tamazulense

okay im definitly going to put on some new gears and diff lock. but now im thinking of just buying a new takeoff 8.8 with 4.10s and the diff lock. but i need info from people who have done this. is it worth paying the 300-450 more? and can u feel the extra wieght cause this is my main problem in gettint it. i know ull probably say to get itif thinking of going the vortehc or supercharger way...and i am in about a year. but our 7.5 will hold up. so is it worth getting the whol 8.8 rear end????

danbevsv6rumbler

well... i have an 8.8 that I'm in the process of getting ready to place on my v6 here within the next couple of weeks. i got my takeoff with 3.55 gears and 15K miles on it for $225 locally (good deal, I hope). If you're willing to wait a bit I'll give you all of my impressions once I perform the swap the last week of march.

can anyone else chime in?

157dB

OK, if you go with the heavier 8.8 you need the right GT springs
and shocks or wheel hop will be out of this world. If you go
aftermarket springs, get em for the GT springs and not the
V6 springs for the rears. Its the unsprung weight, not the
sprung weight that is different with the 8.8 VS the 7.5.
Also get the 8.8 that has the V6 Pinion Flange.

Its totally worth it for the T-Loc, gears and heavier axles
with more splines.

tamazulense

what do u mean wheel hop? i had the impresion that the 8.8 was a straight bolt on except for the new pinion flangewhich is only like 45 bucks.

fazm

what are you talkin bout? i run stock springs/shocks in the rear, and have zero wheel hop.

im pretty sure they are even the same springs for v6/gt in the rear, and possibley even the shocks.

danbevsv6rumbler

go to fordparts.com
and search for the part in their OEM catalog.

Part # E9TZ-4851-A
i got the pinion flange for $28+$10 shipping



I would have thought that the since the axle is part of the suspension whole rear linkage system that the v6 springs would be just fine since the weight of the car is pushing against the axle and not the other way around...

EDIT:
according to the website i posted above apparently the rear coil springs are the same for both models (v6 and GT) - it's the shock absorber that is different - possibly because the gt is heavier and had suspension set up a little more aggresively?

SeanoStang

i was thinking about going this same route

tamazulense

so 157db is totally wrong about the whole GTsprings. cause that kind of put down the 8.8 rear buy i had in mind. cause if i have to spend more money on springs i wont do it. the rear end is already 900 bucks. so it is just a srtaight bolt on right. no other parts neede except for pinion flange.

tamazulense

hey famz u have the 8.8 rear. and if u do is it really worth it over just gears and t lock in 7.5 rear.

fazm

yes i have the 8.8 rear

worth it? of course

i broke an axle in the 7.5
broke the tlok and jacked the bearings, snapped a control arm with the stock 8.8
now i have a truetrac differential in the 8.8

if you plan on any kind of f/i id go with an 8.8. even at that, with the 7.5 i broke the axle while n/a. im a bit more agressive launching than most lol