97 F150 need whole rear end
 

Is there anyone who can tell Me if there are any aftermarket or rebuilders out there selling axles that dont cost as much as My whole truck?

Iv got the 97 150 with the 3L55 88 , Iv dug all over the place and so far have found junkyard axles for $1k to $2k and aftermarket at $3500 to $4500
The current rear end is un buildable , bearings screwed up then the axle shaft did some damage to the housing. Iv come to find that this was a regular problem for the 8.8 ' s so Im looking at going to the 9.75. If the junkyard axle was a couple hundred dollars Id consider the gamble but that much money for a well worn axle is ridiculas.

Why not just put an 8.8 back in there. I don't think your problem is all that common and 8.8s should be fairly cheap.

Mike

Go to Car-Part.com--Used Auto Parts Market and search for your area. Where in TN are you? I'm in NC close to Lowes Motor Speedway and I have a used one I'll sell ya! I swiped the left shaft out of it but the rest is all there.

Who ever told you that the 8.8 has a problem with the carrier bearings going bad is full of it. For its size, the 8.8 is a great axle.

Im not sure if your aware of craigslist... but alot of people sell parts off a totaled trucks there. I have bought tons of stuff off of craigslist.

Don't know where you're located, but I saw this on Baltimore Craigslist.

Ford 8.8 truck rear

8.8's were in just about every lightweight RWD Ford for the past 20 years they should be dirt cheap. Since you don't have rear disc's there are a lot of early options, most 8.8's later than '98 will have disc brakes on them.

Just as an aside I picked an 8.8 up for $20 out of a late 80's F150 off of ebay a few months back.

I don't think all older F150/Bronco 8.8's have the speed sensor in them though.

Anyone know if post-'97 axles will fit pre-'97 8.8's?

The last time I checked, a few years ago, used 8.8" whole axles where pretty expensive considering they were so common.

The axle shafts themselves will fit as long as they are the same length and spline. The Rangers and Mustangs used 28 spline I believe, and 1/2 tons use 31 spline.

I recently toured the local pick a part yards in chicago, and all of them have flat rate prices on parts. I was searching for several key pieces for an beat 02 F150 I bought . During the search, I ended up buying from the pick a parts, a windshield, bucket seats and console, rear bumper, right side mirror, and front oem ford mud flaps. Example any rear axle assembly would be about $125 and it makes no difference if its from a vega or a F150. You remove it, or they cut it out for $40 to $50 more. I found several F150s and expeditions and 1 navigator, and in the chicagoland area I could have several for maximum $200 or less. Craigslist helped with several other parts including a tailgate. Nos 02 navigator wheels and tires came via ebay and I traveled 120 miles each way for them, and they still had the nubs on the tires. I suggest you venture to a major city and check out what the pick a part yards have to offer, or keep scanning craigslist and ebay for local deals. .

HighTechRedneck

I did the same thing you are wanting to do about three months ago ..

Go from a 8.8 to a 9.75 - 3.55 gears ... on my 4X4

I documented my success on a different forum ..
Ford F150 HELP: Rear Axle Changeout - Drive Shaft does not fit

The installation and removal was not bad at all ... Matter of fact I would rather be doing that then messing with this blasted blend door by removing my complete dashboard! :-banghead

8.8 axle response
 

Im over here in East Tn. Im willing to put the 8.8 back in if I find one. there asking 1250 + shipping in knoxville and another yard wants 750 in newport and these are the 8.8 prices . I have to talked to some associates of mine and they cant build the axle cheaper and even there saying that should be 200 or 300 to get the axle from a junk yard.

I was told by some folks that if careful the 9.75 would be a bolt in
I was also told by pretty good resources that this was common to the 8.8 in the 97 model trucks

The 97 axle has the speed sensor and yes Im using drum brakes

Iv not checked My craigslist latelty
I checked Ebay with little luck there

Iv got a person checking the yards in Penna. too

Thank you for the input Ill see what I come up with

I paid 450 for my 9.75 ratio ... then replaced the wheel cyl and pads... The speed sensor was a direct plug in..

But what a difference between the 8.8 and the 9.75! ... If you pull or work your truck hard... you may want to consider the 9.75. Take a look online for some of the larger wrecking yards to call for prices... Some of these wrecking yards are asking WAY TOO MUCH... I had the same problem here and found one that was resonable and gave me a 90 day warrenty...
They can ship it to your home ...

Isn't 9.75" the rear-end size and not the ratio?

Am I missing something here?

I think he knows the difference and just "mis-spoke" here.