 |
 |
 |
|
8.8 rear axle from a 2001 Mountaneer. 3.73 limited slip and disk brakes with
a spare axle for 1/4 the cost of a 9 inch. |
A closer view of the driver's side we'll be cutting off. |
First, cut off the spring perches. Cut carefully, and they can be reused. |
 |
 |
 |
|
A quick look inside shows "like new" appearance. Remove the axles at this
time. |
Left axle on the bottom, right on the top. |
Ignore ALL specs you see posted on the net on how much to shorten the
housing. Take the measurement here. Mine was 3 inches and not the 2.4 posted
elsewhere. Yours will vary. |
 |
 |
 |
|
Measure the gap here to determine the amount to cut off the tube. Take this
measurement and allow for the width of your cutoff tool when cutting. |
Notice the scribed line. This is so you can join the line after the cut and
insure the caliper is in the right location. |
The edges of the tape will be the cut point. Careful here, and make sure the
edge to edge distance remains the same and all will be good. |
 |
 |
 |
|
No turning back now! This isn't the place to decide you're not up to the
task. |
The difference between my axles was 3 inches so the cutout should be
slightly less than that. Perfect! |
Beveling the edges is a must. The pipe inserted really helps in aligning
things. The notch allows oil drainback, plus it clears the weld seam inside
the housing. |
 |
 |
 |
|
Don't forget the line you scribed earlier. Here we are after welding. You
can get by with minor glitches in alignment, but don't get careless. Install
the extra passenger axle into the driver's side and you're done. |
Parts out of a junkyard tend to need extra work. Can they be saved? |
Owning my own auto repair business has some perks. Looks good and is well
within specs. |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
And here are the results showing before and after. Notice the pumpkin is now
centered. Due to differences in parts selection, mine is 1/2-3/4 inch
narrower than the stock 7 inch rearend. This is trivial once evened out side
to side. |
|
| Next comes mounting it in the car. I didn't
bother to bring the camera here, but it's not too difficult. First, level
the car with the weight off the wheels and original axle still in place.
Remove the shocks before the next measurement: At the pinion yoke, measure
the degrees it is angled upwards. Yank out the old unit and set the spring
perches the axle sits in onto the springs. Set the axle in place and
reconnect the springs. Center the axle by measuring from the brake backing
plate bolt location to each spring. Once centered, set your pinion angle to
match the measurement you took earlier, and tack the axle to the perches.
Remove the axle one more time and weld the perches solid.
New U bolts will be needed. I used some 1/2" bolts
with a 3 1/8" spread due to a lack of anything wider, but with a little
effort, they work fine. The lower plates they go into will need to be
modified for the extra width of the axle as well. Using the U bolts as a
guide, you can see the holes will need to be redrilled. Nothing critical
here as mine worked fine with new holes drilled right next to the old ones.
Make sure the you have the plates turned the right direction related to
their mounting or you'll be drilling extra (wasted) holes just the same as I
did... Oops!
One last install and you're done! Park brakes and
brake lines are up to you since they vary widely depending on your Mustang
and the axle chosen. Good luck and
drop me a note if this helps you.
|
