Ford 8.8 YJ swap

HogeySpooner

HogeySpooner

Active Member
Joined
May 12, 2008
Location
Greensboro, NC
I found a Ford 8.8 for $200 complete out of a 2000 Explorer. Brake calipers, rotors, cables, hoses,etc. The boneyard said it's a 410 locker. I'm assuming they mean the trac-lock LSD? Is this a good deal and swap for my 89 YJ?
 
That is a good deal. You'll have to remove the spring perches and shock mounts and install new ones. You'll also want to consider changing the brake master cylinder since you are going from drums to discs on the back. I used a master cylinder from a mid 80 e-350 van on the YJ I had. I also removed the proportioning valve and installed an adjustable prop. valve on the rear, and no prop. valve for the front.
 
I'm not positively sure of this, but I think the carrier for the LSD is different from the open end type. For you to have the ability to install a real locker you would need an open end carrier. Look in the stickies in the YJ forum on this board; http://www.jeepsunlimited.com/forums/index.php . One of them has a bunch of 8.8 linky's.
 
You do have a good candidate axle. The factory lsd in that(as long as its still good) is not a too terrible type unit - easily rebuilt if it is bad. If you got a dual sport on/off road, the lsd is nice. The 8.8 is easy to install, cut off a few brackets, weld on some new perches and shock mounts, adapt the driveshaft, nab a zj ebrake cables, and 2 brake lines and its in there.

VortecJeep, isnt the e350 mc a disk/drum setup? I believe so. The MC that you would want is an early vette mc. It is setup for disk/disk and is pretty much a bolt on deal.
 
The E350 MC is for the disk/drum setup. I have successfully run the 8.8 in a YJ and XJ with the stock MC before, no problems, course everyone has his own opinion about brake pedal feel like everything else :) I agree that you would be better off with the open carrier and a "real" locker but for that price you can afford to buy a carrier if you need it. The last two 8.8's I got with 4.10 gears were $400 each. $200 is a good deal.
 
The E350 MC is for the disk/drum setup. I have successfully run the 8.8 in a YJ and XJ with the stock MC before, no problems, course everyone has his own opinion about brake pedal feel like everything else I agree that you would be better off with the open carrier and a "real" locker but for that price you can afford to buy a carrier if you need it. The last two 8.8's I got with 4.10 gears were $400 each. $200 is a good deal.
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I am using the stock MC with no probs. I'd get a full locker. Good price though. I paid 230 for mine w/o the 4.10's
 
I ran the stock MC for a long time and the braking on mine sucked. I saw many write-ups using the E350 MC, so I tried it. It worked great, but the other key was getting rid of the stock YJ prop. valve. I think the Vette MC bolts directly to a CJ, but not a YJ without some work. The e350 MC needed a little bit of the ears ground off, but then was a piece of cake. It may also depend on the year of YJ, not sure. THe one I had was a 1995.
 
I picked this up last week. I watched them take it off the vehicle and had them leave everything intact (brake lines, e-brake cables, calipers, etc). I opened it up and it is in fact a 4.10 LSD. I'm gonna put it in like it is for now (along with necessary mods). It's definitly better than the D35 I'm taking out. I'll cross the MC bridge when I get there. I did notice that there are 2 wires coming out of the top. I guess these had something to do with the ABS on the donor. Do I have to do anything with these or just snip them off? What type of welding rod to weld the tubes to the diff case? Do I need to preheat the diff case first? I've done alot of welding in the last 20 years but haven't really messed around with cast steel. Thanx for the comments guys.
 
HogeySpooner said:
I did notice that there are 2 wires coming out of the top. I guess these had something to do with the ABS on the donor. Do I have to do anything with these or just snip them off?
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Yep, it's the ABS sensor. You don't have to cut the wires, just unplug it.
What type of welding rod to weld the tubes to the diff case? Do I need to preheat the diff case first? I've done alot of welding in the last 20 years but haven't really messed around with cast steel. Thanx for the comments guys.
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Ideally, you should preheat and post the cast as much as possible and use a nickel rod to do the weld. Personally, I just give them some tacks around the tube, then burn them in fast all the way around. It may not be the proper way, but it's worked for me so far.
 
I wouldn't weld all the way around if I had it to do again.
I'd weld a 1-2" bead on the front and the back of each tube. Therefore not making a Heat Affected Stress Riser in the tube on the top and/or bottom (I was DEAD tired when I welded mine all the way around). All you need this weld to do is add a method to prevent the tubes from twishing in the housing. (I had this happen.... IT SUCKES to fix)... Takes a BIG Press and a Hell of a Method to hold it down...

As for the MC. I have run with the Stock MC for about 7years now with my 8.8. No issues. IT will stop on a DIME... I think as I've seen with most YJs of any age the Proportioning valve is the issue... It gets corroded over time and locks up.
Give it a shot and see how you like/dislike the MC first.
When/If you lock it, go to a Full Spool or Detroit or I think they are coming out with the E-Locker for the 8.8 soon too.
Happy trails, Enjoy the 8.8.
 
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