8.8 question

The Ford 8.8 is a popular upgrade for Comanches and Cherokees, but I do have a question: Do they use C clips?

Or basically, what does the wheel do if an axle snaps?

I'm not 100% but if I remember right they have c-clips like the other small Ford rearends. Correct me if I'm wrong, I do have a question to add. Is there any moding to the rear end when you swap it in? And would disk brakes or drum brakes make any difference?

-Cody

Yes...the 8.8's do use c-clips. That is the one downside to them. Iremember a friend of mine a few years ago having to do c-clip eliminators in his Mustang for drag racing as they were not allowed to run c-clip axles when running certain speeds or times.

Yes...there is modification required to install them. There will be some cutting & welding to be done on perches and most people will change the pinion flange that they come with to a regular yoke style connector. Disk brakes are more desired for their better braking power.

Yes, they use c-clips. If an axle breaks, it slides out. You can avoid this by running C-clip eliminators or 9" axle tube ends.

Is there any moding to the rear end when you swap it in? And would disk brakes or drum brakes make any difference?

All I had to do to mine was cut and re-weld the perches, and shorten my DS a little bit. As for disc brakes, the only added mod is hooking up the parking brake.

yep C-Clips, got one in my 89, took it to Crawler Tech to have them weld the perches on. I went back to the JY and found some Discs and slapped those on afterward.

There are tons of sites out there on the 8.8 conversion:

http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_li ... er8_8.html

http://www.jedi.com/obiwan/jeep/ford88.html - I did my E-Brake cables like this site depicts....took me a couple of days to figure it out :wall: , then saw his site,,,,,wrap the cable around the E-Brake lever and use a cable clamp....duh :dunce: But it still ain't that tight.

first picture I've posted, lets see if it works...

Stick with the Explorer versions, stay away from Rangers and Mustangs (some have the good 31 spline shafts some don't). IIRC 95 and up come with discs, anything before that is drums. My 8.8 is a 92 with welded tubes and 96 discs. My leafs were in great shape, when I did the SOA I got 7-8 inches, Had to go with 6.5" coils and 2" spacers and RE drop brackets to make it look level, I drove around for a while with my @@s end way up there. Now it rides great it will do 75mph (downhill only) and not a hint of driveline vibes or deathwobble. Also put in a SYE and double cardan & CV rear driveshaft.

I've heard urban legends that there is also a stock Explorer that came with 4.56s and LS. I've never seen one though and have scrounged every JY in the Denver area. I sure wasted a lot time looking when I could've been doing this --

Stick with the Explorer versions, stay away from Rangers and Mustangs (some have the good 31 spline shafts some don't). IIRC 95 and up come with discs, anything before that is drums. My 8.8 is a 92 with welded tubes and 96 discs. My leafs were in great shape, when I did the SOA I got 7-8 inches, Had to go with 6.5" coils and 2" spacers and RE drop brackets to make it look level, I drove around for a while with my @@s end way up there. Now it rides great it will do 75mph (downhill only) and not a hint of driveline vibes or deathwobble. Also put in a SYE and double cardan & CV rear driveshaft.

 

I've heard urban legends that there is also a stock Explorer that came with 4.56s and LS. I've never seen one though and have scrounged every JY in the Denver area. I sure wasted a lot time looking when I could've been doing this --

Plenty with 4.10s around.

You want to find one from a 95-01 exploder, they will have disks and 31 spline axles. Older exploder axles may have 28 spline axles, and are drum brakes.

2001 - 2005 ford exploder sport tracks also have the solid rear 8.8. Basically identical to the 95-01 exploders.

Yeah, I know, I stuck with the 3.73 LS because it was complete with welded tubes and it cost me only $100 I'll get around to better gears when wifey approves, or until I've got the guts to buy one anyway and ask for forgiveness later. Plus it helps with the 30 mile commute, I get 16-17 mpg with 33's.

wrap the cable around the E-Brake lever and use a cable clamp....duh :dunce: But it still ain't that tight

Use the regulation Ford clevis, slot it, insert ebrake cable, then adjust as required. Works well.

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The Ford 8.8 is a popular upgrade for Comanches and Cherokees, but I do have a question: Do they use C clips?

 

Or basically, what does the wheel do if an axle snaps?

Yes, they use C-clips. So does the '90 and newer Dana 35, and all the Chrysler 8-1/4s.

If the axle breaks, the wheel departs from beneath the Jeep.

I guess I'll stay away from an 8.8 then. By the time I spend the money on C clip eliminators I might as well get an XJ or MJ D44.

Technically not all explorers after 95 had disk breaks... The explorer sport trac has drums on its 8.8. Discovered this the other day...

Hornbrod, dang good idea! :clapping: I'm doing it!

How on earth are you going to break an Explorer axle shaft? :eek: There are guys running 37-38 inch tires on 'em. I've only heard of a couple people that have managed to break one (and both had huge tires and v8s). In my opinion, weak axles like the Dana 35 have given the C-clip design a bad name. The C-clip is not a reason to avoid the Explorer 8.8. :thumbsup:

If you have an 8.8 with disc brakes the axle and wheel will not depart the vehicle if you break a shaft. I wouldn't recommend driving very far on it, but that goes for any axle with a broken shaft. C-clips are no reason not to use an 8.8 if it has disc brakes. C-clip eliminators are nice, but it is not like it is mandatory to use this axle.

Willy

Some argue that since the 8.8" is a semi-floating axle that the c-clips make a big difference. Some argue that they don't.

A semi-floating rear axle is one in which the axle shaft does bear some of the vehicle's weight. So in addition to tortional loads, it is required to stand up to shear loads as well.

My opinion is that C-clips DO make a difference in axle strength. If the axle isn't a full floater, then the stress is spread out across the axle shaft. The axle shaft rides on the outer bearings at the axle tube end and the side gears. The axle shafts neck down at the c-clip and those can break.

The other side of the argument is that the c-clips are located inboard of the splines the c-clip portion of the shaft is not exposed to much (if any) torsional or shear loads.

Who's right? I don't know...

Also in comparing it to a D44, the D44 is the same size shaft (and doesn't neck down) and only has 1 less spline. The ring gear is larger in the 8.8", however the carrier is known to be a piece of crap and fail. The tubes on the D44 are welded, and not pressed with plugs like the 8.8". So with a D44 your much less likely to spin a tube like on the 8.8". The 8.8" does have a larger 3.25" tube, however it does neck down to 2.75" (same as D44) just before they enter the brake housings.

I'm even willing to grant that, all things being equal, a C-clip design will be a bit weaker than a non-C-clip design. But the Explorer 8.8 axle shafts have an excellent track record of strength. :thumbsup: If it won't break, then the argument is pretty moot. :D

I've heard urban legends that there is also a stock Explorer that came with 4.56s and LS. I've never seen one though and have scrounged every JY in the Denver area. I sure wasted a lot time looking when I could've been doing this --

The highest ford ever put in an 8.8 was 4.10.

Technically not all explorers after 95 had disk breaks... The explorer sport trac has drums on its 8.8. Discovered this the other day...

Uh, I just pulled a sport trac axle, it has disks. And according to every other source all the sport trac's have disks too.

either the axle you saw was not native to a sport trac, or you saw the parking brake drums.

I forgot about the calliper holding the disc in place. However, my main problem is that I do and probably always will drive my rig down to play, and then have to drive it home. If I do break a shaft, but it's not a C clip axle, I could technically limp home on it. If it's C clip I *have* to replace it before I can go home. I might carry spare shafts with me at some point, but need to save up money for other stuff first.

But if you feel it's pretty much impossible to break an 8.8 shaft running a locker and 33s, which will probably be the final set up, then I guess it doesn't matter. And discs out back would be nice.

Rear axle is not going to be replaced right away, but it possibly could later this year. Current upgrade is an Aussie in the front (should arrive tomorrow and hopefully go in this weekend) and a welder (160A, needs 220V 30A outlet I still have to install) to build rear bumper and rocker guards.

I wouldn't even worry about it with 33s. I would be concerned with 35+ and hard wheeling, but at that point spares and broken parts needs to be considered with any light duty axle.

Willy

mvusee, not sure on your parts availability up there on OH (if it's anything like southwest PA I know it flat out sucks.....) but if you find yourself down here in VA you can pull 8.8's out of a couple 'yards here all day long for $100 and some change. There's usually no shortage of them in either, too.

I was gonna go the 8.8 route on mine but happened my way into an MJ D44 with some creative parts swapping :D

Jeff

There's really only just one junk yard in the vicinity that let's you go into the yard to pull your own stuff, but they're not as cheap as they once were. When I'm ready I'll call them and see what they'd want for one. There's also a pick-n-pull near Columbus I'd like to check out some time. If both of those turn out to be too expensive I might pm you on where these yards are.

car-part.com will show you some of the cheaper local yards. :thumbsup: