8.8 rear axle pricing question

[kwellst]

hey guys. im looking to get an 8.8 axle from a 4.0 ranger with a 3.73 gear and a limited slip diff. im curious on what most of the boneyards are asking for them. i just don't want to get ripped off. i have a bearing kit, a new set of gears, and a new set of clutches for a rebuild. i know most states/cities are different, but im just curious.

i want one so i can ditch the 14" wheels that ive got and move upto a set of 15's or bigger. i also have a turbo motor that i want to install soon, but dont want to install it with a weak 7.5 axle, open diff, and 14" wheels.

thanks kevin

 

[scotts90ranger]

you would be suprised what a 7.5 can take, the mustang guys say they can handle 250hp reliably, I've been running a turbo in front of mine for the last 8 months with 31" tires and 4.10 gears, we'll see how good it lasts on the tractor pull I'm doing tomorrow...

you don't need a bigger axle to run 15" wheels, the 4x4 axles are the same and they come with 15" wheels... jump up, it doesn't matter.

my local U pull it yard is $100 plus $15 deposit and a few bucks environmental fee for any axle.

what is the LS rebuild kit for, a 28 spline or 31 spline axle? you do realize that ranger 8.8 axles aren't really an upgrade over the 7.5, right? an explorer axle isn't exactly a bolt in, but aren't really hard if you go with a drum brake axle.

 

[kwellst]

everything i have is for an 8.8 ranger axle. ive been peicing parts together for about 6 months now. i know axle size makes no difference when going to bigger wheels, but i would like to have the bigger gears since its just a 4cyl and an a4ld for right now. i just dont have the gears or a ls for a 7.5.

i just wanted an axle i could put some power infront of when i put a set of slicks on it at the strip. since i dont have a trailer yet, i wanted to drive it to the strip and drive it home, without fearing im going to break an axle.

 

[Downey]

you do realize that ranger 8.8 axles aren't really an upgrade over the 7.5, right? an explorer axle isn't exactly a bolt in, but aren't really hard if you go with a drum brake axle.

are you kidding me the 28 spline 8.8 is a huge imporvment over the 7.5. but the 31 spline 8.8 is an even bigger improvement over the 7.5.


I would say to find a 31 spline 8.8 out of an explorer but you already have your parts but im sure you could return some of them. the reason im saying this is because with a turbo your going to want all the strength you can get . you may not be running 500+ hp motor but i would always over build. also the explorer 8.8s have disc brakes. you going to want as much stoping power as you can get. the install isnt that hard i did mine in a weekend and cost me less than 200 dollars.


Prices:

At my bigger pick and pull yourself yards i can get an explorer rear axle for 50 bucks with out brakes but with brake components for right around 100.


at my local junk yards that are smaller they want 400+ for a rear axle.

 

[kwellst]

i have thought about an explorer axle, the spring perches are in the same spot,but the overall width is different, and the shock locations are different. i dont have a welder and dont want to pay someone to weld 2 shock tabs to the axle. im eventually going to mount the widest rim i could fit in the back and dont know how to measure backspaceing and all that just yet. the disc rear would be nice but isnt a necessity for me since drums stop a vehicle just like discs.... just not as quick.

i went looking around and most of the junkyards want 300 to 500 for a used axle with anywhere from 70k-200k miles on them. i got to looking at a disc explorer and they want 400 to 600 for them. i asked about the brake hardware from it and they only wanted 50 bucks. i couldnt resist so i picked up all the hardware from it. so now i have all the parts but a housing and a pinion flange for the driveshaft.... i dont know if the one from the 7.5 will fit the 8.8 or not.

 

[Toms01PSD]

Where do you live? I have an 8.8 for sale.

 

[scotts90ranger]

anything '90 or newer has the same flange pattern on the pinion, your driveshaft will bolt up.

yes a ranger 8.8 is stronger, better spider gears that are the weak point of the 7.5, but still the same small axle shafts...

just pulled a sled that's I think 17000lb or something like that with my 7.5 and D28, running 15psi of boost in low range first gear, that's a lot of load on the drivetrain

I've broken a spider gear on my axle once, only happened with a shock load, I was pulling over a garage in first low and the rope broke... broke a tooth right off, drove around without looking into the clunk I heard when that happened before I fixed it, that was over 3 years ago, somehow the axle is still alive... have used the truck in the tractor pulls for 3 years naturally aspirated, ran it twice yesterday (they didn't record my first pull). the 7.5 is an understated axle... there was a ranger in the pulls yesterday with a 302 with stock drivetrain too, it didn't break either.

 

[CheapThrillB2]

Whenever I price check what junkyards are getting I just search car-part.com