[Tick98]

Hi everyone, I thought I'd finally join and post here now that I have a rear axle question about my mustang.

I recently found a 8.8 rear axle out of a 89 GT 5 speed for sale.

I have a 1992 2.3 automatic convertible I would like to put it in (the 7.5 rear is noisy, and has metal fragments in the gear oil).

My questions are

1. Would I be able to use the driveshaft from the 7.5 rear or not? If not, what length driveshaft would I need?

2. It is a stock (3.08) rear axle. How would that be with the 2.3 acceleration wise? Would I notice a large difference compared to the stock 7.5 rear axle's ratio?

3. About what would be a fair price for it? I see a couple on e-bay for about $399.

Answers to these questions would greatly help me out.

[b_chandler]

1. The driveshaft will work. There's some stuff that won't though. You'll need to move the brake line feed to the opposite side and you'll need to replace your shocks

2. If you didn't have an automatic with overdrive, the 3.08's wouldn't be so bad, but you're gonna hate the 3.08 with the setup you've got now. For comparison, the factory used a 3.73 gear behind the A4LD automatic/2.3L cars.

3. I turned down an 8.8 in an 88 GT at a boneyard that I would have had to pull out of the car for $150.00

If you don't have any major plans for the car, find another 7.5 or have yours rebuilt. If you're brave and own/can use a dial indicator, tear into the rebuild yourself.

[evintho]

Find someone parting out an '87-'88 TurboCoupe. The rears are 8.8's. 3.55:1 for sticks and 3.73:1 for autos. Swap in your 7.5 axles and brakes and your good to go! BTW, $399 is a joke! $150 max.

[Slumlord]

Ii do believe the 87 to 88 T birds use an axle that is 3/4 of an inch wider than the Mustang. SO I would recommend not swapping those.

[Tick98]

Would a 3.27 rear work better (I might have found one for sale). Would that be better than the 3.08 Ratio?

What were the stock gear ratios for the 8.8 rear ends for 1987-1993 mustangs?

Though it has a 2.3 currently, I do plan to swap to a 5.0 sometime down the road (hence why I would like to swap in a 8.8 rear axle).

[93stangfutr5.0]

Originally Posted by Slumlord

Ii do believe the 87 to 88 T birds use an axle that is 3/4 of an inch wider than the Mustang. SO I would recommend not swapping those.

3/4's of an inch on both sides that isnt that big of a problem.

[J. Rhapsody]

It adds up to sticking the wheels out an inch on both sides which causes them to rub fender which makes it a problem.

[93stangfutr5.0]

An inch and a half thats like

_________________

That much on both sides together.

[Fordcon]

Paid $220.00 on a positive traction 8.8 3:73 rear end, came with driveshaft, upper and lower control arms, springs, Car was totaled in the front and was sold near everything related to the rearend for 220.00. put it behind a C4 tranny and topped out at 60.. but really got there to 60. with that I think it was a 3.55 gear before and had the top end. needed AOD or Manual to get the 3:73 going good.

Never used a 3:08. hope you find a good one, best wat to do it though is to search for a car that runs that is just ugly and use the drivetrain and suspension parts and junk the defunk body.
you probably know how to read the tag code on the rearend, but if you need a reference

FORDification.com - Decoding Your Ford Rearend's Axle Tag - Page 11 of 17

This little list comes in handy, I thought it was just for trucks with skeptical thoughts I checked 3 rearends and in the process of changing gasket and placing new rear differential in one, I double checked on the gears and the reference list is pretty accurate. Nice little list that is good when purchasing a vehicle to determine if its what you want.

when buying a rearend, always remove the backplate, anyone can place a tag on there from another. make sure you get what you think your paying for.

[OneOwner88LX]

The '87-'88 turbo coupe rear housing is the same width as a mustang but the axles are longer to accommodate the disk brake set up and the end result is 3/4" total width difference. I have been told you can take the Mustang 7.5 axles and brakes and bolt them to a turbo coupe rear and the width will be stock mustang. The SVO rear is 1.5" wider overall. Here is where I go this info:

Stinger Performance Forum - 91 mustang installing svo rear