Recent content by Woodrow

I am impressed at how stout the whole thing seems. Definitely seems beefier than the Dana 44 in my TJ. On the other hand, the 8.8 lives with 400 ft.lbs. to the wheels so it probably needs to be slightly burlier.

Well compared to my Dana 30, yeah. But no big deal vs my AAM 11.5. THAT was heavy. Carrier and ring gear were 75# IIRC.

Yes! Trying new things on the TJ has boosted my shop confidence 1000%

Sitting at the airport waiting for another delayed flight (to Chicago this time). I don’t travel much for work but this is my 2nd time in as many months. Still sucks. I don’t think I’ll be able to invite myself on any wheeling trips in Chicago like I did in Nashville with Jeff and John and the...

They have battleships with metallic paint!? Cool.

that was my thought as well😂

Yeah, when Mac said that I had a start. I’m in the middle of a Ford 8.8 ring, and pinion swap and I’m going to a new ratio. I hadn’t even considered carrier breaks🙄 Fortunately, it turns out the 8.8 doesn’t have a carrier break. It does use a crush sleeve. In general, I think the crush sleeve is...

Others here like @hosejockey61 may have a more valid opinion. But I agree with @That'll Buff that its fine to do gears now and swap carriers later. Just make sure you check your backlash before pulling the old one and set the new one the same.

It would bother my OCD briefly, but I would likely run it. Did you put anti-seize on the mating surfaces before pressing it in? I do that so it goes in with a little less force and doesn’t rust together so easily which helps the next time you need to do ball joints.

The rotors were originally made for a different vehicle. I forget which, Explorer maybe? Same for the calipers, I believe. The custom piece to make it all work is the knuckle.

Great write up and review Mike. Having done these a while back, I agree completely with your assessment. This is crucial upgrade. I also want to comment that while your post is even more detailed, the instructions that come with the kit are top notch and should be the industry standard.

Those are 2 excellent looking larval humans! Congratulations to you, Nina and the parents, Jeff.

I was entertained. Rules-wise, I'm thinking you win if you get on the trailer and stay for a certain period of time?

I can confirm. Locker is no diff. You just need reverse cut gears to go LP to HP.

yep. The larger pumpkin in the 44 not only has less ground clearance and more weight than a HP or LP30 but also can interfere with more things more easily when trying to maximize up travel.