8.8 trak-lok

Bacondoggy

Registered User
assuming my clutches are bad, I took the car to a mechanic and it is there now - he is going to call me back... I have another 8.8 trak-lok form my 89 5-spd that was worked on in the past. I was going to have him swap them out... do you have to drop the gas tank to do this (I don't see why if you just leave the driveshaft in there...)? because I am getting one-wheel spins very bad (when I burnout, ONE tire peel on back pass. side, and in rain, it fishtails like crazy and it seems the drivers side isn't turning at all). Now I am wishing I got an auto SC 8.8 with 3.73 gears, and rebuilt that, but that will take longer and be more expensive.... arrgh. oh well. out of curiousity, what are the top speed differences between the 3.73 gears and 2.73 gears?

hehehehe I'll have better chances of outrunning the cops on the highway at least with the 2.73's I guess....
 
I'm 99.9% sure the center sections are the same.

You can get the shaft out without dropping the tank, just pop out the ujoint and push the shaft out of the way.
 
you mean take off the 4 driveshaft bolts? if the mechanic was smart - he could take one of the halfshafts off to put the axle up in, right? should I ask him if he is going to put friction modifier in, or would he know to do that? and should I get new bolts to give him or should I just go to ford and buy them and have them torque them up (I hear they do that for free??)
 
I youre talking about a 5-speed, you dont want 3.73 gears in there. Autos came with 3.27s and thats whats usually recommended with a manual. I dont think 3.27s will restrict your top speed at all, look up a gear calculator to see the rpm/speed differences.

The center sections are the same. It shouldnt be to big of a deal to just swap them.

-Travis
 
where should I get a used 3.27 set? I would also need a speedo gear right? where at in the car does that go? I am so frusterated I almost don't even care anymore...
 
Just have the diff rebuilt. There is a clutch pack kit that simply replaces the wear components in the diff and it's not that expensive. Should be under $100.00 for the parts and no more than 1.5 hours in labor once the diff is out of the vehicle.

If you are fishtailing all over the place I would think you have both wheels spinning, not just one.

When both wheels are locked and you overcome the traction available you'll fish-tail. If only one wheel is spinning then the car should stay straight, just not move anywhere very fast.
 
Bacondoggy said:
where should I get a used 3.27 set? I would also need a speedo gear right? where at in the car does that go? I am so frusterated I almost don't even care anymore...

I have a set of 3.27's with less than 500 miles on them, if you're interested.

You need a red 21 tooth speedo gear for the 3.27's.
 
3.27's

why you getting rid of the 3.27's? is it just the gears themselvs? what kind of price am I looking at here? I am on a real limited budget - I already have to figure out what I am gonna do with my car - that stupid mechanic didn't even call me back I am really pissed - I don't like the thought of other people messing with my car... I don't want to mess anything up, I mean I never really worked on an axle before... how do you know how much play you need and etc... where does the red tooth speedo gear go?

DLF if you like you can e-mail me at Happy_Taco@juno.com

thanks guys...
 
I bought an almost new '99 Cobra pumpkin, and swapped out the 3.27's for 3.08's.

$50 shipped, $40 if you want to pick them up.
 
do you have a paypal account? How do you like the cobra pumpkin? I'll most likely have you ship it I am in York, pa so... ooh do you need any parts from an sc you might be willing to trade with?

are the gears are all together in the pumpkin, or just the ring and pinion? and all I would have to do is install it?
 
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Stupid question..

I know nothing about the rear end in my car LOL..

I had a 90 cougar ls 3.8 n/a, and it seemed to handle the wet stuff alot better and did not fishtail. Yes of course it has alot less power. But what was the difference in the two.

I am also fishtailing all over the road. I ran some runs on the track. Then noticed at the end of the day, my one tire was worn out pretty bad. The other one was fine.

Could I have a problem, or is that the way these cars run. Sorry guys I am still learning about the rear end. Little help would be great thanks..
 
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You have a car with more power, and it also sounds like you've got some mechanical issues.

Make sure that your diff is working properly, you may not have a trac-loc, so get one, and then get decent tires.
 
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There should be a metal tag under one of the cover bolts. On it will be the gear ratio. If it is 2L73 or 3L27, or some other number with an L imbeded in it, it's a trac-loc. All 5-speeds were trac-loc, I don't know anything about autos, never had one, never wanted to :)
 
so there's a chance that my fluid is doing all this?

Silver95Bird (from the tccoa) said:
change the fluid. its a lot simpler than replacing the clutches, and it worked for me. give it a shot before you replace/rebuild it, it might save you some $/work.

that would definatlly save me $$$ but why would anyone need to change the diff fluid? I mean it is a sealed system, so I would think the fluid would almost, if never, need changed. but how could that make it run so much better???
 
trac-loc rear axles have clutch packs in them. As you may or may not be aware, clutches have wear material on them. As you can guess from the name, this material WEARS off. They also create more heat than just gears do and this breaks down the fluid in the rear diff.

Changing it gives you an opportunity to get fresh fluid and fresh friction modifier. If the fluid viscocity is off currently, the clutch packs may be slipping more than they are gripping.

Changing the fluid first to see if that solves it is a good, inexpensive idea.
 
ShawnSC1 said:
Ok thanks alot. I will have to get it checked out.
How do you know if you have trac-loc?



1. Hold one foot on the brake and press the gas with the other foot.
2. Continue to do this until you hear screeching and smell tire smoke.
3.Now check to see how many of your tires are smokin.

1 smoky tire = no trac loc

2 smoky tires = Trac loc :D :D :D :p :)
 
If the tag isn't visible you can also jack the entire rear of the car off the ground so both wheels are off the ground and then rotate one wheel.

If the opposite wheel rotates the opposite direction, it's an open diff.

If the opposite wheel rotates in the same direction, it's a limited slip.
 
should I change it myself or go somewhere to get it done? I am assuming there are 2 plugs - one to drain it and one to fill it...how much does something like that cost to have done? $20?
 
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