of puting a 8.8 ifs diff under the front of my ranger, it looks to be alot better built than the d35, the cv's bolt on instead of push in c-clip
the tube looks like it bolt on instead of just press in, i think it has 28 splines instead of 27 like the d 35
its the same diff thats in the new raptors

befor you say not enough room... I believe it will fit in my case, first I have an RCD lift so that gives me 5 more inches of up and down room
I also plan on gettin the dixon bros kit so it would be 4.5 inches wider per side, so I think the cv's would have enough room (not hit coilovers)
two of the mounts on the 8.8 are the same style mounts as on the d35
here are some comparison pics

8.8



d35


notice on the 8.8 the mount on top of the diff is closer to the edge with the diff cover than on the d35, so I know I have enough room on the diff cover side
the mount is also set higher on the diff than on the tube (more so than on the d35)
this makes me think that I can use the stock mount for the diff side and use the rcd drop bracket on the tube side

but enough with the quessing, so today I stoped by the ford dealership and crawled under an f150 with a tape in my hand...
from the center of the mount on top of the diff to the bottom of the diff it is 12 inches
on my ranger from the stock mount to the bottom of the diff is 14 inches (including rcd drop bracket)
wich is good because the d35 practicaly sits on top of the rcd cross member, so I have enough room up and down
the 8.8 is 12 inches from diff cover to driveshaft flange, that is the same as the d35 so I may be able to use my superlift drive shaft (or get one that is the same length)
of course I would have to get the tube side shortend the 8.8 is 30 inches wide and the d35 is about 21

so does anybody know where I can send the tube to get it shortend??? or have one made?
think I could get some cv's custom made to go from the 8.8 bolt on side and then switch to the rite end for the ranger hubs??
or can I get some hubs that would fit the f150 shafts??
also I need a diff with out vacume disconnect rite??

I can pick up one of these 8.8's for about 200 bucks
and there are only three solid mounts, (no moving parts) and 2 of the 3 mounts are already made...lol
should be alot easier than an sas...lol I wouldnt have to mess with steering

any and all help and comments are appreciated

here are some more pics of the 8.8

 

does this tube look shorter or am I just tripping.... I know the mounts are different i think its out of a Expedition

 

HAHA....I've had dirty thoughts of doing the same thing. I think the concern area would be where the CV pivot point is. If you toss in the Fifty axle on even the DBR arms, it's gonna wanna bind because of the differing pivot points. My idea in my head to make it work is to have the Fifty axle modified and have the long side shortened. To overall, make it as close to the ranger width axle as possible. Then beyond that, I think just mounting of it is easy cake even if new frame bracketry needs fabbed. I really don't think there's room for the 8.8 front in the crossmember, even if the truck's lifted with a drop kit.

BUt...idk if you can weld to pop aluminum.





In short, I'm happy I'm not the only one with horrible dirty thoughts like this. haha.

 

.....before you bash on me....i have to say it.....




why not just sas it?

 

i totally agree with Randy!!! all that work isnt worth it, time and money wise.. if you can fabricate the 8.8 swap then you can fab up a SAS.... even if you did a successful 8.8 swap in the end you would still have IFS... not worth it IMO

 

thats exactly why im saying it. not trying to kill the idea or anything but realistically......ya.....

 

Not everyone wants or even needs a solid axle...



some want travel. There's a reason desert trucks are IFS and even center mount IFS and not jeepspeed m*fker anymore...

 

....but you want one

 

so? not everyone rides trails and rocks or even uses low. I can think of a few of my friends who simply say hell no to the solid axle because they simply don't need it.

 

ya i know, like i said, before you bash on me...i just had to say it


now on another note this does look like somewhat of a bolton deal? idk maybe im surprised this hasnt been done yet? idk?

 

I imagine shortening the housing to ranger width(shorten that long side), shorten the internal half shaft, most likely a custom length set of CV's and possible outer joint modification to fit the Ranger hub. Sure, it's lots of custom work and quite a bit of money, but if you got a buddy at an axle shop or race shop...should be able to be done with relative ease. And all this shortening of the tube is if you can actually weld to pop alum. Other than that, the swap appears to be almost bolt-on from what I've seen...the existing bracketry and drop brackets from the Ranger look to bolt-on to the 8.8 front. I was thinking while looking at a 04+ Fiddy front end that was torched off sitting on the ground. lol.


**side note: regarding the outer CV possible issue...would be really really really neat to figure out a way to adapt a set of like D44 Warn Premiums to it.


And FWIW, the buddy of mine that does custom suspension work out of his shop, told me the most expensive part of making a long travel IS the custom CV's. Roughly $2500 parts and labor from my buddy do to the work. Tubular upper and lower arms, rear brace, CV's, springs/c-o's. A few of the trucks he's built makes the trek to Baja every year. He's been hounding me for years to drop my truck off! lol.

 

wouldnt making different mounting points for the axle be more.......easy? i see modding the mounts to the truck easier than modding the mounts on that cast..

 

I'm going back on my width concern...

Of course, I'm not entirely sure the disadvantages because i'm not that knowledgeable on it, but I never see trucks who's inner CV joint isn't roughly in-line with the upper and lower arm joints. I think because they aren't in roughly the same position and on the same 'circle', it'll cause some bindage. Again...not too sure.


But even then, if you move the upper and lower arm mounts outward to compensate for the wider axle, you'd have a truck thats as wide or even wider than yours on just stock length arms. Imagine that with the DBR arms!





**had another weird idea... F150 the entire front end! Axle, cv's, knuckles, brakes, hubs, the works. Make the arms fit the ranger.

 

ok...I think i'm done blahblahblahing for now. I'll wait for more knowledgeable people to chime in. lol.

 

lol.. yeah my idea is to have the tube shortened or a new one made, I was thinking I could have a tube made for around 300 bucks or so but I dont know
of course I would have to get the tube side shortend the 8.8 is 30 inches wide and the d35 is about 21


I

the whole reason i was thinking about doing this is because i cant fab
i was going to have some one make me the tube,
so i would only need to get one mount made (the one near the drive shaft)
the rest would be bolt on wich i can do

I was thinking the same thing the rcd brackets can be easily modified to raise it up a bit if need be just by drilling some holes

I do want to put a solid axle under the front but having a jacked up prerunner would be cool also, thats why I put it in new ideas section
i know it would not be the best desert runner (taller than should be) because im adding it to the rcd,and wouldnt be the best rock crawler not enough travel for serious stuff
but it would be a good medium all around truck, and would be alot more capable than stock, 90 percent of its life is spent on the street, 14 inches of wheel travel is alot on any daily driver I think the raptor only has 12 or 13
plus I am growing fawnd of the fiberglass look, I would call it the 8.8 (you know cause it would have them front and back..lol)
I think I could get away with 36's (with the fiberglass plus 5 inches of lift), the front diff should hold up to that I see alot of f150's with 36's

even if I sas it I would want to throw some glass on it so I can keep it low as possible to the ground but still have good travel with no rubbing

 

this guy looks like he might be able to make me a tube

U.S. Manufacturing Corporation : Current Products

or maybe these guys
US Axle Manufacturing - Providing Axles and Shafts Reducing Your Cost & Improving Your Performance

 

you have an rcd so you ahve 5more ", your going to lose all that if you get th dixon bros kit just fyi

 

all the dixin bros kit does is give you longer arms they will bolt rite up to the rcd mounts and knuckel I will just need some 12 inch coilovers instead of 8

 

^^Yep! I've always wanted to ditch my bodylift, add the DBR kit to my Superlift, and run like 37's. lol.
And even then, the DBR kit adds approx 3"-4" of front lift because of those arms and depending on where you got the coil set at.






I know this is a little crazy and will be alot cheaper than trying to find a shop that messing with alum, have you thought about converting a rear ranger axle, putting in reverse cut gears, cutting it to width, figure out the end, and welding on the associated parts?? Maybe even just make the outers just like they would be on the rear application on the ends(seals, bearings), but slide in the shortened Fiddy half shafts? IDK...I like to think and it hurts! lol. But I do like brainstorming.

Of course, I havn't a clue if those front axles are E-clips or C-clips and that'll sorta have to determine what carrier you put in.

 

I was actually wondering if they could make the tube big enough for a 31 splined inner shaft
and I dont see why the tube has to be made out of alum. a steel one would bolt on just the same

 

starting to get a few goodies for the rear stacked up, befor I start thinking about upgrading the front I need to get the rear geared and locked, I am supposed to be picking up a disk brake expo axle this weekend
so my L2 rear end will be up for sale after I get the expo one ready

 

hmmm

 

I will trade it for your front bumper...lol

 

got a quote for 400 to make me a shorter tube, so for about 600 you could have an 8.8 front diff
but i would have to have custom shafts made and that could be a couple grand...lol

 

yeah, the shafts is what will kill the deal