Ford 8.8
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Ford 8.8
What’s up!!! I have a 71 short box that has a 360 c-6. When I bought it, it had bad rings and needed to be rebuilt. I can across a 96 F-150 for really cheap. It runs great but looks like crap. So I am going to use the engine and trans to upgrade to fuel injection and overdrive. As we know these trucks have strong 9" rear ends already. But they track narrower than the front. I have a 9" from a '78 f-150 I was going to put in to solve that issue. But since I have an 8.8, I am not sure which one is better. What do you all think would be easier and or better? Thanks for the input!!<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com
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Joined: Sep 2004
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From: wi
8.8's dont have as much pinion support as the 9" and they have axle clips like a chevy rearend witch can fall out meaning your axle can come out of the tube while your goin down the road!! the 9"the axles bolt in with 4 bolts on each side. and for some reason i dont no but have seen with a few cases the ring gears ware out(probably from miss alinement but from ford?)
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Joined: Nov 2005
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From: Madison, SD
The 8.8's are a good rear end, when setup properly they'll take a lot of abuse... In street use, the axles don't fall out, takes a lot of horsepower and some good hooking slicks to break them. My Mustang has an 8.8 with 40,000 miles on it behind a 351W, even with sticky street tires on it haven't had any problems with it and I would imagine I'm putting out considerably more horsepower then a '96 F-150.
The 9" rears are a bit stronger and do have axle retainers, but then if axle breakage on an 8.8 is a consideration you can always add a set of C-clip eliminators... Probably not necessary on a pickup with street tires, gonna spin them tires more then break axles!!!!
I prefer a 9" myself, but only because gear changing is so much easier then on an 8.8. If you don't need to be able to change gear ratios's in the rear end quickly, nothing wrong with an 8.8.....
The 9" rears are a bit stronger and do have axle retainers, but then if axle breakage on an 8.8 is a consideration you can always add a set of C-clip eliminators... Probably not necessary on a pickup with street tires, gonna spin them tires more then break axles!!!!
I prefer a 9" myself, but only because gear changing is so much easier then on an 8.8. If you don't need to be able to change gear ratios's in the rear end quickly, nothing wrong with an 8.8.....
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8.8's are a great rear end, we swap them into our jeeps all the time, their very tough for the size
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Joined: Feb 2007
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From: Pittsburgh,Pa.
The only 8.8's I've seen fail have been badly abused. Hammer on a 9" hard enough and it will break too. Here's something else to take into consideration. Since you're planning to use both the engine and trans from that 96 you'll need a way to drive the speedometer. On the 96 the speedo gets it's signal from the sensor thats mounted in the housing of the 8.8. Even if you can find a way to drive the mechanical speedo in your 71 the powertrain control module from the 96 will need a speed signal to work correctly.
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Joined: Sep 2004
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From: wi
i dont know why if the 8.8's are so good why have i put 3 of them in my 92f150? id love to stick a 9" in there but i need that tone ring for the speedo. the 8.8 to isnt as tryed and true,proven to extent as the 9".
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Joined: Nov 2005
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From: Madison, SD
New ones, or something out of a junk yard that you have no history on??? Most rear end failures can be attributed to abuse, lack of maintenance, or improper set up..... In a pickup, could probably add overloading or towing too heavy of a trailer.... Got to be something wrong in your situation that has caused so many failures.... My little Mustang is by no means a lightweight, all stock body and interior, etc. Done absolutely nothing to lighten the car up. It gets 3 or 4 thousand miles on it every summer and a couple times a year gets a set of slicks bolted on and bracket raced for a day, and still no problems. There are bunches of 5.0 Mustangs running them at the drag strips around the country, even about a half dozen here locally... None of the ones I know of around here have had any failures other then the usual stuff attributed to the abuse of drag racing.... a few bearing failures, and one car wiped out a ring gear--though it was still the stock factory gear and the car had well over 50,000 miles on it....
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