Expo 8.8, FW 8.8, or 9?

[armadillon]

My brother, who is far more experienced with the SA world than I am (Dr.Danger on Pirate4x4) is recommending I do the full-width 9 with a FW D44 up front.

He also has 2 Expo 8.8s lying around and I can get one from him.

Was wondering if I should do the 9 in the rear (seems a little harder to find in my area) or just go with the 8.8? I was under the assumption that I would have to do a D35 front or narrow a D44 to keep the RBV width.

PS
I've been searching and I see plenty of threads that say the FW8.8 is just as strong as a stock 9 unless you sink money into the 9 (and then its far more capable.) What about the Expo 8.8?

 

[adsm08]

The Explorer 8.8 is a narrowed version of the full width. They are both the 31-spline version, but the Explorer axle is upside down. You will need to weld new spring perches and shock mounts on the axle to make it work properly in your truck.

But it does open up some excellent options for disc brakes.

 

[armadillon]

I guess my fingers weren't matching up with my brain. Knew about the difference between the Expo 8.8 and the FW (although didnt know the spline info) as well as the spring perch stuff.

I'm really more curious if doing the FW setup would be more cost effective in regards to strength than doing the 8.8 rear with some matching front axle.

Also, I was pretty sure that in order to do full-width, you had to have a D44 or above, and with Ranger-width, it was D35 or below. Am I wrong?

 

[kryptonitecb]

You'll only find D30's and D35's to match the shortened 8.8. It depends on what you're doing with your truck. If you plan to just play around then a D30 will be ok, if you like running in the rocks I'd say skip the 9" altogether and go tons.

Sent from the road while ignoring traffic

 

[crawlin91]

Find a full width 8.8 or 9" to match the full width dana 44.

Expo 8.8 is a decent axle 95 and newer come with discs. If you go that route narrow a d44 or grab one from an EB Early Bronco that is already the correct width.

If you stay under 35" tires and just plan on trail riding, a dana 30 should hold up fine, and go well with the Expo 8.8.

 

[armadillon]

Ok. That clears it all up. I'll look at axle prices and whatever fits my 6-month budget I'll go with. Thanks for clearing it all up.

 

[Hagan]

It sounds like you want the same thing i did to my Ranger. I chose an 8.8 over a 9" for a lot of reasons.

 

[swickwake]

swapped out the ranger axle for the f-150 8.8 today. the swap went really smooth.

the axle came out of a 93 f-150 with a 5.0 motor with 4x4. the gear set that is in the axle is 3.55 l/s. the track width of this axle/wheel combo is 74" out side of tread to out side of tread.

mock up.

installed

 

[armadillon]

I was reading your build thread yesterday and was spying these pics. The F150 8.8 is way more common and less expensive in my area. Now I just need to find a D44. I don't get it, I keep hearing stories about people finding them for like 50 bucks and everyone here wants 350+. Ah well

 

[swickwake]

haha cool. if you have any question feel free to pm me. good luck looking for a d44.

 

[cdawall]

I was reading your build thread yesterday and was spying these pics. The F150 8.8 is way more common and less expensive in my area. Now I just need to find a D44. I don't get it, I keep hearing stories about people finding them for like 50 bucks and everyone here wants 350+. Ah well

My D60 was $92 just keep looking around. If you go with a D44 make sure you budget in shafts they were made a little different 40 years ago.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

'Tis a shame they didn't put discs on the 150's until '99, and by then they had the goofy metric bolt pattern (which can be delt with I know)... but if you are going to deal with that I woud go with the 9.75

But for the two weeks I had the truck running with the Explorer 8.8 I was a happy camper with it.

 

[armadillon]

I wanted to post an update here for y'all. I found a guy selling both a Ford 9" and a solid Dana 44 on the cheap (~$350 w/ radius arms) from a '79 Bronco. I should be getting them around the beginning of July.

SUPER excited. Maybe not the cheapest but that's perfect enough for me!

 

[xBLAKEx]

'Tis a shame they didn't put discs on the 150's until '99, and by then they had the goofy metric bolt pattern (which can be delt with I know)... but if you are going to deal with that I woud go with the 9.75

But for the two weeks I had the truck running with the Explorer 8.8 I was a happy camper with it.

So is there a way to convert an older FW 8.8 to disks?

 

[xBLAKEx]

I wanted to post an update here for y'all. I found a guy selling both a Ford 9" and a solid Dana 44 on the cheap (~$350 w/ radius arms) from a '79 Bronco. I should be getting them around the beginning of July.

SUPER excited. Maybe not the cheapest but that's perfect enough for me!

Awesome deal!!