[10/05gt]

Has anyone ever tried taking the axel tubes out of the differential housing in a 8.8? I know the normal way of doing it is to cut the tube ends off and weld new flanges on but I was thinking it might be simpler to do it this way. I'm still going to put 9" bearing flanges on the tubes but if I can get the tubes out of the housing without destroying them then it would save a work on relocating the shock and control arm mounts.

If anyone has ever tried this or seen it done I would be interested in knowing how it went.

Thanks.

[fastford727]

I have always seen the flanges cut off & it is what we did to mine. I had to reweld brackets, but I had to cut off ends anyways to use c-clip eliminators.

[cindys_sn95]

without a jig it would be very difficult to get them straight.

[fastford727]

I use a chop saw. It holds everything perfectly straight. You will have to order custom axles. How much are you looking @ takin' off?

[lilorange79]

I narrowed a 9" that way. It came out straight. I used a grinder and cleaned out the factory weld. The thing I learned is that it is not a loose fit. Heat the housing and the tube will pull out. Cut it off and heat the housing again to get it to slide in. I tried cold and it would not go in with a 6lb. hammer. Mine was so tight that you could not get it crooked if you tried.
If you are cutting the ends off anyway, just move your brackets. It is probably easier in the long run.

[10/05gt]

This is on a S197 car. I'm running 325/50/15 on 10" wide Bogarts and the sidewalls stick out past the quarters about an 1 1/2" and I just don't like how it looks. The simplest answear would be to just go with a little narrower tire but I like how well these tires hook.

There is enough room to get these tires completely in the stock wheel wells if the bump stop brackets are cut off the inside of the wheel wells. The main reason I would like to just get the tubes out of the housing and narrow it that is I would not have to change the flanges then. YES I do know that NHRA says I need to be running C-clip eliminator axels but thats not really a concern of mine since I'm not running sanctioned events. The truth is with rear disc brakes even if the axel breaks it will not come out because the caliper brackets will hold it in.

Yeah I know the best solution is to narrow it from the outside in with new 9" flanges and relocate all the brackets

Just thinking out loud

[fastford727]

That is what size tire I am running as well, in a different body. Won't that tire fit in there w/ a different offset wheel though?

[10/05gt]

Originally Posted by fastford727

That is what size tire I am running as well, in a different body. Won't that tire fit in there w/ a different offset wheel though?

The Bogarts I have are for an S197 car and the wheel itself is within the well but the sidewall and a little of the tread extends beyond the well. It almost seems like there is enough room if the wheel had some more offset.

[fastford727]

Even if that is the wheel designed for your car, that tire isn't. If you can get a different offset wheel to make up for a tall wide tire seems like that would be all around easier & less exspensive. I believe it takes a 5&1/2" offset, but it should be easy enough for you to verify.