Ford 8.8 IRS Conversion

[SUNNY Z]

Awaiting pics of the new axles!

 

I'm excited to see them myself! The brown truck is scheduled to drop them off wednesday, so stay tuned!

 

Finished up the E brake cables tonight. really pretty simple once you know what to do. I'm really excited to have an E brake again.

 

Basically all thats left is to install the diff and trans (tomorrow evening's plan) and tie up any loose ends that remain from the laundry list of fixes / upgrades that happened over the winter.

 

Well i'm spent. 5 AM is coming too soon.

[SUNNY Z]

Got the diff filled and in for the last time last night, same for the trans.  Tonight I'll install the driveshaft, driveshaft loop, axles, rear wheels, and top off all fluids.

 

I checked on the UPS tracking # for the DSS stuff, and it was delivered YESTERDAY to the apartment main office.  Glad they decided not to call me! So i'll have them tonight after work, and I'll share ASAP!

[SUNNY Z]

[Domzs]

I have been following your project for awhile . Great job ! Debating on which way to go with my 280ZXT , like yours or 8.8 live axle . If you don't mind me asking , how much have you put in it so far ?

Edited April 11, 2013 by Domzs

[RebekahsZ]

Do those porsche style CV bolts get lock wires?  I'm not sure it is necessary, but my wolf creek axles sure were fond of safety wire-that is why I hated them.  Your front and rear diff yokes look much better than mine.  I'll be contacting the DSS if I get afraid of my driveshaft.  Looks great-you falling asleep at work?

[SUNNY Z]

I have been following your project for awhile . Great job ! Debating on which way to go with my 280ZXT , like yours or 8.8 live axle . If you don't mind me asking , how much have you put in it so far ?

 

Well what i've put in it, and what it would cost to recreate are two different figures. I've done a lot of things that probably weren't necessary for a bare bones swap, but I don't like to re-do things.

 

What I have in it : 

 

 

The NEW SHIT

 

PD 550 T3 Backing Plates

PD 240 Strut tubes

PD 199 GC Coilovers

PD -100 Credit for Strut Tubes

PD 200 Shipping 

PD 435 Axles

PD 285 Brakes

PD 75 E Brake Cables

PD 40 Axle Bearings

PD 430 Driveshaft

PD 60 Wheel Studs

PD 50 Lug Nuts

PD 79 Install Kit

PD 139 Gears

PD 75 Rear Cover

PD 25 Cover Bushings

PD 30 Misc Hardware

PD 219 Carrier

PD 50Lube

PD 125 Labor (gears)  

 

3206 TOTAL

 

 

I'd add ~1200-1500  to re-create this. Staggering? Kind of. But the upgrades were necessary in my book. Don't forget that I was up $100 on my pumpkin from parting out the rear, and also don't forget that I had some credit with the DSS, and sent them some parts. I made my own mounts as well, so that would have to be factored in and I have a chrome moly trans yoke as well ($200).

 

Do those porsche style CV bolts get lock wires?  I'm not sure it is necessary, but my wolf creek axles sure were fond of safety wire-that is why I hated them.  Your front and rear diff yokes look much better than mine.  I'll be contacting the DSS if I get afraid of my driveshaft.  Looks great-you falling asleep at work?

 

No lock wires here. I need to torque them before running them though ( they put a nice sticker on them to tell me - that was a huge pain in the ass to get off i might add.)

 

And surprisingly, no. I haven't been. I move too much at work to think about getting sleepy.  I am under 15hrs sleep the last three nights though, I know that. I was trying to get it together by friday, but at this point, that's not looking too promising. Too many little things to do, and things I'm doing the first time that are taking a while.

 

Well i'm going to bed. "early"

Edited April 11, 2013 by SUNNY Z

[Domzs]

Thanks for the break down .

[SUNNY Z]

I forgot to upload this until now.

 

The clearance with the 3.5" is great. My driveshaft loop fits like it was made to be there!

 

 

I will say I'd expect a little more engagement on the tailshaft than this. I just sent them a measurement from diff to trans, and let them do the figuring (after all they do build these for a living).  I'm wondering if they built a little more play into it thinking it was a live axle car? I guess I'll know soon enough if its a problem.

[01vincer6]

Do you have details on the axles? What cages did they use moly? Splines are 28 outside and 31 diff side? What did they give you as far as a rating for power? They look good! Cant wait to order mine once I stop modifiying my cradle. Do show pics when you get the axles in so I can see the uncompressed/ride height angles of them.

[SUNNY Z]

Do you have details on the axles? What cages did they use moly? Splines are 28 outside and 31 diff side? What did they give you as far as a rating for power? They look good! Cant wait to order mine once I stop modifiying my cradle. Do show pics when you get the axles in so I can see the uncompressed/ride height angles of them.

 

Porsche 930 cv's on billet 31 spline stubs. (36?) spline 300M bars, yes, chrome moly cages and "stars". Yes, 300zx NA 29 spline outers. I have no idea on power. the NA joint is the weak link, but they sell these for 240 sx's with 600HP ratings. Probably good to 750.  Go to a Z32 TT joint, and I'd say 1000+.

Edited April 11, 2013 by SUNNY Z

[RebekahsZ]

Looks great!

[RebekahsZ]

The first driveshaft JCI sent me was too tight to take in and out; the new one is almost too loose-but it is what I asked for. Your loop and ds look way better than mine.

[wfritts911]

Sure looks like a lot of slip yoke showing, mine is like Keith's was, almost too tight but I'd rather have it be almost too long than almost too short. I would probably send a picture to DSS and see what they say, would hate for you to trash a brand new driveshaft

-Will

[Gollum]

I'm all about improving what you can and it looks like you're well on your way and certainly capable. But I've seen some insanely fast cars run for a long time on the r200 just fine, making a LOT more power and torque than your LS1 is.

 

I'm not trying to hurt your pride, or tell you not to change diffs, because I think you're doing the right thing for your application, but have you considered other factors as to why the input shaft failed? What's your axle angle at ride height? Have you measured launch sag? Could it have been related to impropper axle length fittment?

 

These are all things that I've seen people overlook so I just want to make sure you don't run into this issue again after hours of frabrication and all new diff/axle parts.

[RebekahsZ]

Sunny, take a deep breath and keep working.

[1 tuff z]

Press on Josey!

[wfritts911]

I'm all about improving what you can and it looks like you're well on your way and certainly capable. But I've seen some insanely fast cars run for a long time on the r200 just fine, making a LOT more power and torque than your LS1 is.

 

I'm not trying to hurt your pride, or tell you not to change diffs, because I think you're doing the right thing for your application, but have you considered other factors as to why the input shaft failed? What's your axle angle at ride height? Have you measured launch sag? Could it have been related to impropper axle length fittment?

 

These are all things that I've seen people overlook so I just want to make sure you don't run into this issue again after hours of frabrication and all new diff/axle parts.

 

How many people have you seen run the R200 with a stout motor that had a stout clutch in front of it? There are many guys,  probably a couple on the first page of the Gen3/4 forum alone that have gone much faster on stock halfshafts or a cheap CV setup. You wanna know what all those guys have in a common? A torque convertor. Many people run fbodys with the stock 10 bolt for a long time on sticky tires and a good amount of power, most of those guys being stalled auto cars. I put a stout clutch in and broke my 10 bolt the first time to the track with a stock LS1.

 

Why stick with a differential you can't find parts for, has almost no aftermarket support, and feels like it weighs more than my motor does lol. The 8.8 has almost any gear you could want available for cheap, diffs are cheap, everything is cheap. The R200 is a stout diff though, but it isnt the problem. The problem is the stubs that spline into it. His setup pretty much eliminates every weak link other than maybe the outer 29 spline NA stub.

 

On the ill-fitment note, he sheared the splines off, I would think improper length would be busting CV's not the stub axles. I seriously think it just comes down to the harshness of clutch cars. After all, SunnyZ's car runs in the top 20 timeslips posted on this forum, and I'm willing to bet 75% of those top 20 are probably auto cars or solid axle swapped, or both. And the rest probably have a stout IRS setup.

 

You're almost there Josey, you can sleep when you dead.

 

-Will

[Gollum]

Will, did you read my post? I SUPPORT his swap. I'm not defending that he should STAY with the R200.

 

My point is that there ARE people that have done wheel stands on the R200 with stock half shafts without breakage, but you're right, they probably are mostly on auto.

 

But I also know there's lots of guys with 450+ whp & torque turbo L cars that have really stout clutches that don't break input shafts like that. Granted it's a turbo motor so it doesn't have the same instant torque with most people's setup, so maybe that's what's saving the shock load.

 

The point of my post was the there have been MANY people who have broken things due to improper setups, and I hadn't seen ANYTHING in the thread talking about the possability of it being due to harsh driveline angles which CAN shear parts like that.

[SUNNY Z]

I'd agree in saying that my angles may not have been the best. But after searching for a clutch posi for months (under $800) and not finding one, and the continued breakage, i got fed up.

 

 

Driveshaft is long enough. I was having a hypocardriac moment i guess. It is only 1.125" from full engagement of the splines, leaving 2.875" on the output shaft, by my figures.

 

Car is back together, save torquing the axles and topping off coolant.

 

Here are some pics to tide you over.

 

 

As you can see, the diff would ideally need to go backwards for a perfect angle. However, i moved the strut tubes to the rear of the car 3/4" ( to center the wheels), so that has something to do with it. Stock location would likely be perfect.

 

 

Exhaust (pre-x pipe) on

 

 

X pipe on. Fitment is actually better than it was with the R200.

 

Edited April 12, 2013 by SUNNY Z

[RebekahsZ]

Amazing