Opinions needed on my rear end

[motorheadmike]

That is basically an aftermarket Dana 60, correct? That should be plenty strong and not a bad price.

Exactly, and it is what we have in the wagon. If I could get good coin for the 8.5" in the MCSS I would dump it for another one to put one in that car too. I think Strange said that the base model shown (which I have) is good for 800+hp applications.

 

[lilbowtie]

As I said you can get a housing and axle package in the $700.00 territory and order it with any ends you want, I ordered mine with the gm ends and used my brakes. Nine inch cases are cheap and plentiful, and you can build a stock set-up or build something to hold lots of HP. My Regal has nothing but a stock set-up and I only have about $300.00 in it (spool) The Sonoma has an aluminum bolt through (1200+HP) that I managed to get for $850.00 new. Then again pay the man his money and order what you want.

 

[marcar1993]

Exactly, and it is what we have in the wagon. If I could get good coin for the 8.5" in the MCSS I would dump it for another one to put one in that car too. I think Strange said that the base model shown (which I have) is good for 800+hp applications.

What did you do for brakes on the dana 60? I'd definitely prefer a dana over a 9", though I may just slap another 8.8 in it yet to see if the problem is in the rear, I'm just so up in the air still.

 

[motorheadmike]

What did you do for brakes on the dana 60? I'd definitely prefer a dana over a 9", though I may just slap another 8.8 in it yet to see if the problem is in the rear, I'm just so up in the air still.

I had it set up with housing ends for LS1 disc brakes - there was no additional charge for this. Same goes with specifying a custom width - no charge.

 

[csstrux]

Greetings MarCar & all; I go around giving free advice & no takes it. Ya get what ya pay for! Looking for hidden problem & some hide better than others. When ya say ya got an 8.8, I'm just not sure if you're referring to a Ford (my best guess), a 8.875" GM 12 bolt, 8.625 (?) or some other unit I'm not familiar with? My first question is did ya get it out of a wreak & the housing is got slight mis alignment? Next who welded up the control arm mounts, & how the hell do you check them without a fixture? You have obviously checked drive shaft balance & angle? Have ya checked drum-rotor balance? Then ya ask the question, what should I do for the future? Ten guys will give ya 11 opinions! Anyway being that I'm not much of a drag racer as I only go once about every 3 years & I like to Auto-X also. I'm more concerned with Unsprung weight as most of my driving is on the street. If you're going drag racing a bunch, how can ya not have a 9" Ford, inexpensive parts & great availability? But I have read that the Ford 8.8" is nearly as bullet proof as the famed 9" unit & a bit lighter saving some unsprung weight. We just put one (8.8 F) in my buddies 1950 Chevy with disc brakes & I gotta say it seems to be a very well packaged unit assembly. But then we won't be dropin' the clutch at 5000 RRR's with slicks either. So to sum up my BS for free, if that is a Ford 8.8 I'd try to fix it by sending it out to a well equipped shop. Good Luck Ole' Bob.
Ps: I attached a picture of my 8.5 GM unit with gussets, 20 years of heavy use! Some would say abuse?

Educate me please, as I am going to upgrade my 7.5 stocker at some point in the future, and currently have the intention of using an 8.8 out of an explorer for the disks, and the understanding that using two short axles will get you pretty close to stock length. Those gussets do what, and what method of application? Staying GM and surviving behind a (built in the future) 6.0 LSX4l80e combo in an autocross type environment would be preferred to hybridizing the car.

 

[Ace Burt]

Exactly as the title states, lol. I have an 8.8 in my car with some vibration issues. I'm honestly sick of dealing with it.
I was supposed to be picking up a 4.10 posi 8.5 last week, however while it does have 4.10 gears, its an open diff! So now I am kinda stuck. I planned to just throw it in and drive it, but I want the posi. So either I drop $400 on a 28 spline carrier then spend more later when I upgrade axles, or just jump for the 30 spline and then order axles, and get the housing cut for 9" ends. The issue is, do I want to drop that much cash into an 8.5? Is my money better spent on a quick performance 9" which already has bolt in axles, upgraded to a new center sections, ect ect for about $2500? What would I be looking at cost wise to upgrade my 8.5 to the level of the 9"? What is the difference in the power level of each rear? Which route should I go? I just want a rear that bolts in with 100% stock stuff and will hold up do some clutch dumps on slicks at the track hopefully into the 10's if I ever get there. (Right now its a high 12 second car at ~4000lbs).
I'm sick of doing it over and over again too!

Thanks guys!

I fought through what seemed like never ending issues with mine. It’s going back together with a Quick Performance Ford 9” with 3:70’s, Eaton Tru Trac and Moser axles

LS 6L80e powered) and I am never going to work on it again...

 

[olds307 and 403]

What did you do for brakes on the dana 60? I'd definitely prefer a dana over a 9", though I may just slap another 8.8 in it yet to see if the problem is in the rear, I'm just so up in the air still.

Of course, you are a Dodge man at heart.

I had it set up with housing ends for LS1 disc brakes - there was no additional charge for this. Same goes with specifying a custom width - no charge.

View attachment 77217 View attachment 77218
I fought through what seemed like never ending issues with mine. It’s going back together with a Quick Performance Ford 9” with 3:70’s, Eaton Tru Trac and Moser axles View attachment 77217 LS 6L80e powered) and I am never going to work on it again...

Good to know, just like the "super" easy 3.9 to 5.9 Magnum in a Dakota swap, the 8.8 into a G body swap is obviously not so easy.

 

[Ace Burt]

Of course, you are a Dodge man at heart.



Good to know, just like the "super" easy 3.9 to 5.9 Magnum in a Dakota swap, the 8.8 into a G body swap is obviously not so easy.

I went with a Wilwood set up with parking brake option. Here is my set up and cost. Brydon will build you whatever you want. I went with a set up good to 650+ rwhp. Quick builds it as a direct bolt in, it went in and fit perfect.

 

[81cutlass]

Quick performance sells complete 9" or speedway sells housings and all the parts.

My opinion on the 8.8 ford rear with the conversion arms is that you can't just fill the gaps in between and put rod ends on both ends and have no problems. It might be in the rear, or it could be in the physical geometry. The control arms are different lengths between a fox and G body, and there is nothing saying the pinion angle is staying generally the same through the suspension travel.

For what its worth, you probably won't find the vibration with the car off the ground. If it is a bearing issue, a bearing typically won't exhibit issues unless it has a load on it.

If I ever get time, I have my kit to install the S10 zr2 8.6 rear into a g body with stock control arms drawn, made, and prooven out, but I gotta find time to build and market them.

My last comment, have you made sure the slip yoke is not bent and slides smoothly in and out of the trans the whole way? Have you manually spun the input yoke of the rear to see if it feels "rough"? You can lift the rear of the car and let it idle at 40mph for 5 mins and if there is an issue thats bad enough there will be a lot of heat somewhere. The front pinion bearing on mine was out and I used an IR temp gun and shot it at random places until I found the issue.

 

[marcar1993]

To give this thread some closure, I went with a strange s60. It was about $3300 to my door including wilwood discs, helical posi, fluid, everything but paint and brakelines (someone messed that up while ordering...)
Went in smooth, so far it drives great, and I am very happy with it overall! Driving it to break it in now, dumping the fluid in a week and taking it on a 500 mile road trip!