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Started my 8.8 Swap- 71 Javelin |
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71JAVVY
AMC Apprentice Joined: May/07/2011 Location: Cda, Idaho Status: Offline Points: 184 |
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Posted: May/07/2012 at 12:43am |
Haven't been on for a while. Tough to work in the winter months without a heated shop :P
Anyways I got the perches welded on the Ford 8.8 (posi, 3.73s, discs) and tomorrow I'm going to get the U bolts bolted to set it on the floor. My worry lies in the offset of the pinion on my Exploder rear end. Somewhere around 3.75" to the passenger side. Do I have anything to worry about? I don't doubt I'll have trans tunnel issues considering it's getting lowered in the back, but I'm just wondering about the angle of the pinion. Any thoughts? Did I make a mistake? I was under the impression that lots of guys did explorer 8.8 swaps without issue but looking at it worries me a bit. Thanks in advance.
Edited by 71JAVVY - May/07/2012 at 12:46am |
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billd
Moderator Group Forum Administrator Joined: Jun/27/2007 Location: Iowa Status: Offline Points: 30894 |
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You will indeed want to pay attention to pinion angles, but more importantly, the driveshaft angles need to remain positive. There's good info in the AMC TSMs on this.
A lot of folks deviate and claim no issues, OTOH, I've seen small deviations cause mysterious vibrations. My Eagle is one such car - - a fast vibration at speeds over 65 mph, otherwise pretty smooth. I have to wonder if it's due to the springs being sagged, and my use of the "helpers" on the back halves of the springs, causing a bit of a tip in the differential, and making the front half of the spring soft while the rear half is quite stiff with those "helpers". Just looking I can see the pinion is pointed down quite a bit while the rear of the transfer case is actually just a bit above drive shaft centerline. Not a great combination. Need to get good springs in and get things set proper again. (*Note to self - never buy cheap leaf springs - you end up paying in the end) |
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71JAVVY
AMC Apprentice Joined: May/07/2011 Location: Cda, Idaho Status: Offline Points: 184 |
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Well I'm pretty sure the pinion angle is okay (in terms of how we welded the perches) but I'm worried about the offset of the differential. Will that offset (and therefore lateral pinion angle) affect me too much?
I'm using the stock leaf springs on my build which are undoubtedly also sagged. I guess pray for no vibes?
Edited by 71JAVVY - May/07/2012 at 9:48am |
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67RogueX-Code
AMC Addicted Joined: Jan/21/2009 Location: Sylvania, Ohio Status: Offline Points: 1302 |
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The offset to one side won't affect anything any more than a 3-4" up-and-down travel that the rear-end will move while driving over a bumpy road... the real question however is, will that much of an offset cause the drive-shaft to run against one side of the floor-pan (drive-shaft tunnel)?
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Bob Wilcox
67RogueX-Code |
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bigbad69
Supporter of TheAMCForum Joined: Jul/02/2007 Location: Ottawa, Ont. Status: Offline Points: 6670 |
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I recall an earlier discussion on 8.8s and shortening the longer tube in order to centre the diff. Although you have already installed the perches, it might be worth looking at. From what I recall, the Explorer setup is a little wide, so shortening the tube kills two birds with one stone.
Check out the link to the Mustang forum (last post) and the step by step how-to on shortening the tube. Very interesting reading. http://theamcforum.com/forum/rear-end-swap_topic36659.html?KW=8.8 |
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69 Javelin SST BBO 390 T10
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billd
Moderator Group Forum Administrator Joined: Jun/27/2007 Location: Iowa Status: Offline Points: 30894 |
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good catch - I'd forgotten about reading that.
There HAS been chat on these rear ends here before..... It might be worth a redo - although I agree with Bob (maybe the world IS about to end.... JUST KIDDING) there's nothing like going in with perfection and not having to "hope". OTOH, at least with the up and down, you still would be maintaining a positive number on the angle, and the bumping would be a small percentage of the drive time, as compared to ALWAYS being off to one side a bit. Personally, if it was mine, I'd not be against pulling it and seeing if it can be made better. But then I get a bit anal about such things and can't sleep until I go back out and pull it apart again. |
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71JAVVY
AMC Apprentice Joined: May/07/2011 Location: Cda, Idaho Status: Offline Points: 184 |
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That was a really helpful 8.8 thread on the mustang side of things. The axle is actually somewhere between 1-2" narrower though, so I don't know if I could justify shortening it any more, especially 3". I already have wheels and tires laying around that I was planning on using. Maybe I could swap the tubes side to side? The pumpkin itself offsets the pinion to the side that is already shorter, so that would put it closer to the center and help counter the offset. If that makes any sense..?
Edited by 71JAVVY - May/07/2012 at 6:46pm |
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MikeJames
AMC Apprentice Joined: Nov/11/2007 Location: Marion, Iowa Status: Offline Points: 107 |
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Might want to look at a Ford Ranger 8.8......the offset is much less than the explorer rear end.
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w.jackson
AMC Apprentice Joined: Dec/30/2008 Location: medina n.y. Status: Offline Points: 116 |
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I have the ford explorer 8.8 (disk, 4.10 gear, and richmond mini spool) in my spirit and so far haven't had any issues with vibration or hitting the tunnel or floor plans. I welded the spring perches at the same angle as the stock ford location. I have new leaf springs and shocks so there is no sag in the back either.
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80 spirit
70 amx |
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67RogueX-Code
AMC Addicted Joined: Jan/21/2009 Location: Sylvania, Ohio Status: Offline Points: 1302 |
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The axles are EXACTLY 3" different in length... this is the same thing I did with the 8.8 in my Rogue, except I had 3" taken out of the long tube, just above the where the spring-perch is welded on... the 3" inches taken out moves the pinion to within 1 1/4" of being centered .
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Bob Wilcox
67RogueX-Code |
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