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8.25 or 8.8?

chris420

chris420

NAXJA Forum User
Location
California
If you wanted disc brakes on your rear end and had a 8.25 with 4.10 gears and 29 spline shafts would you switch to a 8.8 to gain the disc brakes or convert the 8.25 to disc brakes? I never plan on running a tire larger than 33". Just looking for some opinions. I found a great deal on a 8.8 for $90.00 but have not seen it yet.
 
If you can fab, do the 8.8 without question. Stronger (meaning in your case you can thrash the crap out of it and not worry) and comes with disc brakes. Stuff you'll have to do - new U-bolts (check your local spring/truck suspension shop, they will probably bend them for you while you wait), new spring perches, new shock mounts, you may need spacers or more backspacing on your rims if your tires are already close to the springs. You'll also need a dana 2-2-1379 U-joint to Ford flange adapter, Wayne at alljeep.com has the best price I've seen yet and is great to work with.

If you are lazy and want something bolt-in (I strongly considered this), go with the 8.25, though it'll cost you a couple hundred for gears+installation. You can pick up disc brakes off a Libby with an 8.25 in your local pull-a-part if they have any left.

EDIT: I'm not sure how the ground clearance under the pumpkin is for the 8.8 vs the 8.25.
 
my vote is for the disc brakes on the 8.25... although the 8.8 is pretty cheap, it will take some fab, plus on 33's the 8.25 will be more than strong enough. i have the discs on my 8.25 and they are awesome, and easy to do
 
If you already have a 29 spline 8.25 with 4.10s the disc conversion is super simple to do. Pick the backing plates and calipers (for core exchange) off a grand cherokee D35 at the junk yard and you should be all set. just remember to replace the wheel studs with longer ones from a grand cherokee.

From everything I have heard, aside from the spring perch and shock mount fabrication, the 8.8 center section should be welded to the axle tubes. That means heating the housing and proper welding.

But as you know, everyone has an opinion. Mine is if you have 4.10s in the 8.25 stick with it. If you were closer and wanted to dump it, I'd take it off your hands!
 
Man, reading isn't my strong point recently it seems. Didn't realize you already had 4.10s in the 8.25 - change my vote to "swap in some disc brakes" like the rest.
 
i heard you cant just swap brakes from the 35 to the 8.25? dont you have to grind the center of something out so it fits correctly?
 
98CherokeeSport said:
i heard you cant just swap brakes from the 35 to the 8.25? dont you have to grind the center of something out so it fits correctly?
Click to expand...

You have to open up the center hole large enough to slide over the 8.25 outer axle tube which isn't much at all. I used an air die grinder and it was literally about 5 minutes per side, checking often to make sure I didn't go too far. The most difficult part of the swap was rigging up the e-brake cables. Had to remove some of the spring and then use a cable clamp. But overall super easy and much better braking. AND my e-brake actually works which is AWESOME
 
I already had money invested in my 8.25 with a locker. So I went and got the zj disks. Then amount that you have to open up the center is minimal (like .06"?) I used a dynafile.
 
Get two sets of the standard shoes, the standard set has a long shoe and a short shoe from what I gather. Use the long shoes and discard the short shoes.

Never done this myself, but that's how I interpret jeeperjohn's instructions.
 
The 8.8's pumpkin is pretty big iirc, so you might lose some clearance there.
 
Well here's my take on the 8.8 swap......


The 8.8 is a great, simple swap for certain applications, if your running 33's and want 4.10's, that's a good route to go since most have 4.10's from the factory, LSD, disc brakes, stronger axle, no reason why one wouldn't want to go with a 8.8. The only major downfall IMO is that you have to run wheel spacers to achieve the correct wheel track. I personally hate wheel spacers, combine that with heavy wheels, larger tires, and moderate wheeling, something I would rather not have. Plus you have to somewhat modify everything to work.

The 8.25, 29 SPLINE, is a good upgrade for the moderate wheeler, only downfall to that is the small brakes. You can get the Zj disc swap to take care of that, but here again, a little modifying. Also, depending on the gear ratio, there's only one company gears past 4.56's. I wanted 4.88's and at the time, nobody made them, so I went the XJ Dana 44 route.

My .02
 
Most don't have 4.10s, a lot do (more common than on XJs anyways) - but most I saw were 3.55 or 3.73. LSD was most common in the 3.73s.

This info is from a fairly narrow sample though, about 20 or 30 Explorers that were sitting in a row at my local you-pull-it when I went to get mine.
 
kastein said:
Most don't have 4.10s, a lot do (more common than on XJs anyways) - but most I saw were 3.55 or 3.73. LSD was most common in the 3.73s.

This info is from a fairly narrow sample though, about 20 or 30 Explorers that were sitting in a row at my local you-pull-it when I went to get mine.
Click to expand...

Most that I've seen on craigslist and similar have 4.10's. My buddy got his with an open diff so he can run an aussie.

IMO, If your running 33's at the most, I'd go with a 8.25, 29 spline setup. You could run 35's with an 8.25, but I just love my D44
 
kastein said:
Get two sets of the standard shoes, the standard set has a long shoe and a short shoe from what I gather. Use the long shoes and discard the short shoes.

Never done this myself, but that's how I interpret jeeperjohn's instructions.
Click to expand...
You are correct, the longer shoes give you more surface area for the brakes. I have a 27 spline 8.25 with 33's and my braking is plenty for my use. I also have the 95+ brake booster which helped alot.
 
This interests me jeeperjohn. I've got a 29 spline 8.25 that I've already gotten a ruffstuff cover for and installed 4.56's. While I've been thinking about disks, I have to admit that this would be way cheaper and easier.

Is it really a substantial upgrade?
 
To make the 8.8 swap easier just use ruff stuff's conversion kit. The 8.8 pumpkin is rather large, its larger than a d44 for comparison, but with 33's knowing you won't break the rear end is a comfort.

I swapped the Chrysler rear for the Ford and never thought twice about it.
 
DeftwillP said:
This interests me jeeperjohn. I've got a 29 spline 8.25 that I've already gotten a ruffstuff cover for and installed 4.56's. While I've been thinking about disks, I have to admit that this would be way cheaper and easier.

Is it really a substantial upgrade?
Click to expand...
It was noticable on my rig with the 95+ booster already installed. I have also considered drilling some drums with holes for outgassing and cooling. I have never seen this done but it makes sense that it would have the same effect as cross drilling rotors. The only downside I could see is lots of brake dust on the wheels.
 
I want disc brakes for two reasons. One is because the drum bakes suck almost all my stoping power comes from the front bakes. Two they keep the axle shafts intact if they break. I was thinking of crossed drilled rotors and some nice pads would help greatly. I like the fact that the 8.8 is stronger but not that it is narrower. My D30 is a little wider than a stock 30 due to the Warn Hub Conversion so if I ran an 8.8 I would need to get wheel spacers to compinsate. Does anyone have a wright up for the ZJ brakes I saw one for a liberty on here before? The ZJ brakes sound like the best and cheapest route to go.
 
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