COMET CENTRAL

My welder has a chart under the wire door with heat and wire feed settings depending on material thickness, gas or flux etc. Its a good starting point. I had mine cranked as hot as it would go, and played with the wire speed from there til I found a speed that I liked.

Two pieces of 3" channel clamped on the axle tubes, one on top, one on the bottom works very well in keeping them in place. Tack on both sides then turn the channels 90 degrees and tack both sides again.

How about grinding out the plug welds on the housing with a die grinder and a cylindrical burr with teeth on the end,mark the tubing and housing so the end is indexed properly,pull the tube out and cut from the inside end of the tube? Little chance of misalignment and no welding warpage.

I've heard they're pressed in (plus rusted in) tight enough that you risk bending the tube trying to pull it out of the center section, but I don't know, I didn't try.

vicegrip wrote:How about grinding out the plug welds on the housing with a die grinder and a cylindrical burr with teeth on the end,mark the tubing and housing so the end is indexed properly,pull the tube out and cut from the inside end of the tube? Little chance of misalignment and no welding warpage.

Everything I have read from people who have done it that way is never again, it is very difficult and requires equipment most of us don't own.

The second reason I read was you want the cut as near the outside end of the tube as you can get because it makes for less possibility os having things crooked. On the 8.8, of course, you are limited by the tapered end as too how far out you can go.

I know that some people don't think that doing this modification is something you can do without a lot of specialized equipment but there has been a ton of guys that have done it with just common stuff most have on hand, are all of them good? Probably not but others are fine, I think you just need to be conscience of what you are doing. would I do this for a high performance, high dollar car? No way.

I may take mine after I am done with all the brackets and stuff and see what it costs to have it checked for straightness and then have it straightened if it needs it, I have no idea on the cost of that

I like the hotrod approach to doing things.

See Ya,
Mike

I had a 9" housing that was warped from welding. To straighten it the housing it needed too be cut so when it was heated the tubes could be brought back in line. The cuts were then welded carefully with the arbor and bearing plates in place. With a 8.8 having a cast center section and mild steel tubes it will be difficult to straighten it with out cutting the ends off and rewelding. It would be easier and cheaper to do it right the first time.
I built a Winters 9" for one of my cars, this is an aftermarket aluminum center section and steel tube axle tubes. (3" D.O.M. tubing) The aluminum had to be heated to make the aluminum "grow" so the tubes could be installed, when it cooled the tubes were there forever, there were also locating bolts threaded into the tubes to hold them under torque. An arbor and bearing plates were used with a 1 1/2" solid round bar that was within .003" over its length to located the axle ends for welding. Welding was done after preheating the steel and was done in short lengths so not to created too much heat. (TIG welded) this rear end ended up to be laser straight.

This is not my first rodeo, I have been building modified cars for the past 40+ years and have seen the right and wrong way to do things. I am offering my experiance to help others not make expensive mistakes.

A/FX wrote:I am offering my experiance to help others not make expensive mistakes.

And there is much appreciation for that, whether someone chooses to do it that way or not don't stop giving guidance because this isn't just a one time thing, the post will be here a long time and there is great value in each person's experiences.

See Ya,
Mike

Yes or no on a rear cover gasket?

They are pretty cheap so I might throw one in my next order of parts.

See Ya,
Mike

No gasket here, just used gasket maker. So far no leaks.

MY ranger pu has a 8.8,,I just had the cover off,replaced a axle and whl brg,,,,I just wire brushed the cover real clean and put a bead of gasket maker on it and put it on.......no leaks ....and on these 2 mustang dirt track cars with a 7.5 rear end ,we do the same..and again no leaks, no gaskets.......POP

Well I might just not do the gasket and save the $5, then I will feel better about that nickel

See Ya,
Mike

lavron wrote:Well I might just not do the gasket and save the $5, then I will feel better about that nickel

See Ya,
Mike

it'll all come out in the wash,MIKE !!

Mike I had my 8.8 narrowed like yours by an amateur. Has worked very well this far with a couple thousand miles on her. Cutting the plugs a waste of time imo. Tried that no fun.

Had few extra minutes this evening so I cleaned the rubber plugs and E-brake boots and reinstalled the backing plates on the brake brackets with the rubber parts and the E-brake levers, after I figured out how they went in there.



Now you guys can see my poor paint job on the backing plates and how dented up they are, hopefully no one will be laying under my car looking at them and they will be tucked up inside the wheels anyway. The out side looks better than inside, I got brush marks for some reason inside.

See Ya,
Mike

And I installed the E-Brake Pads and Hardware, I actually got to use some new parts for a change



If anyone gets confused about how they install this is it, I certainly would put them on before you put the axle in because that would have to be a bite working around it, not sure how long these will last, maybe I will never have to change them again.

See Ya,
Mike