Cracked 8.8 Spring Perches – What to do?

[Stan the Man]

I've uncovered a cracked spring perch on my 8.8. It's progressively getting worse and is starting to seep oil consistently. I'd like to start an open discussion to hear some options to remedy this. So far my ideas are:

1. Clean, drill, and weld the tubes, and add new perches to the 8.8.
2. Have a custom F9 35 spline full floater made. Any recommendations on budgeting/sources?
3. Source a 14b and convert it to 5 lug.

A couple of notes about my build:
1. My truck is not a dedicated chase truck – I use it for general trails in the Sierras and intent to use it for cross country trips to Moab, Baja, etc.
2. In any upgrade scenario, I'll need to move the VSS to the transfer case output shaft.
3. I'd also like to move away from c-clip/semi float rear ends for more robustness and ease of changing shafts if I do happen to break one (equal length shafts would be best).
4. I currently run 35x12.5r17 BFG AT's and probably won't exceed 37s in the future.

What would you recommend for my application? Less $$ is always better, but I'm willing to spend a little more if it means I don't have to spends weeks sourcing, cleaning, and prepping an axle.

[ChaseTruck754]

14B or D60 with 5 lug conversion may be your cheapest route. You can build one hell of a rear for limited cash like that. The 5x5.5 pattern can be machined in the D60 hubs. It gets tight on a 14b though. The center bore in many wheels won't handle the hub dia there as it gets pretty thin between center bore on wheel & lug nut holes in wheels. I have a cad drawing I did showing it when I was looking into this.

5 lug hubs are available to convert either, but when I was looking these were decent change (not camburg floater hub costs, but not cheap) AND they narrowed up the track width slightly which I did not want.

Gear ratios about for the 14b and d60 just like for the 9" and the lockers are cheap and plentiful as well. With these things both being 35 spline, full floater axles the only real down side is unsprung weight. The cost vs. a fabricated 9" setup with 35 spline floater setup sure makes it worth looking at though!

It was my thought when I looked a while back that a decently built d60 or 14b could be done for $1500 or so. Probably closer to $2k if you don't have time to source deals for the parts, but a build 9" will be 2x that minimum and can easily hit $5-7k with all the baller parts on it...

My thought is since you'd have to do perches on the 8.8 anyway, why not chuck it & go to a d60 or 14b you'd also have to clean & weld perches on. You'd be that much more ahead of the game parts quality wise. It will be more effort/cost due to having to update driveshaft, shock mounts and then probably re-gear & add hubs & disk brake setup (this doesn't cost much but shaves a ton of weight - no ebrake though).

Ok - enough rambling for my $.02 - I've already talked myself into the big 8 lugger. Oh - you can even use a sterling 10.25 here as well...

[cs_drums]

So all your options are viable the main factor I see is $$$.

1. Clean, drill, and weld the tubes, and add new perches to the 8.8.
** This is the cheapest, no real performance gain.


2. Have a custom F9 35 spline full floater made. Any recommendations on budgeting/sources?
**Not Cheap, Camburg seems to be the go too. 1 & done though. You won’t need to up grade from there.

3. Source a 14b and convert it to 5 lug.

**Strong & cheap but heavy. Good option if you don’t intend to go wider, 14b have pretty bad ground clearance is something else worth considering.

For another option-

Semi-float 35spline 9” exponentially stronger than your 8.8, cheaper than FF.

I built my rear with intention of eventually going to FF. It’s a dirt tech housing with 35 Spline semi float Currie axles. I’ve beat on it pretty hard and haven’t had an issue.

I’d say f*** it, if you have the $$ go Fab 9 FF and be done.



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[Stan the Man]

So all your options are viable the main factor I see is $$$.

1. Clean, drill, and weld the tubes, and add new perches to the 8.8.
** This is the cheapest, no real performance gain.

2. Have a custom F9 35 spline full floater made. Any recommendations on budgeting/sources?
**Not Cheap, Camburg seems to be the go too. 1 & done though. You won’t need to up grade from there.

For another option-

Semi-float 35spline 9” exponentially stronger than your 8.8, cheaper than FF.

I built my rear with intention of eventually going to FF. It’s a dirt tech housing with 35 Spline semi float Currie axles. I’ve beat on it pretty hard and haven’t had an issue.

Another problem with repairing my 8.8 is that those welds could crack again or my tubes could be bent/twisted. I could find a donor 8.8 and swap my internals into it, but that'll be hundreds of dollars that I'd rather have invested into a F9 or something else.

What would be real world price differences between going semi-float F9 and full float F9? What's needed in the future to do the swap?

[Stan the Man]

14B or D60 with 5 lug conversion may be your cheapest route. You can build one hell of a rear for limited cash like that. The 5x5.5 pattern can be machined in the D60 hubs. It gets tight on a 14b though. The center bore in many wheels won't handle the hub dia there as it gets pretty thin between center bore on wheel & lug nut holes in wheels. I have a cad drawing I did showing it when I was looking into this.

5 lug hubs are available to convert either, but when I was looking these were decent change (not camburg floater hub costs, but not cheap) AND they narrowed up the track width slightly which I did not want.

Gear ratios about for the 14b and d60 just like for the 9" and the lockers are cheap and plentiful as well. With these things both being 35 spline, full floater axles the only real down side is unsprung weight. The cost vs. a fabricated 9" setup with 35 spline floater setup sure makes it worth looking at though!

It was my thought when I looked a while back that a decently built d60 or 14b could be done for $1500 or so. Probably closer to $2k if you don't have time to source deals for the parts, but a build 9" will be 2x that minimum and can easily hit $5-7k with all the baller parts on it...

My thought is since you'd have to do perches on the 8.8 anyway, why not chuck it & go to a d60 or 14b you'd also have to clean & weld perches on. You'd be that much more ahead of the game parts quality wise. It will be more effort/cost due to having to update driveshaft, shock mounts and then probably re-gear & add hubs & disk brake setup (this doesn't cost much but shaves a ton of weight - no ebrake though).

Ok - enough rambling for my $.02 - I've already talked myself into the big 8 lugger. Oh - you can even use a sterling 10.25 here as well...

All great points - thanks! Lots to think about, price out on a spread sheet and see what can work for me.

[damon1272]

There are a lot of good housing makers out there from Ruff Stuff to Camburg, Currie and I was surprised to see Giant making one at a "reasonable" cost.

[Tchajagos]

How often are you breaking axles to want to go with a full floater? I’d just go with a 31 spline 9” out of an 80s bronco and call it good. 35 spline is better for huge tires or huge horsepower, 40 spline is over kill unless you have like 800hp and 40” tires. If you do go with a fabricated housing Currie is the best IMO. We use a lot of them here at the shop.

[ChaseTruck754]

My issue with the fabricated 9" housing is that itself is just the tip of the iceburg.

The 9", 31 spline from the 80's broncos/F-150's can work. 37's is pushing the limits for a 31 spline IMO though and if he does go up to them the possibility of watching his tire roll by him as his now wheel-less axle housing digs into the dirt goes up - especially if he will be doing any crawling. It may not happen, but a lot depends on driving style & actual use and tires over 35" don't help that cause at all.

I've been out of the parts purchasing game for a bit, but when I left about 5 years ago I had been given 2 14b's and had d60's out of the 70's F series that I had a hard time selling anywhere from $125-250. They always ended up selling, but they are around & are cheap. Or at least they used to be. Cheapest fabricated 9" housing I've seen is $500. Then you still need to buy hubs, axles and center section, etc. etc.

[Stan the Man]

There are a lot of good housing makers out there from Ruff Stuff to Camburg, Currie and I was surprised to see Giant making one at a "reasonable" cost.

Yeah, there are a lot of F9 makers out there now. Its great for keeping pricing more honest. I've got a few emails out to see what damage would be for a turnkey 35 spline full float.

[Stan the Man]

How often are you breaking axles to want to go with a full floater? I’d just go with a 31 spline 9” out of an 80s bronco and call it good. 35 spline is better for huge tires or huge horsepower, 40 spline is over kill unless you have like 800hp and 40” tires. If you do go with a fabricated housing Currie is the best IMO. We use a lot of them here at the shop.

I've broken my 8.8 shaft once on 35's but I've always been fairly gentle on it. I'd love to go full float to simplify my life on the trail (equal length spare shafts, no c clips), ease the worries, and future proof my rig on tire size, power, off road use.

Sourcing a JY 9" is viable but the tubes are still the weak link just like my 8.8. By the time I pay the JY, buy a truss, refresh the seals and bearings, add discs, spend time cleaning, welding, jigging, and painting – I'm not sure I'd be saving much money from buying a base F9 housing.

Going full float is most appealing to me so I don't have to worry about draining oil and changing a shaft exactly where the break happened – in No Man's Land of Mexico, off kilter on a cliff of Moab, or even wedged between two granite slabs in the Sierras. With full float, [theoretically] I can just pull a shaft at the wheel and make the repair in a safer location.

My issue with the fabricated 9" housing is that itself is just the tip of the iceburg.

The 9", 31 spline from the 80's broncos/F-150's can work. 37's is pushing the limits for a 31 spline IMO though and if he does go up to them the possibility of watching his tire roll by him as his now wheel-less axle housing digs into the dirt goes up - especially if he will be doing any crawling. It may not happen, but a lot depends on driving style & actual use and tires over 35" don't help that cause at all.

I've been out of the parts purchasing game for a bit, but when I left about 5 years ago I had been given 2 14b's and had d60's out of the 70's F series that I had a hard time selling anywhere from $125-250. They always ended up selling, but they are around & are cheap. Or at least they used to be. Cheapest fabricated 9" housing I've seen is $500. Then you still need to buy hubs, axles and center section, etc. etc.

I've been looking on Craigslist and other 4x4 forums and haven't seen much. From what I've been told the D60 rears are harder to find nowadays and the 14b is where its at for value. Problem is pumpkin size and the need for larger tires in non-desert venues – that would lead to added costs in other parts of the build.

It's becoming clear that upgrading to a beefier axle is going to be expensive no matter which route I take. I think if I go FF F9, I can make it more affordable by sourcing less expensive hubs, brakes, etc. Do I really need Wilwoods? Are there better hubs for my application than the Camburg offerings?

[ChaseTruck754]

You should be able to make some budget helping choices with parts if you'd like. For instance, maybe go with RuffStuff hubs & snouts for a d60 or similar, vs. running camburg of one of the higher end shops. The steel hubs from ruffstuff or more of a rock guy vendor will be heavier than the nice, aluminum hubs like a desert race shop would provide.

As for the wilwoods - same answer really. You can put on some bolt on front calipers from the 95ish F-150 or similar. Heck, if your bronco has bolt on calipers in the front this would allow you to carry 1 spare to cover all 4 corners. You don't have an e-brake setup this way, but you can plumb in a line lock that'll work for holding the truck for trail repairs, etc. Also, you'll probably want one of the wilwood type adjustable proportioning valves to get the brake bias right, but that's no biggie either.

The other thing to look at is possibly buying a used rear complete of RDC or similar. This of course is a luck of the draw thing with timing, but you never know. Willie had a 9" floater for sale in the classifieds here if I remember right

[Stan the Man]

You should be able to make some budget helping choices with parts if you'd like. For instance, maybe go with RuffStuff hubs & snouts for a d60 or similar, vs. running camburg of one of the higher end shops. The steel hubs from ruffstuff or more of a rock guy vendor will be heavier than the nice, aluminum hubs like a desert race shop would provide.

As for the wilwoods - same answer really. You can put on some bolt on front calipers from the 95ish F-150 or similar. Heck, if your bronco has bolt on calipers in the front this would allow you to carry 1 spare to cover all 4 corners. You don't have an e-brake setup this way, but you can plumb in a line lock that'll work for holding the truck for trail repairs, etc. Also, you'll probably want one of the wilwood type adjustable proportioning valves to get the brake bias right, but that's no biggie either.

The other thing to look at is possibly buying a used rear complete of RDC or similar. This of course is a luck of the draw thing with timing, but you never know. Willie had a 9" floater for sale in the classifieds here if I remember right

Really solid advice here, thanks!

[cs_drums]

What is your budget?



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[VintageIronFab]

Those shocks look really oil soaked is it possible the perch is cracked but the oil is from the shock?

[Stan the Man]

Those shocks look really oil soaked is it possible the perch is cracked but the oil is from the shock?

It’s both. I’ve isolated them and both the shock and axle housing leak independently.

[mounty71]

As the cheapest/easiest fix, or at least a bandaid, you could just box in the perches front and back, and even extend the additional plates out past the sides as gussets. Right now all the force is being concentrated on just those two edges, so having more weld surface area would help disperse it.


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[Stan the Man]

I'd like to touch on this topic again and try to get more advice.

I've currently narrowed the search down to two options:
1. I can source a junk yard Ford 9", built a nodular third member and install 35 spline shafts. I'd then use that set up until I start having problems or go bigger in tires. I could then build a full floater 9" as money and time permits and transfer over the third member. I like this idea because it gives me some wiggle room in budgeting, transferring parts over between the SF and FF axles, and the ability to build a spare housing and swap it in relatively quickly.

2. I can source a JY D60 Full Float and do a 5 lug conversion. I'm thinking this might actually be more expensive by the time I freshen up the internals, new gears, locker, hubs, disc brakes, custom shafts, etc.


What are your thoughts on these options?

[cs_drums]

I’ve beat on my 35 spline SF w/37s so far no issues. I basically went similar to your option 1. I built my SF with a dirt tech housing and a nice 3rd. If the SF lets me down I’ll convert to FF. So far so good.


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[ChaseTruck754]

I'm interested on the parts breakdown for the 9" vs. the d60 & how the 60 could be more.

You'd be freshening up either I assume. So new gears, a locker and disk brakes for either option - right? Yes I get the locker costs etc. differ a bit etc., but I don't remember them being that far off. With the 9" you'd be buying 35 spline axles. With the d60 you'd be buying hubs. Either is gonna need a driveshaft mod if I remember right. The 8.8 has a drive flange on the pinion & the 9" & d50 both have a u-joint yoke.


In all honestly, starting with the SF 9" isn't a bad plan either. I'm just not seeing how the 60 is gonna cost much more.

[Stan the Man]

I'm interested on the parts breakdown for the 9" vs. the d60 & how the 60 could be more.

You'd be freshening up either I assume. So new gears, a locker and disk brakes for either option - right? Yes I get the locker costs etc. differ a bit etc., but I don't remember them being that far off. With the 9" you'd be buying 35 spline axles. With the d60 you'd be buying hubs. Either is gonna need a driveshaft mod if I remember right. The 8.8 has a drive flange on the pinion & the 9" & d50 both have a u-joint yoke.


In all honestly, starting with the SF 9" isn't a bad plan either. I'm just not seeing how the 60 is gonna cost much more.

For the D60, I was thinking it would be more expensive than a SF 9" with 35 spline shafts, discs, and a nodular third with Detroit locker. I was factoring in this spindle, hub, brake kit - https://www.solidaxle.com/productcart/p ... ategory=13. I'm not even sure if my 17" Method wheel bores could fit a full float hub.

I'm sure it'd still be a bit cheaper than a FF 9", but I haven't done a comparison to see how much. A SF 9" with 35 spline shafts could be the most cost efficient route to take. I can deal with FF pricing when I start having SF problems.