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Ford 8.8 swap for TJ

3K views 29 replies 13 participants last post by  biffgnar 
#1 ·
hey guys, ive got a 4.0 with 3.73's and 35 inch tires. its time to regear for sure but people tell me not to waste money on weak dana 35 and dana 30. i want 4.88 gears and someone told me to swap a ford 8.8 in for the dana 35. is that a good idea?? have many people done this? what other swaps can be done? thanks!:cheers2:
 
#4 ·
Second on those. East Coast Gear Supply builds both for TJs, in whatever gear/shaft/locker/ect combo you want.
 
#9 ·
@afusco1222 i have metalcloaks and im only in highschool. built my whole jeep from stock with blown motor, now one of the most capable jeeps in cleveland. im gonna do the 8.8 in the rear and gonna try to find a dana 44 out of the front of a rubicon for my front. and then throw in some 4.88's. i think that will make me happy
 
#25 ·
@afusco1222 i have metalcloaks and im only in highschool.
Registered User CONTACT jeeperJake217

Cleveland
43 years old

@knucklehead yeah i have the cloaks. and im actually just lacking gearing. i have chromolly axles & locked front and rear...so thats how its one of the most capable.
Please explain more...
 
#11 ·
hey guys, ive got a 4.0 with 3.73's and 35 inch tires. its time to regear for sure but people tell me not to waste money on weak dana 35 and dana 30.
@afusco1222 i have metalcloaks and im only in highschool. built my whole jeep from stock with blown motor, now one of the most capable jeeps in cleveland.
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jeeperJake217

VIEW MY: PROFILE

Cleveland
43 years old
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Still in highschool?

Tell me more about this ""now one of the most capable jeeps in cleveland""...
 
#13 ·
Yah when I think about my next purchases, I think back to my most recent wheeling trips and think what held me back or hindered performance the most. The d35 was on top of that list for a while. Next for me is control arms and brakes
 
#17 ·
2003X said:
I went with the HP over the D44. I am very happy with it. I believe the gears are reverse cut?
Yep on reverse cut. With the money you can save on the hp30 over the 44 you can also do moly shafts and other things to it. Which would make it alot stronger than a stock rubi 44.
 
#18 ·
pmcjeep said:
Yep on reverse cut. With the money you can save on the hp30 over the 44 you can also do moly shafts and other things to it. Which would make it alot stronger than a stock rubi 44.
Yup this is what I am doing aswell, built up HPD30. Somewhere I read 30% strenghth increase in R&P over the LP? How much stronger is the Rubi R&P over the LP?
 
#20 ·
jeeperJake217 said:
@knucklehead yeah i have the cloaks. and im actually just lacking gearing. i have chromolly axles & locked front and rear...so thats how its one of the most capable.
If you already have moly axles for the front why waste the money for a 44? Just keep the lp30 or swap them over to a hp30. The 8.8 would be a good swap for the rear or theirs a 44 rear on atl craigslist. Oh and where do you norm wheel at?
 
#22 ·
Not sure the cost over there, but I picked up an Dana HP30 front axle here for $50 bucks, and there are a ton of rear non rubi Dana 44's for cheap money too........not sure how much an 8.8 costs, but the D44 should be a cheap alternative as well.
 
#23 ·
biffgnar said:
if that's all it takes to make it one of the most capable in the cleveland then there must not be a very big offroading community there. Around here that pretty vanilla.
x2
 
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