Like the title says does anyone make a crate 8.8 rear to bolt right in? I dont have to fab skills to make one and dont have money for a 9 inch and heard good things about the 8.8

 

It's been discussed, either here or on LS1Tech.com, I forget where I saw it. But it never happened. There are threads on how to do it yourself. If I needed strength for cheap, I'd buy a bare housing Ford 9-inch already fitted with our brackets, and order the matching shafts. They're worth it just for the hassles they save. Then get every other part it needs from salvage yards. Still nearly a grand, but still cheaper and stronger than a maximum-effort 7.625-inch (or 9-bolt) If you go that route, truck stuff, like f100 pickups, are more likely to have good gear ratios for performance, and 31-spline axles, and Traction-Lock differentials, than car versions such as the full-size station wagons, which probably have 28-spline and gas-mileage-gearing. The Lincoln Versailles had a disc-brake 9-inch, but there are catches, so I'd skip it, and order the housing fitted with the correct ends for Explorer rear discs. Decide this before ordering the housing and shafts. Either way, adapting a ford axle may create issues with e-brake cables and driveshaft lengths. Brake hose adapters and conversion u-joints do exist, at fair prices. But driveshaft shortening isn't cheap, and having it re-tubed longer, if necessary, is nearly as much as having a new one fabricated, in which case you can upgrade to thicker-wall, larger-diameter tubing and 1350 joints.

 

I am in the process of assembling these from explore 8.8 and 4th gen fbody 10 bolts. I have 1 done now which I currently have mounted in my car.

 

But when you do it with that method, dont you still use the weaker 28 spline axles?

 

You can use the 28 spline axles and I think that is one of the nice things about it is that you can reuse your stock axles which will save you some cash. I measured the splines and bearings of both the 31 and 28 spline axles which both come in 8.8 rear ends then I called strange enginerring to find out about making a 31 spline custom axle fit a 28 spline bearing seal. Well it did not go well they were rude question my ability to even be able to make the 10 bolt tubes fit the 8.8. I was very discouraged but found a company called Dutchman and they seemed to think that making a axle fit was no problem and they were cheaper by almost a $100.