I grenaded the rear on my LS last night if anyone can offer me a specific list of parts needed to to the 8.8 into 8.0 differential swap I'd greatly appreciate it. I have read all the forums I could find. I can't be positive that everything is ruined but it's worth it to me to go ahead and replace all the internal parts so when I put in the 8.8 LSD I can rest assured that I won't encounter and issues right after i get it done because i was too lazy or cheap to replace something!
Differential Swap
- Thread starter GhostLs
- Start date
Missing Linc'
Dedicated LVC Member
Gen 1 axles, 8.8 housing from a mARKviii, some kind of LSD, gear set, custom driveshaft(has to be shortened about 5/8 of an inch, custom support brace.
You can also build up a stock sized 8.0 rearend with limited slip, although your gearing options will be limited. I think 3.2X and 3.5X were the options. No drive shaft mods or custom brackets though.
I guess we'd need to know how you blew up the old one in order to determine if you need to go to 8.8.
I guess we'd need to know how you blew up the old one in order to determine if you need to go to 8.8.
Lucky_Ls
Dedicated LVC Member
stupid/simple question
, what does the LS have in it stock? 8.8 or 8.0?
, what does the LS have in it stock? 8.8 or 8.0?
Silver_LS
Dedicated LVC Member
8.0 I think.
I can almost be certain I blew the rear end as a cause of my driving. I've got a few mods on the motor nothing big but it's got 20"s on it which is alot harder on your rear end especially if you are prone to spinning the tires and playing around like I am. I've had it up in the air but have not had the case open yet. You can grab the drive shaft and if will move in and out of the housing at the differential about and inch. Vibrates horribly while drive at about any speed and there is metal shavings in the diff fluid.
Rifleman@LaymansPC.com
Well-Known LVC Member
hehehehe I'd say it's toasty.
I think it would be a wise idea to go ahead and upgrade the differential at this point. I'm not looking to do anything really extreme and really feel confident that the swap is the direction i need to go. So far my understanding of it all is that I can leave the factory housing in place and use the 8.8 LSD diff out of a 98-04 Mustang GT or an 8.8 Trac Lok as long as they are 28 spline. I heard that you still use the 8.0 ring gear but I still have not been able to figure out what else i need in the way of side gears and internals. I want to replace it all with new parts but I need a list of those parts. I thought i understood that all the side gears and internals stay the same and all that changes is the actually differential itself from 8.0 to 8.8. A buddy of mine owns a shop which is where i will perform the swap but unfortunately that also means I can't just put it on the lift and take it all apart to see what's inside that i need. Once i tear it down it will need to be put back together in that same day.
Lol toasty is a good word for it. I have a problem with the 8" rear end. I have one under my old Torino and shredded it as well in fact twice before switching to a 9" and never had another problem with it or my mustang with the 9". 8" inchers don't like my style of driving much I'd venture to say!
PetesSweets86
Dedicated LVC Member
Good ol' Pektel put a Mustang LSD on his LS...and frankly I'd follow his advice if it came down to it :-D
Missing Linc'
Dedicated LVC Member
Thanks guys the info is starting to come together and really make sense. LVC has make it a whole lot easier to find and gather info in my efforts to modify my LS. Ask any one around where i live and they're like "You want to do what?" Lol
Yep. From an 05 Mustang GT. I reused the ring gear and pinion, so obviously I stuck with 3.31's. Don't know if you have 3.58's in your's, but that's the best gearing you are going to get without swapping the entire pumpkin, fabbing brackets, and custom drive shaft as previously stated. 3.58's were found in all gen 2's and some gen 1's.
Shim kit for the 8.8 works for our 8.0. I had to buy one to find out.
Also buy new ring gear bolts. They see a lot of stress.
New axle seals, diff bearings too. I didn't buy new caps, don't know if you'll need to.
I bought motorcraft 80/90 and the friction modifier additive.
Pattern paint. Hopefully you have a dial indicator.
Other than the standard mechanic's tools, that should be about it for parts needed. Oh, let me know if you need torque specs.
Don't know how messed up it is in there though. May need new ring gear/pinion (which by how hammered you make it sound, there are almost positively some chipped/broken teeth)
Cool thanks bro. I hope to get started next week. I'm pretty sure there is some gear mush in there LOL. I plan to go ahead and replace all the internals just for safety sake and piece of mind. I don't like doing things twice if it can be avoided. I've had pretty good luck so far not screwing anything up during repairs. I simply refuse to pay some one to do something I am capable of learning. I've got a good buddy who has a shop and will be guiding me in my adventure so with all the info I've gathered on here I will be alot better off than not knowing anything at all! Are you pretty happy with the results of the swap?
Definitely happy with it. Better traction for sure. It will def. help when I start with the hp mods 
There are some pretty tight measurements that need to be taken. Measure your backlash before disassembly, just to check. You are going to want to shoot for .008 to .0012 upon reassembly. Right now I'm only running .004, only because the workshop manual didn't state a minimum backlash. But what I've heard since then is that I should be okay, but you'd probably want to bring it out to .010 or so.
There are some pretty tight measurements that need to be taken. Measure your backlash before disassembly, just to check. You are going to want to shoot for .008 to .0012 upon reassembly. Right now I'm only running .004, only because the workshop manual didn't state a minimum backlash. But what I've heard since then is that I should be okay, but you'd probably want to bring it out to .010 or so.
Workshop manual wouldn't hurt. If he hasn't worked on a diff, bring it in. Shouldn't be more than like 150 to swap out diffs. Setting up might be a little more, but 150 bucks is cheap peace of mind.
It's not that you can't do it, but make sure you have some sort of instructions, like the workshop manual (manual on DVD would work too) before you start tearing things apart.
It's not that you can't do it, but make sure you have some sort of instructions, like the workshop manual (manual on DVD would work too) before you start tearing things apart.
On the workshop manual, you need to buy the Ford ones. Check it here:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2001...70229274025QQptZMotorsQ5fManualsQ5fLiterature
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2001...70229274025QQptZMotorsQ5fManualsQ5fLiterature
He owns his own shop and he is a genius when it comes to differentials on semis and large equipment. He is very good on most other cars too. He seems a little gun shy about working on the LS though, but most of the mechanics in this little town have come across that way. I had several flat refuse to work on it or even look at it. I've got two Ford dealerships right here with 15 minutes of each other but i've not ever been very impressed with their labor rates or workmanship for that matter. that's why i just started doing it myself. Lol plus i felt all gross and dirty owning a car i wasn't working on myself. I've been a gear head my whole life!