Hey guys. I decided to put all the things together I have done to ford 8.8 swap my jeep. Theses are all of the things you need to do and have to ford 8.8 swap your Jeep TJ that I have on my rig as well. I genuinely feel there isn't enough information that is clear on the swap and what you need to buy and do so that's why I'm here. Lets get to it.
FINDING A DONOR AXLE. There are Multiple variations of the ford 8.8. The one you want is out of an 95-01 Ford explorer. This is setup for disk brakes and has 31 spline shafts which can handle 35-37 inch tires with ease in stock form with a locker. You will either have to go to a salvage yard and pull one out ( 100$-500$) , or you can have one fully built and setup for your needs through East Coast Gear Supply (ECGS) for around 2900$ more or less depending on your choices. I did all the building my self and most importantly, you will save tons of money if you choose to do so.
BUYING THE PARTS FOR THE SWAP. This is a big one. I feel like generally when people do the swap they don't order the right stuff. I've seen it done more than once.
THE THINGS YOU WILL NEED. (I will list the parts I bought along with a link to each part)
A BRACKET CONVERSION KIT such as Ballistic Fabrication Ford 8.8 weld on swap kit. https://www.ballisticfabrication.com/products/jeep-tj-8-8-ford-axle-swap-kit. Very high quality, instructions are good. Depending if your vehicle is lifted or not will depend on the degree your brackets are welded on. My Jeep is lifted 4 inches, so it was welded at 16 degrees. Depending on the degree of your welds, it will interfere with the 8.8 stock vent tube. In my case it did, so I covered it up and drilled and tapped a new vent tube and used my existing brake tee.
YOUR BRAKES (If you are using the junkyard disk setup don't worry about this part but DO NOT USE THE FORD 8.8 hard LINES, You will see this later on) I used East Coast Gear for a lot of these products. Not only were they very helpful with the swap, they guided me in the right direction and their customer service is 10/10. You can't beat this company. You can call them and get all the parts you need for the swap but I will list them anyway.
FORD 8.8 DISK BRAKES KIT https://eastcoastgearsupply.com/i-4985621-ford-8-8-full-disc-brake-kit.html. This kit comes with as stated by ECGS. (You can reuse your old brake tee and breather tube.)
FORD 8.8 BRAKE KIT- FULL
* Brake Pads
* Brake Rotors
* Internal Ebrake Shoes
* Soft/Hard line Kit (Stainless Soft, Nickel Hard Lines- Rust Proof)
* Brake line Mounting Hardware
* E-Brake Cables
The E Brake cables fit right in and work perfectly with the swap. You can reuse the existing e brake cables but I went with something new. These parts should be around the same price from your local auto parts store. Some jeeps might need to their proportioning valve adjusted and a master cylinder change since you are converting to disk brakes and they require more fluid flow. Mine required none and the brakes work great. A big decrease in braking distance with the added disk brakes. Make sure to bleed your brakes.
CALIPERS.
RIGHT HAND CALIPER https://eastcoastgearsupply.com/i-8579865-ford-8-8-brake-caliper-right-hand.html. LEFT HAND CALIPER https://eastcoastgearsupply.com/i-8579866-ford-8-8-brake-caliper-left-hand.html Make sure your rim can clear the calipers. I'm running a 15x10 rim on 35s and they cleared but were close.
BACKING PLATES. LEFT SIDE BACKING PLATE https://eastcoastgearsupply.com/i-23133625-ford-explorer-8-8-Dana 44-left-backing-plate.html. RIGHT HAND BACKING PLATE https://eastcoastgearsupply.com/i-23133626-ford-explorer-8-8-Dana 44-right-backing-plate.html.
FORD 8.8 BRAKE LINE KIT. https://eastcoastgearsupply.com/i-4985622-ford-8-8-brake-line-kit.html This is the most important part to buy. YOU CAN USE YOUR EXISTING LINES OFF YOUR DANA 35 IF YOU BUY THIS KIT!!! You can reuse the line from the frame down to the axle, from the splitter out you would replace with this brake line kit. Everything is flared and cut to length so it should be a super easy install.
FORD 8.8 ABS SENSOR FREEZE PLUG.
https://eastcoastgearsupply.com/i-4985641-ford-8-8-abs-sensor-freeze-plug.html. You need this to plug the abs sensor because you wont need this anymore but you can leave the sensor in but the plug is only like 1.50$
FORD 8.8 1310 ADAPTER FLANGE. https://eastcoastgearsupply.com/i-4980701-ford-8-8-1310-adapter-flange.html. You can go with a forged u bolt yoke but I'd stick with the adapter flange. Buy the bolts that go with the adapter.
A NEW CV DRIVESHAFT. Multiple companies make driveshafts for this swap including ECGS but I would get a custom one made such as from Tom Woods because every jeep is different and you will need to take driveshaft measurements.
A SYE KIT. The swap requires a cv driveshaft along with a slip yoke eliminator kit. ECGS sells an advanced adapters SYE kit for the jeep TJ for 220$ and is high quality. https://eastcoastgearsupply.com/i-2883390-231-slip-yoke-eliminator-sye.html
AN AFTERMARKET DIFF COVER. Not necessary, but id recommend buying an aftermarket cover if you take your jeep off-road. The stock 8.8 cover is thin as paper. I went with an arb cover.
ADJUSTABLE UPPER CONTROL ARMS AT A MINIMUM. You will need adjustable rear upper control arms for your pinion angle. I bought a rough country set. https://www.extremeterrain.com/roug...Vx0XVCh2ucQw8EAQYASABEgKY7vD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
Let me know if you have any questions or concerns. I triple checked everything to make sure I'm not leaving anything out, but fill me in if I am. The whole swap was around 1200$ in parts that were brand new. Time for pictures
Pictures of the routing of my brake lines.
Your parking brake setup
FINDING A DONOR AXLE. There are Multiple variations of the ford 8.8. The one you want is out of an 95-01 Ford explorer. This is setup for disk brakes and has 31 spline shafts which can handle 35-37 inch tires with ease in stock form with a locker. You will either have to go to a salvage yard and pull one out ( 100$-500$) , or you can have one fully built and setup for your needs through East Coast Gear Supply (ECGS) for around 2900$ more or less depending on your choices. I did all the building my self and most importantly, you will save tons of money if you choose to do so.
BUYING THE PARTS FOR THE SWAP. This is a big one. I feel like generally when people do the swap they don't order the right stuff. I've seen it done more than once.
THE THINGS YOU WILL NEED. (I will list the parts I bought along with a link to each part)
A BRACKET CONVERSION KIT such as Ballistic Fabrication Ford 8.8 weld on swap kit. https://www.ballisticfabrication.com/products/jeep-tj-8-8-ford-axle-swap-kit. Very high quality, instructions are good. Depending if your vehicle is lifted or not will depend on the degree your brackets are welded on. My Jeep is lifted 4 inches, so it was welded at 16 degrees. Depending on the degree of your welds, it will interfere with the 8.8 stock vent tube. In my case it did, so I covered it up and drilled and tapped a new vent tube and used my existing brake tee.
YOUR BRAKES (If you are using the junkyard disk setup don't worry about this part but DO NOT USE THE FORD 8.8 hard LINES, You will see this later on) I used East Coast Gear for a lot of these products. Not only were they very helpful with the swap, they guided me in the right direction and their customer service is 10/10. You can't beat this company. You can call them and get all the parts you need for the swap but I will list them anyway.
FORD 8.8 DISK BRAKES KIT https://eastcoastgearsupply.com/i-4985621-ford-8-8-full-disc-brake-kit.html. This kit comes with as stated by ECGS. (You can reuse your old brake tee and breather tube.)
FORD 8.8 BRAKE KIT- FULL
* Brake Pads
* Brake Rotors
* Internal Ebrake Shoes
* Soft/Hard line Kit (Stainless Soft, Nickel Hard Lines- Rust Proof)
* Brake line Mounting Hardware
* E-Brake Cables
The E Brake cables fit right in and work perfectly with the swap. You can reuse the existing e brake cables but I went with something new. These parts should be around the same price from your local auto parts store. Some jeeps might need to their proportioning valve adjusted and a master cylinder change since you are converting to disk brakes and they require more fluid flow. Mine required none and the brakes work great. A big decrease in braking distance with the added disk brakes. Make sure to bleed your brakes.
CALIPERS.
RIGHT HAND CALIPER https://eastcoastgearsupply.com/i-8579865-ford-8-8-brake-caliper-right-hand.html. LEFT HAND CALIPER https://eastcoastgearsupply.com/i-8579866-ford-8-8-brake-caliper-left-hand.html Make sure your rim can clear the calipers. I'm running a 15x10 rim on 35s and they cleared but were close.
BACKING PLATES. LEFT SIDE BACKING PLATE https://eastcoastgearsupply.com/i-23133625-ford-explorer-8-8-Dana 44-left-backing-plate.html. RIGHT HAND BACKING PLATE https://eastcoastgearsupply.com/i-23133626-ford-explorer-8-8-Dana 44-right-backing-plate.html.
FORD 8.8 BRAKE LINE KIT. https://eastcoastgearsupply.com/i-4985622-ford-8-8-brake-line-kit.html This is the most important part to buy. YOU CAN USE YOUR EXISTING LINES OFF YOUR DANA 35 IF YOU BUY THIS KIT!!! You can reuse the line from the frame down to the axle, from the splitter out you would replace with this brake line kit. Everything is flared and cut to length so it should be a super easy install.
FORD 8.8 ABS SENSOR FREEZE PLUG.
https://eastcoastgearsupply.com/i-4985641-ford-8-8-abs-sensor-freeze-plug.html. You need this to plug the abs sensor because you wont need this anymore but you can leave the sensor in but the plug is only like 1.50$
FORD 8.8 1310 ADAPTER FLANGE. https://eastcoastgearsupply.com/i-4980701-ford-8-8-1310-adapter-flange.html. You can go with a forged u bolt yoke but I'd stick with the adapter flange. Buy the bolts that go with the adapter.
A NEW CV DRIVESHAFT. Multiple companies make driveshafts for this swap including ECGS but I would get a custom one made such as from Tom Woods because every jeep is different and you will need to take driveshaft measurements.
A SYE KIT. The swap requires a cv driveshaft along with a slip yoke eliminator kit. ECGS sells an advanced adapters SYE kit for the jeep TJ for 220$ and is high quality. https://eastcoastgearsupply.com/i-2883390-231-slip-yoke-eliminator-sye.html
AN AFTERMARKET DIFF COVER. Not necessary, but id recommend buying an aftermarket cover if you take your jeep off-road. The stock 8.8 cover is thin as paper. I went with an arb cover.
ADJUSTABLE UPPER CONTROL ARMS AT A MINIMUM. You will need adjustable rear upper control arms for your pinion angle. I bought a rough country set. https://www.extremeterrain.com/roug...Vx0XVCh2ucQw8EAQYASABEgKY7vD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
Let me know if you have any questions or concerns. I triple checked everything to make sure I'm not leaving anything out, but fill me in if I am. The whole swap was around 1200$ in parts that were brand new. Time for pictures
Pictures of the routing of my brake lines.
Your parking brake setup