How To: Narrow a Ford 8.8

[@danielv6298]

Thank u for the knowledge i feel like i learned how to narrow it the best through this channel

[@kevinhumphrey932]

You could have pulled the seal and bearing at the same time with that style of bearing puller and 9 times out of 10 you won't even damage the seal in the process

[@MrRichinil]

The best seal remover is the end of the axle . The groove for the "C" clip will grab the seal as you lever it out .

[@mlone7]

I use a 30 bar. 30 seconds both sides.

[@shitbox7413]

I was planning on looking for a factory S10 8.5” ten bolt for my 98 S10 build, but I think I’ll do this instead, thanks for the info. 👍🏻

[@TheLaidbackBiker]

This is above my pay grade but I enjoyed seeing how it was done. Very good job!

[@juliobriseno7721]

Great video I have a question for welding the axle tubes can it be done also with mig welder

[@johnjames5020]

Better to cut closer to the flange. The closer you cut to the tube the more any warpage will be magnified at the wheel end.

[@holinessorhell1964]

You are the Man... Brother.. Very informative.. Thank you

[@DvDjSpeedDemonVideoJunkies]

Great video, thanks. Now i feel more confident trying this on my 63 Ranchero..

[@kevinlarrick8288]

Awesome video Very helpful keep up the good work

[@larrysheran]

To remove the seal you can do so using the C-Clip notch on the end of the axle rod and pry it out.

[@luiscarrasquillo9743]

Great channel, with that 8.8 is there anything needed to be done to the drive shaft?

[@catbird1759]

Hated to see you struggle with the seal. When you pull the axle out, take it and it to the side on the last inch and pry the seal out. 2 second job. Great video

[@mchristr]

Cut the housing ends off and weld on larger bearing ends. The issue isn't just that the housing is too long; the factory bearings are too small.

[@paulh714]

awesome! i cant wait to get a 8.8 put on my 2wd yota pickup

[@jojopowaoworks375]

Great job my friend. You have a good idea. We have the same work.

[@jojopowaoworks375]

If have time you can pass me around.

[@armyblouvet54]

Not sure what axle you had in your s10, maybe 7.25 or 8.25 axles but did you just measure off the old axle where the leaf mounts go or what exactly? And why did you go off the origanal 8.8 leaf mount degree instead of the s10's degree set up?

[@sbdfabrication2694]

Mongo the Mechanic yes i measured off of the s10 then went of the center line of this axle. The spring perches off the s10 werr about the same so i just used this axle to measure those

[@intheshoptv]

Another way to do this WITHOUT buying a second driver side axle, is to make a cut on EACH tube. One at 7” and the other at 4” and then just swap tubes from one side to the other, then swap the axles. You then have a centered pinion and reuse the same axles

[@davidhenson3372]

Impossible..... literally impossible.....post up a vid then....

[@raycoleman3183]

Dude......amazed how you approached removing the seal. Are you new to working on vehicles?

[@TheeAbstractHero]

How would one go abou tdoing this for a car with a four link, watts link and coil springs?

[@Rippee42]

Thought the short end was the passenger

[@wreckanchor]

What spring perch was used?

[@quentinfilbeck6592]

Where did you get the pucks and rod for the jig? Im gonna do this for my s10 as soon as i locate all the tooling! Thanks in advance!

[@l.munnier9658]

What 8.8 rear was used,& how long was it some 8.8 from a ranger run 56" up to 59" ? I need to one for a 63 Merc. Comet. It seems hard to find 8.8 THANKS IF YOU HAVE ANY INFO. LOU.M.

[@dallascottrell2188]

could you do one for a 9 inch?

[@mlone7]

Great video!! I like your laid back style. Only question I have is I just narrowed my 8.8 4 7/8". It gave me 49" from outer tube flange to OTF. The stock rear end was 38.250 on the center to center perches. My math came up with 5 3/8 from OTF to center perch. Now thats to mount it in an 89 2wd s10 blazer. What s10 were you mounting in to? It must be different from mine or my math is wrong.

[@tavorislevy5476]

I was wonder the same thing because just by cutting the one side of the 8.8 it is still wider then the stock s10 rear so how would you put the perches back on by measuring from the axle end. Look like they would be to wide

[@mlone7]

@@tavorislevy5476 he measured the perches on the original axle, center to center. Then measured the width of the new narrowed axle. You subtract the overall narrowed width by the measurement taken of the original perch. Take that figure and divide by 2 and that tells you how far to measure in from the end of the tube to the center of where the perch will be. You are right in that it will be a little wider over all by only cutting one side. About 1/2" per side.

[@southjerseysound7340]

@@mlone7 exactly but for most guys being able to use another factory axle and only having to narrow and weld one side is worth the half inch extra width per side. There's ways to deal with it and it's rarely a problem but I recommend everyone buying wheels to wait till after.

[@mlone7]

@@southjerseysound7340 Yes. Can change the offset of the wheel. I totally agree to wait till later to buy your wheels. After everything is done with the setup of the diff and your front end. This was basically playing around on my part to go this route.

[@southjerseysound7340]

@@mlone7 it's truly a great rear for the money and I put about 50k miles of abuse on mine and that was with the Crown Vic police center section from a wrecked police car. I had less than$300 total in it for my S10. About the only thing I'd do differently would be cutting and narrow the tube instead of drilling the plug welds from the housing and welding the shortened tube back in. But at the time there weren't videos on how to do it and we felt it was easier to get everything straight that way. I'd also recommend bracing it when you're at it. Lastly proper planning builds has saved me a fortune compared to friends but it takes more time. Like everything there's trade offs.

[@kevinbrown4894]

the bearing puller will pull the bearing and seal out tougher.

[@sbdfabrication2694]

Spose i never thought of that..thanks homie

[@choochymcgoochy]

Nice video do you still do the s10 8.8 interested in one

[@Mitchellfab_customs]

Do more research in doing it yourself. Sadly this guy did not prep or setup right for the video and it probably warped even using a tig machine. He left out some good info and i would not pay anyone to do what he just did. Its easier than you think. My suggestion, do it your self but use two 3" C channel about a foot long on either side to center the tube. Tack in2 places measure all four opposing sides to make sure its straight and weld two opposing sides let cool than weld the other 2 sides. And save yourself $$$ Aunt nothing to it chicken wing.

[@neilhansen5663]

Nice work

[@kellykolnes1954]

Where did you get the bar and bushings?

[@mikev.7361]

How much does something like this cost to do?

[@feraladdicts]

Why the hell are you worried about the ford explorer spring perch angle…. Only worry about the angle for the vehicle you’re putting it back into. It’s relevant to driveline angle The word you’re looking for when marking the axles to reposition is indexed, not indicated

[@brohren]

I'm wanting to narrow a Ford rear end for a 56 Chevy. To keep the pinion behind the transmission would I need to shorten the tubes on both sides? If I did that, how in the world do I get axles to fit?

[@evansautomotive307]

With the 8.8 one side is longer than the other so you just cut the long side down to the length of the short side. Then you can use a short side axle shaft on both sides.

[@kevinbrown1629]

@@evansautomotive307 If you only shorten one side, doesn't that move the 3rd member in that direction?

[@kevinbrown1629]

I'm with you bud. I don't understand how.it wouldn't.move the 3rd member to one side. And if you shorten the long side to equal the short side, what length of housing do you end up with?

[@evansautomotive307]

@@kevinbrown1629 You cut the long size to match the short side, making both axle tubes the exact same length which puts the 3rd member in the middle. This makes the axle 56 inches

[@andrewgrassman7792]

@@kevinbrown1629 minus 2 7/8 inches off long end that is rearend housing width.

[@alfonsohernandez8793]

We’re are you located I have a 69 mustang I need that done to it I live in Moreno Valley ca.

[@eduardorangel8821]

Informative, Thanks

[@michaellucas7864]

Do tubes have to be tig welded or can you mig them does it matter which?

[@andrewgrassman7792]

you can mig tig or stick weld them

[@Mr572u]

I need to narrow a 12 bolt Chevelle to fit Camaro axles. Then it will be perfect for my 57 Chevy with 8” wheels. I have the axles.

[@jayinmi3706]

Will you cover drilling the axles to 5x4.75, or do you just buy them already done. If so, supplier?

[@sbdfabrication2694]

I will buy them from strange engineering

[@mlone7]

@@sbdfabrication2694 How much do they cost?

[@tavorislevy5476]

Does strange sell the rotors in that pattern also

[@JohnW1711stock]

I broke the 8.8 in my 2001 F150 just getting stuck in the snow. Order a 9" from Strange, Moser, or MW.

[@mrberg4616]

I wonder if the guy that owns it was mad at you for welded the spring perches on at the wrong angle.?

[@josepadilla7981]

i recently bought a 140 hobart mig would that work to weld the axle tubes?

[@sbdfabrication2694]

Yes, as long as its 220 power. If its not you could do a few passes instead of 1

[@josepadilla7981]

@@sbdfabrication2694140MIG 115v

[@sbdfabrication2694]

@@josepadilla7981 crank the heat up and have a good extension cord, or plug it right into the wall

[@deonforby2050]

Where are you located

[@TheMeathead1984]

Do you sell a kit to help narrow the rear ends?

[@sbdfabrication2694]

Carlton Wright i do not

[@armyblouvet54]

Haven't seen any more video uploads in while hope all is well bro!

[@sbdfabrication2694]

I have 1 ready just gotta upload!!

[@kawikaelizondo1185]

What do you charge for something like this just out of curiosity

[@sbdfabrication2694]

300$

[@tavorislevy5476]

SBD Fabrication where can I get that axle jig

[@marques36]

What kind of saw is that???

[@mlone7]

band saw and not cheap either

[@native4063]

Cmon man buy the 8 dollar seal puller you make it look way hard

[@stevekleinhenz8262]

Do you anybody that could cut my 9” down for my Camaro build I’m in the Houston area

[@vmaxes]

All these videos show how to do the housings , nothing discussed about the axles

[@tightlaser]

This is a customers 8.8,what you charge for this for the s10 2nd gen?

[@sbdfabrication2694]

250

[@tightlaser]

ty @@sbdfabrication2694

[@robertlawson6255]

Where are you located?

[@sbdfabrication2694]

@@robertlawson6255 Appleton Wisconsin

[@MrDoc8483]

thanks man!

[@jerrygonzalez6643]

Beast

[@cwest7333]

Have u narrowed an explorer rear for a mustang and added 9" ends?

[@sbdfabrication2694]

I have one to do right now actually but just using the stock mustang 8.8 and adding the 9inch ends

[@cwest7333]

SBD Fabrication awsm. So ur going to narrow and install 9" ends on a 8.8 right? Will u do a video of the build? Thx bro

[@maircraft4079]

Ain't skeered uh no melanoma.

[@elvynortiz3456]

hey where are u located I need this job done pls ?

[@sbdfabrication2694]

Appleton Wisconsin

[@JesseWright68]

Way too much background noise. Jeez.

[@gerrycorpuz4571]

Pp