8.8 swap

[TonyV]

Hey guys. I’m looking to do a 8.8 swap in my 88 mj. I’m wondering if I should swap both front and rear, or just swap the rear and beef up the stock 35 in the front? Also if anyone knows of any kits to install the 8.8. Thanks in advanced 

[BeatCJ]

Stock front is a Dana 30, not 35. Dana 30 is good enough for most things, but what are your plans?

 

Why are you swapping in an 8.8? Do you already have it, or just because you read it is way better?

 

I was looking at the same thing, and the more I looked, the better the Chrysler 8.25 looks. The center section on an 8.8 is huge. Unless you are going with bigger than 35" or tall tires, you lose ground clearance. 

[derf]

No kits are available.  You just cut off the spring perches and shock mounts.  Then weld them (or new replacements) on where you need them.  Hook up the brakes and you're good to go.

[MiNi Beast]

8.8. with better gears and disc brakes and maybe a limited slip diff and non c clip is a solid upgrade axle and a great time to swap during a lift. leaf perches is all you need with shock mounts. unless you want a trussed setup then artec offers some options with decent price. you can source builder parts at barnes or ruffstuff. you could also run ube perches and take advantage of adding .5" to 1.5" lift and run without ubolts, ( i ran this setup on last rig). i ran a 8.8 with 4.10s with a d30 non disco on my rig with 33 to 37s. only broke with 35s. light foot and knowing your rig you can have less carnage. good luck mate. 

[ghetdjc320]

An 8.25 from a liberty would be what I would recommend. Disk brakes come standard. East to swap gears with the adjusters. Large axle tubes but better clearance. Also the 8.8 is narrow and while that doesn’t make a huge difference in the YJ/TJ/XJ crowd, it is very noticeable on an MJ which means spacers are in order. Lot of work for not much gain. If your going 37’s then it can be a decent axle to build. But I’d have to get one for free and plan on tuning 37’s to make it worth the investment.

[75sv1]

I have 8.8 in two XJs. I do run spacers on them. On one it is that I run WJ rims. The other I did put 1" spacers, and the studs are lengthened to go through all the way. One aspect of the Ford 8.8 is the diff is offset. It does cause some issue with muffler clearance. Not a huge problem though. 

[ghetdjc320]

The MJ bed is wider though and any narrower axle is easy to spot. I really don’t get the appeal of the 8.8 other than at one point they were cheap. They are small brakes, thin tubes, c clips, and an obnoxiously large pumpkin. And very heavy for their size. If you already have an 8.8 or it’s free than go with it, otherwise ignore the hype which has been going on for far too long. Grab an 8.25 from a liberty of your running 35’s or less.