TCAdkins Posted August 21, 2013 Share Posted August 21, 2013 Should I pick up a ford 8.8 axle for $120? I wanted/need to regear to 4.88 but it comes with 3.73. Should I keep looking or pick it up? It is a good deal I know that but how much trouble would regearing to 4.88 be? I also found a combo dana 44 rear and dana 60 front for 150. He doesn't know the gearing though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParadiseMJ Posted August 21, 2013 Share Posted August 21, 2013 If I could nab an 8.8 for $120...and it was in ANY kind of decent shape...I would have gotten it yesterday!! If you have to have 4.88 ratio it may give me a little hesitation but there are 3.73 D30's available for a song (around here anyway) The junkyard here charges a flat $180 for any axle...and all labor on me. As far as the D44/D60 combo I'd have to look into it a little deeper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onlyinajeep726 Posted August 21, 2013 Share Posted August 21, 2013 I'd pick up the 8.8 anyway for that price. Even if you opt out of using it/regearing it, you can probably clean it up pretty good and make a pretty penny off of it from another Jeep guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCAdkins Posted August 21, 2013 Author Share Posted August 21, 2013 Okay ill see if he will hold it until payday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCAdkins Posted August 21, 2013 Author Share Posted August 21, 2013 How hard and what exactly goes into re-gearing the axle? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted August 21, 2013 Share Posted August 21, 2013 what is the 8.8 out of? only the Explorer version will match the front axle. and 95+ have disk brakes. earlier ones have drums. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCAdkins Posted August 21, 2013 Author Share Posted August 21, 2013 Its out of an explorer, 94 or 95. And it won't match the back? That's where I wanted to put it. Unless the front is better. On the ad he put "full axle, drum to drum," so I'm going to assume its drum brakes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted August 21, 2013 Share Posted August 21, 2013 It's a rear axle. I meant that it will match your front axle in width and rim bolt pattern. Other 8.8s, like from an F-150 or crown vic have a different width or bolt pattern from our Jeeps. what gear ratio do you have now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCAdkins Posted August 22, 2013 Author Share Posted August 22, 2013 Oh okay, I get what you meant. Should I place it in the front or the back? I was going to place it in the back seeing as how I need to still do my SOA and it'd be easier to do it all at once. I have stock gearing so 3.07 I believe. It feels like 3.07. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onlyinajeep726 Posted August 22, 2013 Share Posted August 22, 2013 Oh okay, I get what you meant. Should I place it in the front or the back? I was going to place it in the back seeing as how I need to still do my SOA and it'd be easier to do it all at once. I have stock gearing so 3.07 I believe. It feels like 3.07. Um, not sure what the question is here, but you can only use the 8.8 rear in the rear of your Jeep. No feasible way to use it as a front axle... So, your only option is as a rear axle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCAdkins Posted August 22, 2013 Author Share Posted August 22, 2013 Oh okay, I get what you meant. Should I place it in the front or the back? I was going to place it in the back seeing as how I need to still do my SOA and it'd be easier to do it all at once. I have stock gearing so 3.07 I believe. It feels like 3.07. Um, not sure what the question is here, but you can only use the 8.8 rear in the rear of your Jeep. No feasible way to use it as a front axle... So, your only option is as a rear axle. Well just a little earlier in the post we talked about how you can use the 95- years of the explorer in the front. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted August 22, 2013 Share Posted August 22, 2013 no no. when I said "match" I just meant that it matches a dana 30 in width and bolt pattern and they can be paired together under your truck. :thumbsup: you cannot use the 8.8 as a front. regearing is not easy and not for a beginner and regearing can cost 600-800 depending on the shop that does it. a more economical way to do it is to find an explorer 8.8 or Cherokee 8.25 with 4.10 gears already in them and then find a Dana 30 with 4.10 gears and install them. car-part.com can help find them in junkyards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onlyinajeep726 Posted August 22, 2013 Share Posted August 22, 2013 Beat me to it Pete lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCAdkins Posted August 22, 2013 Author Share Posted August 22, 2013 Okay I understand now. The re-gearing was just something I started thinking about what I wanted next. It's not neccessarily in my budget to buy two axles from a junk yard for 300 a piece if I can find them geared higher. However buying the 8.8 for 100 is in my budget. (Wife wants to buy me a gift for the truck so I'm asking her for an AX-15 that I found on craigslist. Thanks to another thread I found out I have the Pugeout...) Will the 8.8 gearing of 3.73 make much of a difference? It really doesn't bother me for wheeling because I use 4L a lot but DD I don't have any power it feels like. And if I do install the 8.8 then will I have to upgrade the front as well because the front is 3.07? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCAdkins Posted August 22, 2013 Author Share Posted August 22, 2013 Nevermind. Just looked up everything I would need on top of the AX15. Is any part of this hobby not expensive? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biotex Posted August 22, 2013 Share Posted August 22, 2013 I just put in an 8.8 with 3.55 gears. With 235 tires, I'm turning 2500 rpms at 80 mph. I'm super happy with the low end as well. In fact, it is hard for me to take off in first without spinning the tires because the truck is so light in the back. Granted the tread on the tires is not agressive, but with 4.88's i bet you won't even use first gear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onlyinajeep726 Posted August 22, 2013 Share Posted August 22, 2013 Nevermind. Just looked up everything I would need on top of the AX15. Is any part of this hobby not expensive? Going from 3.07's to 3.73's will be a little better for torque but probably not terribly noticeable. To answer your last question about expensive hobbies, yes, everything about the Jeep way of life is expensive and time consuming haha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted August 22, 2013 Share Posted August 22, 2013 <p>3.73 is one of the hardest ratios to find in a HP Dana 30. <img class="bbc_emoticon" src="http://comancheclub.com/public/style_emoticons/default/sad.png" title=":(" /> I would find one of those before paying money for a 3.73 rear (which is fairly common in an 8.8). although if you don't mind a low pinion, there are plenty of TJ or ZJ Dana 30s that came with the 3.73s. :D</p> <p> </p> <p>and 300 for an axle that is in good shape and doesn't need a brake/seal rebuild isn't all that bad. be picky about any axle you buy. just because it's a good deal doesn't necessarily mean it's a good idea. <img alt=":thumbsup:" class="bbc_emoticon" src="http://comancheclub.com/public/style_emoticons/default/thumbs.gif" title=":thumbsup:" /></p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCAdkins Posted August 23, 2013 Author Share Posted August 23, 2013 So how much would it cost to switch trannys? I found an ax15 for 400 in good condition. I know there's extra parts you need though. I don't want to spend the 400 and then find out it'll cost me another 200 to do it. I can do all the work myself. And I'm going from a pugeout which is already giving me problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted August 23, 2013 Share Posted August 23, 2013 I would check the level of the oil in the trans before contemplating a swap. mine always gave me fits when the level dropped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCAdkins Posted August 23, 2013 Author Share Posted August 23, 2013 Okay thank you. If I can get mine working properly then I will hold off on the swap until I have better funding. But I can't drive the truck right now anyways because I need to bleed the brakes and it's a little hard with my bleeder valves completely stripped. This is the only reason the truck is sitting right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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