Has anyone swapped out the entire rear axle assembly in their car? I now have a Torsen 3.73 axle with the finned diff cover at home to install, so I'm looking for tips on the process. I will try and post instructions and torque specs once I complete it.

 

Nice, you win that at mustang alley this year?

I've done two 7.5 to 8.8 swaps on a 99 and 00 v6. Nothing to it really as long as the bolts aren't frozen or rusted too bad. You need a special socket for the driveshaft bolts if I remember correctly. Be sure to keep the driveshaft supported when you remove the old housing so it doesn't pull out of the transmission. Two guys some jacks and jack stands and a few beers you can do it in a couple hours.

 

I ended up trading for it basically. I figured I can pull the old one, swap everything over, then reinstall into the car and it should be fine. I don't have to worry about the speedo being off since the ratio is the same. The nice thing is the axle is painted too. The current one has seen two Michigan winters, so there might be a few tricky bolts. I'm thinking I should grab some spare bolts and fasteners as a precaution.

 

Should be pretty easy.

Might as well change the driveshaft while your down there.

 

My preference is to polish and paint the parts while disassembled. Here is my Jeep rear suspension, axle and drive shaft.

 

Well, this axle is painted, so thats already taken care of. I may paint the old axle. What's the going rate for a Trac-Lok 3.73 axle?

 

Ought to be worth something.

 

yes it's surprisingly easy, you'll do it in one afternoon.l

you should be able to get $750+ for a factory 3.73 assembly

 

Awesome, thanks. Sounds like the axle is worth more than I originally thought.

 

yeah newtakeoff sells the 3.31 for $1000 and they sell on ebay for $500-$800
3.73's are much more rare. only problem's you'll prob have to sell it locally.. shipping that thing would be a nightmare

 

Yeah, no kidding. I'm sure I'll be able to find someone locally that wants it and can pick it up.

I'm pretty sure we'll be doing the swap next weekend. Depending on weather and how busy I am, I'm hoping to knock it out then.

 

I wheel as well with a 2k TJ. My **** gets rashed all over the place. I've had to weld on skids to keep the front control arm brackets from coming apart. Did that after a buddy tore his off and we had to take the axle out and weld new ones on. (keeping with the thread. Okay to pull an axle and replace, no problem). If the jeepers can put them in a jeep you can put one back in a Mustang.

I gotta ask, if you are that particular about your jeep how can you stand the destruction that real wheeling can cause?

I too have a mustang that I treat that way but my heep gets used hard.

 

This has withstood the rigors of back and forth to work and the mall w/o degradation. No off-roading w/ this ride.

The polishing and paint still looks great.

 

I'm sure some V6 guy or gal would love the axle. Whether it's an 05-10 that's modded or an 11+ that wants some 3.73s - that's about the price for gears/install before tuner, and you get it all factory done up. Just need the tuner.

 

Going off the top of my head, it really seems pretty straightforward. Jounce bumpers, rotors/calipers, LCAs, springs, upper control arm, Panhard bar and driveshaft. It seems like a lot, but in reality, the axle should come out without too much hassle.

 

Easy to do really - I replaced the rear end twice in my 2006. Pulled the 7.5 when I broke it, and then pulled the 8.8 when I broke the spider gears and swapped in another one (it was cheaper to get another one from a source that I had at the time than it was to rebuild the one I had). Undo the driveshaft, UCA, LCA's, shocks, panhard, and the brake lines/emergency cable. Put the new one in place and reverse the process.

You don't have to replace all those parts you listed. The UCA, LCA, springs, shocks, rotors and calipers are all the same and reused. I don't remember if those rear ends at Mustang Alley had the rotors on them already and the jounce jumpers. If not, just swap your current ones over. Check the UCA mount too and make sure that the bushing is in place; sometimes it has been removed and you have to get a new one (can get a stiffer one then) or get the old one out of the existing rear end and swap it.

Also, get the fluids. Usually a rear end is shipped dry so you will need the friction modifier and rear gear oil ready.

 

I wasn't going to replace them, just thinking of what to disconnect. I still need to find out if there's fluid in this or not. I believe it's ready to go in.

 

I just finished pulling the 8.8 out of my 96 Bronco and getting a Tru Trac put in with 4.10s. Of course I painted it while it was out and added the diff cover. And the disc brakes.






Don't know your mileage but you may and I say may want to replace some of the bushings while it's out and get rid of the stock rubber for some prothanes

 

can add swap any rear end?
i mean, if i have a manual mustang will the automatic rear end fit the same and vice versa?

 

Yes. Not sure if there's a difference with the Drive Shaft but the rear end should all be the same stuff.