[brewmenn]

I'm planning on putting an 8.8 in my TJ. Looking at the pictures of them it looks like you could easily shave a 1/4 inch without even having to mess with the cover. Anyone try this? How thin can you go? It looks like you could maybe get 3/4 or even an inch with some cutting and welding. Any pictures, measurements or how much it helped or advice on things to be careful of?

I've seen this link http://www.code4x4.com/projects/axle_88/axle_88.html but thats a little extreme for what I have in mind. I'm thinking of more of a "backyard fab" and them taking it to someone I know for the welding if I go that route (yes, I know people that know how to weld cast).

And please don't waste your time telling me to do a search. I've been searching this site for a couple of hours and so far have not found anyone with any first hand experiance with shaving an 8.8.

 

[The Jerk]

you havent found anything because no one wastes time doing anything with 8.8's. jiMMy

 

[brewmenn]

you havent found anything because no one wastes time doing anything with 8.8's. jiMMy

I guess that would explain it. But I don't have a ton of money for d60/70's and will only be running 33's for now and just want to get rid of that d35 I've got.

 

[pharmteck]

I did the 8.8 and would not do it any other way. unless I wanted to have a full 65" Wms

 

[Keith]

I did the 8.8 and would not do it any other way. unless I wanted to have a full 65" Wms

Yep, nuttin like a good ol' "C" clip rear end in my rock crawler.

 

[Maine Jeepah]

just smooth out any lip there is with a grinder and run it...

You say you don;t have a ton of money...whos welding all the TJ crap onto your axle...if you are payign someone I seriously suggest skipping the 8.8 and going to a beefier axle...its a common mistake.."I don't need/want that right now" ...next thing ya know you've gone through a couple of different axles and are fitting up rockwells and bling bling coilovers and 44" boggers...

Why not save yourself a step.

How bout a 14 bolt?
Smooth out the bottom....weld all your crap to it...get new wheels and bigger tires and never worry again...

MJ

 

[brewmenn]

You say you don;t have a ton of money...whos welding all the TJ crap onto your axle...if you are payign someone I seriously suggest skipping the 8.8 and going to a beefier axle...

I know lots of people who weld. I should be able to get someone to do it for me for cost + beer.

 

[brimy311]

just smooth out any lip there is with a grinder and run it...

You say you don;t have a ton of money...whos welding all the TJ crap onto your axle...if you are payign someone I seriously suggest skipping the 8.8 and going to a beefier axle...its a common mistake.."I don't need/want that right now" ...next thing ya know you've gone through a couple of different axles and are fitting up rockwells and bling bling coilovers and 44" boggers...

Why not save yourself a step.

How bout a 14 bolt?
Smooth out the bottom....weld all your crap to it...get new wheels and bigger tires and never worry again...

MJ

I'm interested in this cause I'm doing it tomorrow.

CMON! A 14 bolt on 33s? Or even 36's

 

[gumbojeepyj]

shave it and run it... the 8.8 is good for up to some moderate sized meats and since i assume you are runnign a D30 then it's not a bad choice. and what the fuck does it matter if it is C-clip or not. c-clips arent teh weak link.. if it has disks it'll keep the tire in if he snaps a shaft. IF he snaps a shaft. if you are that concerned about it then they make c-clip eliminators for the rustang guys that will work fine. then you stil have a better axle than a D44.

also when you ARE ready to go to 38's and a 14b i promise you will be able to sell that 8.8 all set up for a TJ for a decent bling factor. it'll help fund the new axles.

 

[Doc Johnson]

My 8.8 has held up fine to my heavy foot!! And if it does break a shaft, I will just upgrade the axles to Dutchmans or Mosers!!

 

[xBabyJesus]

Blah blah blah, all I'm hearing is "Does this 8.8 make my ass look fat?"

Oh I'm sorry, I forgot this was a 33-36" c-clipped mallcrawler website. Just go out to the shop, power up a fawking angle grinder, and take metal off till it starts leaking 90wt. Then put some metal back on.

-J

 

[braxton357]

Blah blah blah, all I'm hearing is "Does this 8.8 make my ass look fat?"

Oh I'm sorry, I forgot this was a 33-36" c-clipped mallcrawler website. Just go out to the shop, power up a fawking angle grinder, and take metal off till it starts leaking 90wt. Then put some metal back on.

-J

haha I like this.

 

[jslamerman]

Guys, thats not a bad axle for any kind of wheeling up until an extreme level.The discs will hold the axle in in the event it breaks (it wont), just dont waste hella money on it. Shave the lip like the above person said, and when the rigs gets enough trail scars that you are ready to wail on it, sell it (set up for a TJ already) and go big. Id hate to have a 14 bolt on anything less than 42s. I have 38.5 SXs, and they are barely adequate in the big rocks for pumkin to rock clearance. My buddys Jeep has a 14 bolt with the lip removed and hes on the same tires and affectionately calls his 14 bolt a "rock anchor". Just an opinion.........

PS Those axles have 2 real weak links, crappy barely adequate for a street 2 wheel drive explorer diff cover (have u ever seen something so thin??) and the thin tubes (which the pumkin tends to spin on if some sort of trussing/bracing/welding is not done).

 

[JeepinDoug]

I wouldn't bother shaving it, just add some steel to ramp the lip as a rock glider.

 

[35xj]

Yep, it is clearly a better option to skip that 8.8 and run a 14 bolt with those 33's i've beaten on mine pretty hard, no problems. we did weld some plate into the hollow's on the front lower. Now I need to shave mine too. Looks like you could take a lot of materiaL off the bottom and really not miss it. DAVE

 

[JEEP_TJ_FREAK]

The reason you didn't find anything in your search is because all axles pretty much shave the same.

Just figure out your pinion angle, set the axle up on jackstands with the same angle and mark the height you want to cut to. Flip the axle over and cut on your mark. Fill hole with plate and mod the cover.

 

[Weasel]

I guess that would explain it. But I don't have a ton of money for d60/70's and will only be running 33's for now and just want to get rid of that d35 I've got.

then go somewhere else.

 

[gearwhine]

then go somewhere else.

awww snap. :flipoff2:

But seriously, I don't like hearing "I don't have money for a dana 60/70" because to me, almost every axle is approximately the same cost depending how big you want to make it (alloys, 35 splines, lockers, disc brakes etc.) but say everyone got detroits, gears, and stock axles wherter in a 35 or a 60. The only thing that's really more expensive is the initial cost you pay for an axle. You CAN get a HP60 for less than 900 bucks if you look hard at junkyards. But gears for a dana 60 are not much more than a d35, lockers aren't any more expensive, bearings aren't any more expensive, disc brakes aren't any more expensive....so what is it?

So no justification to me in the money dept. The only justification for axles to me is weight and ground clearance.

 

[Doc Johnson]

So no justification to me in the money dept. The only justification for axles to me is weight and ground clearance.

Right!! So what good will a dana 60/70 be with 33's? Nothing accept drag on the ground!! Could you imagine if it was full width on 33's too?
I bet if he was wanting to shave a Dana 44 everyone would rave about it even though it is weaker than a Ford 8.8. :flipoff2:

 

[Alaska ZJ]

I did the 8.8 and would not do it any other way. unless I wanted to have a full 65" Wms

Like it matters :flipoff2: