(Fri Apr 13, 2007 6:04 am)
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I picked up an 8.8 explorer 3.55 axle in Spokane yesterday. Yes it has discs.
I also got a short side axle.
Look for a little diatribe on the install in the next few weeks.
This weekend Ill dismantle the thing to ready it for narrowing.
(Sat Apr 14, 2007 2:14 pm)
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I spent a couple of hours readying the 8.8 for the machine shop. First I bolted on a wheel and tire to find out if things were headed complicated. They fit.....just. There is a very close seal(finger width) between the wheel and the splash pan.
Then I stripped everything off the axle.
I pulled the c clips ...then the axles....off come the backing plate with the emergecy brakes ....I took all the brake lines in one piece.
By measuring axles and the axle tubes I can see I need to narrow 2 5/8" from the long side tube.
http://www.mobmms.com/view/20678-0.html
http://www.mobmms.com/view/20680-0.html
(Mon Apr 16, 2007 4:28 pm)
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The old 7.25 axle is in the foreground with the spiffy low mileage disc brake axle in the background. I just have to cut 2 5/8" out of the long side and weld it back together.
http://www.mobmms.com/view/20708-0.html
note the section on the long side to be removed.
The mounts also need to be relocated to compensate for pinion angle. The Explorer driver side mount is in the correct location but is clocked very wrong for Ujoint life.
The front spring mounts need to be drilled out to 9/16 . They are inverted to lower the car 2".
http://www.mobmms.com/view/20707-0.html
I will make new shackles from truck shackles which are longer, wider and a little thicker than Abody shackles. I will redrill them from 3/8 to 1/2" add grade 8 bolts welded to the shackles on one side. The holes will be drilled 1" closer than stock to lower the car a little more...and to balance the pinion angle.
(Sun Apr 22, 2007 12:01 pm)
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I finally got an hour and a half and a company vehicle together at the same time. ...off to town!
.....the machine shop is so busy they cant look at anything less than" life and death". ....seeing how the Valaint is technically "sport" it goes to the back of their list. So I brought it all home again.
.....spent a couple of hours upgrading spring hangers and shackles. I used Chev 3/4 4x4 front spring shackles(originally 7/16 bolts) and drilled the holes out to 1/2". The holes are 1/2" farther apart on the Chev than Abody. I made a new hole 1" closer together lowering the car 1/2"on the shackle end. Yes the spring, shackles and spring mount all clear each other throughout travel. All new grade 8 1/2" bolts and Nylocs should suffice. When I get it where I want it I will weld the bolt heads to the shackles.....just enough to stake them.
The truck shackles are the same thickness but wider than A body shackles. the difference is quite noticable. When Alex put the new springs in the car a couple of years ago I was surprised at the cheezy shackles we were sent.
The JC Whitney springs Alex installed had a 9/16 bore on the big end(front). Unknowingly he reinstalled the 3/8 bolts the car came with. This allowed the spring to touch the floor on violent acceleration. Remember I have reversed the front spring mounts on my car. The mount must be removed to change the spring or bolt.
Today I drilled out the spring mounts to 9/16. Ill be using new grade 8 9/16 x4 and nylocs. The springs are ready for a new diff .
Here is a little sidebar on one way to upgrade shackles.
My son had installed new springs 2 years ago. They work well but son installed the front spring eye using stock 3/8 bolts in a 9/16 spring bushing. The rear shackles were so puny.....
I installed 9/16 bolts in the front eye after drilling out the front spring mount. Note my mount is reversed to lower the car.
I made new rear shackles using 3/4t 4x4 front shackles....much bigger.
I redrilled the shackles to 1/2" (same size as poly bushings ) and installed 1/2 x 4" Bolts with nyloc nuts. If you use this size and tighten till the bolt is flush with the nut you get perfect clamp on the bushings.
http://www.mobmms.com/images/owner-download/21902.jpg
(Sat May 12, 2007 8:26 am)
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I picked up the housing from the machine shop yesterday. As soon as I got home I tossed the housing on top of the springs and had a look.....everything looks good.
I had a couple of hours before 9 this morning to reassemble the 8.8 and install it in the car. The stock Valaint brake hose and line T bolt right on the Explorer axle.
A set of Ubolts and spring plates for a 8 3/4 or 81/4 will bolt everthing in the stock location.
The machine shop shortened the housing by putting it in a driveline lathe (for huge logging equipment) and treating the whole operation as a driveshaft shortening.....the axle tubes being the shaft. It gets welded in the lathe. My axle tube is cut and welded in the middle. They say the whole thing is "pretty straight".....meaning "very straight" in my world.
weight of 7 1/4 axle w/ 10" drums removed from car 160 lbs
weight of similarly equipped 8.8 w/discs 185 lbs
The Explorer rear (narrowed ) is less than 1" narrower than the 7.25
http://www.mobmms.com/view/22185-0.html
(Sat Jun 16, 2007 6:23 am)
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I got the bill for narrowing the housing and moving spring pads, removing sway bar mounts today.......2.5 hours $175
Brake lines, pads etc will be in Tuesday but Im not sure when I will have time to cross the line (border) and get them.
I still need to find some reasonably priced calipers. Core charge is $100/pair most places...
Turns out the driveshaft/ ujoint stuff can come from the slant pile.....my car may get back its original driveshaft after a 7 year hiatus.
(Tue Jun 26, 2007 4:20 pm)
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I got my calipers today (used 43000 km) and picked up my pads , hoses, and mounting hardware(new) from Spokane on Saturday. I now have everything I need except for a conversion u joint and 6 hours to get the freeking thing together.
Lemme see ....Alberta tomorrow to friday(again) ....reality tv show in Alberta (again) next Monday to Friday.....Leave for the East Coast the following Monday....back 10 days later....straight into 5 days on the lake in the sailboat(holiday with the new bride).....
Im thinkin I can get it running .....um....lesse....August
(Sat Aug 18, 2007 8:56 am)
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The conversion Ujoint finally got here Friday. They sent the wrong Ujoint in the right box TWICE!
Fired the driveshaft in the car at 7 am this morning and went for a lil test drive.....
The car stops really well....good front/ rear bias with the stock 74 disc brake master and combination valve.
The 3.55 gears seem perfect. The car leaves really hard ....I get about 30ft of rubber on both tires in 1st and a bark on the 1-2 shift.
My 14"Ansen sprints just clear the calipers.
Sat Aug 18, 2007 3:20 pm)
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Got far enough ahead of things this afternoon to take the Valaint for more than a cursory shakedown cruise........
Why not Top End the car with the new gears and see if the driveshaft vibration thing is gone? ("new" driveshaft is the stock 65 )
I took the car through all 5 gears hard and wound it up to the top end of 5th (prolly over 100....no speedo).....no vibration.
I noticed a drop in power on the return pass.........and some noise.
Dropped it into neutral ....key off....coasted home.
I think I just wiped ANOTHER oil pump gear.
Hopefully the crank is ok.....but I have to question the Comp cam.
I think I let it cool down and do some checking.....