I have an 8.8" in the crown vic with 2.73 gears that is not posi or traction lock. my dad just cut up a ford explorer with an 8.8" that has 3.27 gears and has traction lock. Can i install the gears and lock unit into the crown vic rear end? I know that a new speedo gear will need to be installed, but is there anything else that will need done? I also may be able to get a 3.55 traction lock rear end for cheap also, would that be better for the land barge? I like the highway mileage the car gets right now and don’t want to drop it that much.
its not that hard but you do need to know what you are doing with setting backlash, and pinion depth. if you have a magnetic dial indicator and torque wrench. read about how to do it and give it a try. there is only one way to learn
I installed 4.10s and rebuilt the traction-lock on the 8.8 on my 95 Mustang GT. What a horrible pain in the ass, plus, I had disgusting differential fluid all over me and my garage floor. My garage smelled like a combination of onions, ****, and BO for a good 6 months afterwards.
Next time I needed rear axle work I took it to Rodeheavers (who did a really good job for cheap). It was worth every penny paying someone else to mess with it. He had it done in 1/20 the time it took me.
yeah just swap it all out. i’d get new side bearings, pinion bearings and clutches if i was you just reuse the old steels if they’re not burned up, then just have a shop set it up. i think i have some pinion depth shims in my box for a 8.8 if you need any(i have a new crush collar too). i could do it but wouldn’t be the cheapest, probably charge 6-7 hours if you’re looking for a estimate
oh yeah and don’t forget to soak the clutches in friction modifier for atleast a few hours before the install. then add one bottle to the fluid when you’re done
With a little assistance I did mine with no knowledge of rear end gears. Not hard if you can read up on it a little prior to pulling everything out. Check out a few “step-by-step” sites to get an idea as to what you’re doing and it’ll be fine.
I was doing a little research and the explorer rear ends are much better than the crown vic/mustang/f150 ones. They are all 31 spline and have much bigger axles. I now need to find out how much narrower the explorer rear end in compared to mine. If it’s only an inch or two shorter, I may weld on the brackets for the coil springs onto the explorer rear end and put it in.
My dads explorer rear end has 3.27 trac lock and I also just picked up a 2002 explorer rear that has 3.55 trac lock gears. I think the 02 is about the same width as my vic one.
congrats on having faster cars. you are the bestest :bigthumb:
getting a 4000+ lb. car to move with a torqueless 4.6 and 2.73 gears is no fun. I can get the gears for free and having 3.55’s would probably help city mileage and acceleration. It won’t be as fast as fshowcars cars, but it would make the work commute a little better.
yeah in a week you would not even notice the difference except the tranny is shifting slightly more. 2.73 to 3.55 = waste of effort. 3.73 or better computer geek
