8.8 swap commences.

[Rommel]

With this thread I will do my best to document the process of swapping an 8.8 rear end into an SVO. I know this swap has been done before but I hope to show it in more detail. The first thing to consider is what 8.8 to use. I chose one from an 88 Turbo coupe because of gear ratio and the fact that it already had disc brakes. I have an 84 SVO with a 3.45:1 final drive. The TC is 3.55:1. This will affect my cruse speed by about 2 MPH. At 3000RPM I will be doing 73 MPH vise 75 MPH with the SVOs 7.5 rear end. Next is where to get one. I did search on the Internet for salvage yards. Pick one and you will find a parts search section. Put in the details and wait. I got 3 replies within 10 min. A word of caution here, salvage yards are in it to sell you something, be sure it is exactly what you want before you spend your hard earned cash. As luck would have it, the replies from local yards were not what I was looking for, some had drum brakes, and some yards couldn’t give enough detail for me to make a decision, and none of these knew what a turbo coupe was. I did get a reply from a yard in Illinois that said 88 Turbo coupe. I gave them a call and they were very helpful. After a little phone tag I had verified that it was in fact from an 88 TC with disc brakes, limited slip diff and 3:55 gears. The price was $200 + shipping. Another thing to consider here, the salvage yards grade driveline parts based on mileage. Don’t quote me but it’s something like this. Grade A is 60,000 miles or less, B is 100,000 or less, and C is 150,000 or less. Lucky for me, the 8.8 I was getting was grade A. This needs to be taken with a grain of salt. I have been stationed in IL. in the past and anyone who has been in snow country knows what salt does to cars. I expected the worst. (See attached) What I got was ugly, but the cover and axle seals were intact so the ugliness was only skin deep.
Check back again soon for need to know info about shipping.

[Rommel]

8.8 swap commences

Close up of brakes.

[Rommel]

8.8 swap commences

Some good info about shipping.
Other than the obvious things about shipping like weight and distance, something I learned was how the shipping cost was different based on the address of where the item is to be shipped. A large bulky item needs to be shipped by truck. The truck only has one driver so if it goes to a residential address; the shipping cost goes up dramatically because it is assumed there are no facilities or help to unload. A business shipping address reduces your cost significantly because of the opposite assumption (Loading dock or workers to help unload). I got help from Dayle at Motorsport Warehouse in Tucson and this saved me $75 in shipping cost. Thanks Dayle.
Attached is another picture of the 8.8 cuz everybody likes pictures:>) this one shows how carefully they remove parts from cars in the junkyard…with a blowtorch!

[Rommel]

8.8 swap commences

Once I got the 8.8 at home, it was time to strip and clean it in preparation for the swap.
I pulled off everything that I would not need or that was beyond help. I was going to use the brakes, brake lines, mounting flange, axles, shock mounting bracket, and e-brake bracket from my SVO so all of this came off the 8.8.

[Rommel]

8.8 swap commences

This is what I was left with. The quad shock brackets and a brake bracket will be remover later.

[Rommel]

8.8 swap commences

Next came the hard mounted items on the 8.8 that I wouldn’t need for the SVO install. The 88 TC had the quad shock setup. My 84 SVO had slapper bars. The TC rear end also had an additional brake caliper bracket that would not be needed. These components are welded to the housing, but don’t let that scare you. All you need is a grinder and hammer. I spent about 30 seconds grinding one side of the weld and then gave the quad shock bracket a good whack with the hammer. It came right off (see attached) Then just clean up what is left of the weld bead, prime and paint.

[Rommel]

8.8 swap commences

Here is the extra brake caliper bracket that is not necessary for this install.

[Rommel]

8.8 swap commences

Now comes the real wrenching. An SVO weighs 2,992 lbs. Safety is a big concern here. We don’t all have access to a car lift so most of us will do this evolution with floor jacks and jack stands. Don’t cut corners here. Cinder blocks are not jack stands and the $20 1 ton hydraulic jack you buy at the auto parts store has its limitations. The cheap stamped steel jack stands fall into the same category. Buy a good quality hydraulic floor jack and then buy or borrow a second from a friend. Buy heavy steel or cast jack stands. I got two 2-ton jack stands at Harbor Freight for $12. Next, use the buddy system any time you are working under the car. Be sure that person knows how to use the floor jack in case he or she has to extricate you. Knowing how to do CPR is also important. This may seem to be overkill to some of you but remember, this is how the late Dale Earnhardt’s father was killed, crushed under his car in the driveway. Work on as level an area as you can and go slow when lifting your car. I chose to lift both ends and keep the car level. The car only needs to be about 10” off the ground in order to remove the coil springs from their perch without a spring compressor. (See attached), just remove the wheels and lower the jack then use a pry-bar and the spring will come right out. Caution, there is potentially a huge amount of energy stored here, be sure 98% of the pressure is off the spring before you try to pull it out.

[Rommel]

8.8 swap commences

Here is a look to show jack stand placement and how high the car needs to be in order for the springs to come out easily.

[Rommel]

8.8 swap commences

Now that the springs are out, it’s time to get that 7.5 out of there. I removed the brake calipers from the axle and wired them up out of the way and removed the brake lines from the housing. This way I didn’t need to open the hydraulic system at all. Disconnect the drive shaft and e-brake cable, then unbolt the four trailing arm bolts and the whole works is on the ground. I chose not to remove the sway bar and just lifted the rear end over it to slide it out from under the car. Here is a comparison between the 7.5 and the freshly cleaned and painted 8.8.

[Rommel]

8.8 swap commences

An occupational hazard to living in the desert.
As I was flat on my back under my car, hands full of rear end, I had a visitor stroll up to my head to ask if I needed a hand, he offered 8!

[Eyelawdoc]

Wow! Looks great! What did you use to clean up the 8.8? It sure looked rusty and crudy as received from the wrecking yard.

[Erics SVO]

Yikes, your fuzzy arachnid friend can scuttle his a$$ back into the desert, too! The nerve! Especially when you're wrestling a rear back into your ca!

-Ericr

[NavySVO]

Re: 8.8 swap commences

Originally posted by Rommel
An occupational hazard to living in the desert.
As I was flat on my back under my car, hands full of rear end, I had a visitor stroll up to my head to ask if I needed a hand, he offered 8!

C'mon Brian....be a big boy now....just put on your Aussie voice-"he's a mean lookin' fella, hairy too"!
That's one more reason I don't live out there. Good thing you are only a part-time resident for now.
Just think how well that 8.8 will get broken in going back and forth from there to San Dog! Not much longer and you will break 300k, huh?

[Rommel]

The question was asked about how I cleaned up the unit. From the pictures in the beginning of this thread, you can see the rust was pretty heavy. I started with a pneumatic disc sander, but that wasn’t doing the job. The rust was just too thick. I moved to a 4”electric grinder and removed rust till I could just see shiny metal (see attached). For the tight areas, I used a dremel tool and a heavy screwdriver. That was followed with a rust stop primer and then a few coats of good old Crylon in door/out door rust stop paint in glossy black. There are porpoise made products for painting frame and undercarriage components from places like Eastwood, but I’m a cheapskate. Besides, it’s all in the preparation. If the surfaces is cleaned and prepped properly, most any over the counter paint will stick to. Time will tell how well this application holds up.