks, or if you do weld them to the pad as well. I have an 8.8 in my current truck with 33s on it and have had my fair share of problems. The limited slip clutches wore out, Ive replaced them twice. I put three offset bearings on the right side, they didnt wear out they just leaked, and the seal is not availible seperatly from the bearing. The carrier sheared itself in half right along the casting line that runs verticly between the holes for the spider gear shafts. This chipped the r&p a little on the edges, but I removed the burs and put it back in, supprisingly it doesn't whine at high speed. Needless to say the 8.8 sucks for big tires or high power. You could call Moser Engineering or some other specialty drive train maker and price HD axels and carriers. Most of the HD aftermarket shafts use a different spline count than the factory, so you have to use their special carrier, plus new bearings and a master install kit $$$$$. It would probably be cheaper to just make the 9" fit, because you wont have to beef it up. If you go 6" up you will have to get new drive shafts made with either axel, just make sure you have the right yoke on the axel end to match the 9"( I don't remember if 8.8 and 9" are the same). Does anyone know if you can take a 250 spindle/ brake/knucke assy. off at the knuckle and fit it on to a Dana 44 in the same place? that way you would get the bigger brakes bearings and the eight lug pattern you need to go with the 10.25 in the rear.
Steve