[NOXxAngel]

Hey all,

Im having my axles regeared to 4.88 for my 33" Yokos, and I figured if Im paying to have the diff opened, why not get an ARB locker (just sold my house Then I thought, if Im getting a locker and new gears, why not a new axel? A friends has suggested a Ford 9", which I hear are plentiful in junk yards. What axle should I get, and should I replace both axles?

[got4-Lo]

a 9in is very strong. bout could be over kill depending on how big of tire that u want to run. a step down is an 8.8. a lot of tj guys run them. pretty easy to find and they have the same bolt pattern so u dont have to get new wheels. another option is a d44 which will hold ur 33's with no problem. as for the locker. get one and have it put in when the gears go in. the install for the locker should be free. if not the shop is tryin to screw u

[NOXxAngel]

sounds good. Wonder if I can put the axles on myself, Im pretty mechanical and I can MIG weld (best beads you ever seen, thanks Navy

Whats the best place to find 8.8's cheap, and should I do them both? Thanks for the heads up on the "screw you" part.

[got4-Lo]

if u can weld good and u trust urself, buy the brackets and weld them on. its pretty easy after that. u will need a combo u joint to mate ur DS to the 8.8 yoke. i think its 1310 and 1350 are the sizes that u need. u also will need brakes, preferably disc's. u can find an 8.8 in late model explorers 95+. make sure u get one thats 31 spline. most junk yards have them.

[otisdog]

You can find the rear in Explorers I think 95 up. You can also do the rear disk brake conversion with this. RE sells bracket kits that has all the brackets you need.
For the front your D30 is probably good enough. Put some Alloy USA axles in it with the full cicle clips and you have quite a rig.
http://www.dpgoffroad.com/tech/8.8.htm
Jim

[ncb76]

For a nice write-up on the 8.8 swap, look here: http://www.stu-offroad.com/axle/8.8axle/8.8axle-1.htm

A few places sell the brackets, yokes, etc. MORE is one of them. Check out www.mountainoffroad.com under ---> Catalog ---> Axle Mounting Hardware and Brake Lines.