8.8 or 7.5

[Blue86SVO]

I bought what I think is an 8.8 rear end from a junkyard. I was told it has 3.42 gears in it. How do I tell the difference between the 2 rear ends?? Meaning the 7.5 and 8.8. I plan on running 4.56's in it very soon.

Jan

[SVOeric]

the easiest way to tell is the shape of the rearend...

it is a bit hard to tell from this pic, but here ya go


The 7.5 is on the left, and 8.8 is on the right

[Blue86SVO]

Well by the picture it looks like I did get an 8.8 which makes me happy. Is there any differences in how they mount in the car. I see the shock base location is different but does anything not line up without change or is it a direct bolt in.

Jan

[SVOeric]

I'm not sure on that part..



Someone with experience on a 8.8 swap will have to help you on that one.

[Black86]

If the rears came from fox platform Mustangs then there is no differance. they will mount up exactly the same.

[svono50]

I agree, it is a "virtual" bolt-in swap, as long as it came from a Mustang. All you need to do is swap over the brakes, brake lines and axles then tap and drill 6 holes for the e-brake mounting brackets. You will also need to tweak the brake line as it goes over the center housing, since the 8.8 housing is slightly larger. I tiewrapped my mounting bracket to the housing, since I was a bit lazy to fab up a new mounting bracket. It has held up fine for the past 7 years. I performed the swap in an afternoon.

BTW, are you planning on drag racing your SVO with those 4.56's or putting in a V8 geared tranny? I have 4.10's in mine and love 'em, but your first gear will be virtually useless with the stock tranny's 3.50 1st gear, IMHO.

[Blue86SVO]

Here's my dilema. I have a 8.8 for sure but there is no provision for the quad shock attachment. Did I get rooked here?? I spent $100 it looked right at the time, but now I am having second thoughts after looking under my car.

[svono50]

It sounds like you bought an 8.8 from a different application or an earlier model Mustang that didn't have quads. If you use the 8.8 you have, I would suggest getting some aftermarket lower control arms to prevent/limit wheel hop under hard acceleration.