[SpeedfreakSN-95]

Hello i recently got in a little accident and bent my rear hub and now i need to replace the whole shaft. But i figure this could be a blessing in disguise. Cuz i have been wanting to do an 8.8 gt swap for a while. And the local salvage yard has two 96 mustang gt axle assembly's with housing and one 95 assembly with housing. I will proba end up rebuilding the rear end eventually so buying a salvaged rear is no big deal to me. I do plan on doing a 5.0 swap so i feel doin the 8.8 will be a nice start for my plans. Some questions i have though are what year axle assembly should i get. I heard mixed things about the gears in these rear ends. I heard that the 94-95 gts had 2.73 gears and the 96-98 gts had 2.73 gears as well but it was an option for the gts to have 3.27 gears. But then i hear that all 96-98 gts have standard 3.27 gears. Im pretty sure my car right now has 2.73 gears. Hoping to get that cleared up. Another question would be say that the rear end dose not come wit the springs or shocks would i be able to use my springs and shocks from my v6 rear end? Or would i have to get gt springs and shocks? I hear that if i stay in my year range (meaning 94-98) that the 8.8 will bolt right up to my body without any major modification or fabrication. Is this true? What all can i swap from my rear end to the 8.8? Do i need to buy new bushings or hoses? I have a full shop and tools to work with so doing the actual work shouldnt be an issue its jus these things i would like to know so things go as smooth as possible. Any help will be much appreciated. Thank u!!!

 

[Markstang]

Here's how easy the swap is. you unbolt the calipers from the brackets, hang them safely to the side, unbolt the shock from the axle, let the spring tension out and unbolt the lower control arms as well as the upper control arms from the axle. (also remove the driveshaft at some point). at that point, the axle will be on the floor. the axle housing itself is the only real unique piece in the rear suspension, UCAs, LCAs, shocks, springs, all function identically. it's the easiest swap you could imagine. snag the 96 rear if you think it's more likely to have the 3.27 gears, but I'd suggest that you get new gears in the ratio you wanted anyway since you're rebuilding it.

 

[big gear head]

If someone hasn't removed the tag from the cover the gear ratio will be on the tag. Swapping the whole rear end is easy.

 

[metalman302]

X2 on the tag. The auto trans cars got a lower ratio than the manual, then either could have gotten the performance option for one more ratio lower. You can always count the rotations if the tag is gone.

You will likely have to swap your existing brake hard lines over. IIRC the 94/95 GT center line was different and all 96+ cars the rear brake hard lines were on the body not the axle.

 

[SpeedfreakSN-95]

I figured it wouldnt be too bad of a project but i jus wanted to make sure because i dont wanna hurt her more than i already have =/ thanks a bunch guys for your input. And i heard about that rotation thing to see what the gearing was. Somethin like how many times the driveshaft rotates with a full rotation of the tire. Like 2 and 3 quarters rotations equal 2.73 gears with a full rotation of the tire. and so on and so forth. If i got it right. And metalman302 when u mean brake hard lines u mean the lines that go to the caliper? And how would i go about putting the lines on the 96 axle if i get that one?