i am a fairly competent fabricator. built my own in floor SFC's, did all the floor pans, going to be self installing the 8 point cage, put a 79 vette rear in a 31 ford coupe, built a straight front axle "gasser" out of a 30 ford fordor sedan with a bbc, and built 2 sets of "caltracs" for some friends.

i was bs-ing with a buddy about the ease of the 8.8 swap we did in his Grand Cherokee with 7" lift and 36" tires, and how well it puts up to the abuse with his 4.88 gears and aussie locker. we wheel the **** out of this rig.

so i picked up an 8.8 for my camaro project out of a '01 explorer. paid $100 for it, pulled it myself (cut the driveshaft, so i have the required flange). 4.10 gears, open diff. the reason behind me going with the open diff versus a posi unit, is due to the fact that an aussie (lunchbox) locker directly replaces the spider gears.

i have taken all of the measurements i need to get a 15x10 wheel with a 295/50 up under the car. bolt pattern/back spacing not an issue here.

i do not intend on using ANY of the factory bracketry to hang the rear in the car, everything will custom fabbed.

Brakes are not a problem, as i know what makes/models directly swap onto this axle to give me the brake setup i am looking for.

I intend on running Comp. Engineering coil overs, a panhard bar mounting to the top of the axle (versus behind like the 10 bolt), custom fabbed "mini ladderbars" alot like a pete z bar. there will be no torque arm, and no sway bar.

I understand the explorer 8.8 is heavier than a mustang 8.8, but i already have the rear, and am not concerned with the ~50lbs difference.

i've been reading up on this for months now, and only 3 things have come up that i do not have answers for.

1.) what is the offset of an explorer 8.8, and how much offset is too much?

2.) the actual center section will not fit in the space allotted by GM under the car. I call BS, but would hate to find out for myself, when its too late.

3.) why hybrid the axle using 10 bolt tubes/ends? i just dont get it!

before you say ANYTHING, i did a search.

my search results come up with "can i just bolt this in?" "i'm an idiot and dont have a welder, who sells a kit?", and a bunch of other crap along the lines of that.

 

i find that the stock 10 bolt has a 1/2" offset, whereas the explorer 8.8 has a 2" offset... is 1 1/2" MORE than stock that big of a deal? since there is no torque arm, there should really be no clearance issues.

 

you don't want a stright drive line, u joint wouldn't work right.
off set is no big deal long as its not severe.

 

The first 9" I installed under my car had a 2" offset and ran fine. When I finally back halved the car, I centered the pinion when I shortened the diff. It's good to keep the offset low but you also need to aim the transmission yoke at the diff yoke to reduce the height offset also. Combine a side to side offset with a top to bottom offset and working angles start to reach an extreme. It doesn't have to be absolutely perfect because your suspension travel will constantly be changing the angles. A slow moving rock crawler driveline angle isn't the same as a high speed car driveline angle so ignore what you may have done in the Jeep.

Your panhard bar on top of the diff may have clearance issues with the floor since third gen diffs sit so high up in the body of the car. It would be easier to install a diagonal link or a wishbone.

A rear sway bar works well for all suspensions including factory setups. I use what's commonly called an anti-roll bar in the rear but basically it's a sway bar for a better name. It really helps to eliminate any body twisting when I launch. Without it, my car twists and pulls hard to the right.

Take lots of pictures so we can see how your project progresses.

 

Finally, someone who says something valuable to the build! I see what your saying, in regards to clearance. I'm not to sure a diagonal link would do the job, as the points of the suspension are rather close. The idea of the mini ladder bar is based off a stock replacement lower control arm. I have purchased a set that are fabricated from boxed tubing, with polurethane ends. They will be bolted in the stock locations on the body, which have been modified and strengthened.

Aside from the actual rear, and the control arms, I have yet to purchase any of the other related parts to begin the project. This car came to me as a basket case, and slowly but surely, I will have it done. Hope to start the rear swap in the next month or so. When I start, I'll be sure I post pictures.

 

i really wish i had a copy of solidworks on my computer at home, but i do not.

i have a few chicken scratches here infront of me now, showing me wheel/tire fitment and what i need to achieve that perfect look.

the widest part of the quarters is 74 1/2"
my stock rear with stock wheels/tires is 70" to the outside sidewall
this allows me to move the tires out 2" on a side, still not rub, and have a fatter stance out back.
the 8.8 currently has a set of 15x10 with 3.5" backspace wheels mounted on a set of n50-15 protrac tires. i used these to 1, aid in moving the damn axle around the yard, and 2, setup alot of peliminary measurements. the wheels are the right width, but the wrong backspacing, and the tires are too wide. they measure 76" to the outside sidewall.

the plan is to run a 295/50-15 on a 15x10 with 4 1/2" of backspacing, which will put the outside sidewall (not the tread) at 72.6" plus the thickness of the rotors, leaving just under an inch between the fattest part of the tire, and the widest part of the car.

in my opinion, i think that will give the car a very aggressive and custom tailored look.

i also intend on trimming/folding the pinch weld in the rear wheel openings, to prevent rubbing of the tire.

 

this was my first idea, but then changed it to threaded rod ends instead... also, i didn't discover the pete z bar design till last night. its almost identical in design.

 

One thing you need to be careful of is that using that type of system to provide a reaction torque for the rear end will need to withstand a lot of force. If you have an engine that puts out a max torque of 400 ft-lbs, with, say a 3.06 first gear and 4.10 gears out back, there will be a force couple of about 7,500 lbs on each bracket ear if theyre 4" apart. Thats one reason why theres such a long torque arm used in the cars, to help reduce the force that the mounting points will have to carry.

It can be done, but the parts need to be very strong, and the LCA mount may need to be re-inforced as well to help carry the additional loads.

That system will also effect the instant center of the rear-end as well since your replacing a long torque arm with two short swing-arms instead. Something else to maybe take into consideration if your racing.

 

What is instant center, and how does it work?

The mounts (car side) have been reinforced, and I have another idea to help aid in the reinforcement there. As far as axle mounts, I planned on running basically what you see in the solidworks rendering. Just tabs stamped from 3/16" material welded to the tubes using a 220 volt MIG welder.

 

I was going to just explain it from hazy memories, but this works way better:

 

I'll be the first to admit, I don't know much about the science of suspension. That diagram does nothing for me. There isn't enough explanation.

 

You should read and absorb this book before trying to reinvent the wheel with your suspension ideas.

http://www.amazon.com/Door-Slammers-.../dp/0963121707

 

Lower control arms go through a plane..., the torque arm goes through its own.

Depending on the situation, the instant center is either where those two planes intersect, or where the lower control arm plane intersects with the vertical plane of the torque arm mount.

Here's a diagram from a site (Unbalanced Engineering, Big Mods' site turned me onto them) selling some really trick custom torque arms. Note the 2nd and 4th figures depicting the factory torque arm setup.

 

So basically, for the best results, a longer link is needed. I debated a 3rd link mounted in tunnel, where my cage supports meet, at the top, but welding to the cast center section steered me away.

 

Not really, from what Im able to gather, for drag racing a shorter torque arm is desirable.

It's the road race guys that have issues with shorter torque arms because it upsets the car under hard braking.

 

Shorter TQ arm reacts faster and longer arm is slower..

 

Currently researching axle locating options, as alky pointed out a valid point. I will plan on putting the axle in, and see what room there is. There is no rush to get the project done, the motor is still in the begining stages, and the interior hasn't been touched yet. Not sure if a watts link will fit behind the axle with the addition of my coilovers, not sure where to locate the front of a wishbone locator, and with the unlimited possibilities of a panhard bar, I won't know what works till its in, I guess

 

from what you're describing it sounds like a drag only setup? If not you'll need to learn about roll center as well as instant center, and your locating device design will change dramatically.

mostly heavier and longer axle tubes, you'll be cutting much of the difference off

I wouldn't worry about or keep the offset, just figure out your axle width and make both actual axles the same width and position the pumkin accordingly.

It will fit, the 9" and S60 that people use is larger, and a 12 bolt is virtually identical.

the hybrid thing is to get the right brackets for a stock type suspension, you don't need it. If I was going to do it I'd use the tubes from a 9bolt to get the axle retention and loose the c clips. In your case I'd just use the stock tubes and some moser c-clip eliminators

I'd also make it .5" off of the stock width or more since the only 10" wheels available in an offset that works with the stock width are $$$ or custom, where making it .5 narrower (or multiple other widths) will let you use common off the shelf rims. .5 narrower will also let you run the same wheels front and back with wider tires.