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My 8.8 Build: Young and Dumb

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8.8 swap yj
29K views 111 replies 29 participants last post by  drivertd 
#1 ·
8.8 Swap completed August 2012

Hello all. I recently picked up an 8.8 to swap into my YJ.

I want to use this thread to document progress and contribute to the already plentiful amount of info out there about this swap.

I will post updates in this thread in new posts but also go back and update one of the first 4 posts so it's easy to read

WARNING: THIS BUILD WILL BE SLOW

So we'll start from the beginning, my rig:



'90 YJ with 2.5L/AX5/NP231J and 4.10 R&P ratio.

I want to eventually run 37's and the 8.8 seems a logical way to go.

After some searching I found an ad on craigslist.
It was a guy who finds quality 8.8 rear ends in junkyards and sells them to
people doing conversions for jeeps, hot rods, etc.

I swear, he must of had 20 of these things in his garage.

I opted for the 8.8 with disc brakes, 4.10 ratio (to match my D30 front), and an open carrier (I plan on running a selectable locker).

It came from a Ford Explorer 95-01, not sure on the exact year.

The axle came with everything I could possibly need:

-All the perches and mounts still attached to the axle
-The stock sway bar
-Calipers (for cores)
-Usable rotors (could use a quick cut)
-Stock E-brake shoes
-Spring plates
-All brake lines (hard/soft and the remnants of some cables)
-Yoke
-Factory ABS sensor

I got all that for $300. It was really a pretty good deal all things considered.

So we loaded up the axle in the back of our very own Ford Explorer and drove on home.



Unloaded the axle and propped it up on the jack stands that night.



I did a quick inspection on the R&P when we picked it up and when we got it home, I cracked it open for a closer inspection



Everything was immaculate. No chips or visible signs of wear. I was very pleased.

Now onto removing the all the factory hardware.

First the hard and soft brake lines and calipers





Onto the sway bar mounts



I cut a little too deep into the axle, oops



So I filled them in with my sorry excuse for a welder (and welding skill)



Ground it smooth (and you'll notice I removed the axle breather fitting)



Next step was basically the same but with the spring perches, no pictures of this.

After all the perches and mounts were off, I wanted to pull the shafts to put in new bearings and seals.
Also to clean up the caliper mounting bracket and dust cover.

To remove the shafts, I removed the bolt that holds the cross pin in place.



Then removed the cross pin.



With the cross pin removed, you can push the shafts into the carrier enough to pop off the C-clips.



Shafts out



Now with the shafts removed, I was able to take off the caliper mounting bracket and dust cover





They come off in one piece but I later separated them.

Next step, removing the seals.
Pretty simple, just pried it out with a big screw driver



The bearings gave me a bit of trouble but I was able to get them out with some heat and a slide hammer







During this time I ordered my new bearings and seals



The next day I cleaned the inner axle tube with some brake clean and pressed (pounded) in the new B&S's using my bearing driver



Bearing in



Seal in



With the new B&S's installed I started to clean up the axle itself;

I started with the rust on the differential gasket surface:

Before



I used a 4.5" flap disc on my grinder

After



Next was just some random grinding really. I think It'll look much better this way



Smoothed out the factory plug welds, too ugly for my tastes.

I plan on welding the tubes as well before anyone freaks out about it.





Overall just smoothing everything out.

You'll notice I removed the factory ABS sensor as well. I'll need to find a plug for this later.



I went over most of the tubes, smoothing and getting off most of the grime and rust.
But you'll notice that I didn't sand down all the way to bare metal because I plan on painting the axle with chassis saver (like POR-15)
and it adheres better to rusted surfaces.

I ordered the chassis saver to paint the axle with today

I took advantage of this promo.
Ordered a Monstliner 1 gallon kit and got a free quart of chassis saver and free shipping! Unbeatable, thanks Magnet Man!

Today I also ordered the spring perches, shock tabs, and U-bolt plates.

I contacted Eddie (BESRK) at Ground Pounder Fab and we figured out what I needed. I'm very pleased so far, Eddie is a great guy to deal with. Thanks again!
 
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#74 ·
Lutzke21 that axle came out pretty nice! Seeing your shocks makes me worry how much room I'll end up with though...
That picture of Lutzke21 reminds me of my shocks when i first installed my 8.8 I did a little write-up on my fix for it. Granted Im running Wagoneer springs with a 2" stretch so it will be a little different than you but since you guys know how to weld. here is the link to my shock extensions.http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f12/skyjs-version-m-o-r-e-shock-extensions-1345960/ I gained two more inches of shock length. I also had to cut and make new shock mounts on the axle,cause I welded them on up too high (the first time). At full droop my old mounts were contacting my shock. Now I got all the bugs worked out and they work great.
 
#77 ·
Not to hijack jeep_nuts thread pm away. I kinda just winged it:shhh: I cut it out of cardboard first then liked about the second one I made :laugh:so I built it out of 1/4 steel. I used a piece of tubing with an inside diameter of 5/8 to connect my bracket to the existing upper shock mount. I can take some measurements and let you know what I did to achieve mine. Sorry Jeep_nut hijack over.
 
#84 ·
Mmmm.. parts.



Started bending up the brake lines for the axle..



I'm going to have the soft line come down the the top of the diff.

Mocking up location of the soft/hard line connection to the caliper



Here's what I came up with



A bolt will hold the soft line to the bracket through the hole that I drilled



Welded a nut to the back for ease of access



Everything Mocked up





Stay tuned!
 
#89 ·
Well despite graduation parties, a new job, and all around summer partying... I'm finally starting to make some progress

The new deadline for this thing is July 10th. I'm going to Silver Lake Sand Dunes for a few days and am going to have it done by then.

Caliper brackets and spring plates are ready to go:

Before



Possibly against my better judgement and as a result of my OCD kicking in, I decided to cut off all of the parking brake brackets and smooth everything out.

I figure I've never had a parking brake so why start now? Plus I'd rather have a parking brake on the driveline than the wheels.

Brackets after cutting



Sandblasted (new job is kick-***)





Finally Painted with chassis saver, I think it turned out great minus my first time spraying paint mistakes







I also got all the brake lines finished

Driver side



Soft and hard lines set. The soft line from the jeep will be relocated to drop from the center.

 
#90 ·
Looks good! Your probably going to need to install a different proportion valve for the rear disk brakes to make them work right. Right now you have 10 lbs of residual pressure on your drum brakes b/c of the return spring but disks don't have return springs so they only need 2 lbs of residual pressure, so 10 lbs on disks will make them stick.....
 
#93 ·
CDW_327 said:
Looks good! Your probably going to need to install a different proportion valve for the rear disk brakes to make them work right. Right now you have 10 lbs of residual pressure on your drum brakes b/c of the return spring but disks don't have return springs so they only need 2 lbs of residual pressure, so 10 lbs on disks will make them stick.....
lutzke21 said:
Word on the street when was doing this swap is you didn't need to adjust the proportioning. 3 months later and I've yet to see any problems with my brakes. No sticking, dragging or grinding. And they stop quite well, not sure if I would call it an "upgrade" but they certainly stop the jeep fine.
jason280 said:
I built an 8.8 for a '93 a year or so ago, and never had any problems with the disc brakes sticking. I didn't do anything with the proportioning valve, and had no problem stopping the Jeep on 33s.
This is all what i had heard too. Hopefully it proves to be true, thanks for the input guys!
 
#94 ·
JEEP_Nut1218 said:
This is all what i had heard too. Hopefully it proves to be true, thanks for the input guys!
Yeah Idk if its different from front to rear but that's the problem I had with my front disk brake swap. Hopefully you don't though!
 
#95 ·
Just be sure you bleed your brakes real good. Most end up with the mooshy brake syndrome. I did also, then I did a E350 master and after bleeding it real good I finally have good braking. I even removed the prop. o-ring and I didn't notice any change in how it brakes.
 
#96 ·
skyj said:
Just be sure you bleed your brakes real good. Most end up with the mooshy brake syndrome. I did also, then I did a E350 master and after bleeding it real good I finally have good braking. I even removed the prop. o-ring and I didn't notice any change in how it brakes.
Yes the e350 master works b/c it has valves in it that are set up for front/rear disk breaks...
 
#100 ·


To each their own :thumbsup:

Now ya'll know me...on with the pictures

Plan



Measure



Cut



Clamp



Weld



Weld again because your MIG was out of gas the first time... :rolleyes:



Now Position



Weld



Sandblast



Insert plug, done



Axle is all prepped for paint



Painted...:cool:

 
#101 ·
Waiting for the finale!

I am starting my 8.8 in the morning. Actually, I have been doing all the prep and its being installed in the morning.

Awesome write up, great to see someone put so much attention to detail into their work. Wish I had access to a sandblaster like you do.
 
#102 ·
Thanks for the kind words! Best of luck in your swap.

Been working on this thing as much as I can but I'm dealing with some serious time constraints as I'm working 50 hours a week and going away to school in two weeks. So much to do.

But anyways, got the second coat of paint on



Installed the shafts and cross pin, everything inside the diff is ready to go. Crappy pics, the humidity was killing me.



Installed the caliper mounting brackets





And the moment we've all been waiting for...







Ready to be swapped :thumbsup:
 
#103 ·
Looks awesome! I definately didn't get that much into detail and prep. The 8.8 is in, minus the driveshaft since my adapter plate never showed up, shocks installed, brakes waiting on a $.99 fitting that the parts store was sold out of. Did the boomerangs on all 4 corners. Jeep sits awesome! Its a bit too high now, 36 1/2" to the bottom of the rockers. I gained about 3" when i fixed the PO screwed up suspension work. The shocks were topped out and actually holding about 2" of suspension.

I am seriously jealous of your 8.8. If you were closer I would pay you to prep mine!
 
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