Last post by Beau -
To aid in distinction (that is, if there are any of these left in yards by now) the 9" drums were all smooth, the 10" were finned..
I have heard of some '88 Cats that had the bit drum 8.8 but have never seen any, either here on the forum or in junkyards. Have came across a few '88 XR7 cars in yards but all had the 7.5 but 10" drums.
So from what I understand (Chuck or Eric correct me here) is that the:
1) 87-88 Turbo Coupes had the 8.8 rear end that was the same housing width as the 86-98 Mustang 8.8 housing and were disc brake. Correct.
2) The 88 XR-7 Cougar had a drum brake 8.8 that was the same width as the Turbo Coupe rear end from axle flange to axle flange but the housing is the same as the 86-98 Mustang 8.8 housing and not very common. Correct. There was a V8 Cougar that had an 8.8 drum brake rear. Narrow housing. Longer axles.
3) There were some 87-88 Thunderbirds that had an 8.8 with drum brakes but I believe the housing was wider like the 7.5" housings. No. There were no 8.8's in any other 83-88 Tbird, other than mentioned in #1 and #2. All 86-88 TBIrds/Cougars (Not listed above) had the wide housing 7.5.
I looked at the chart and the XR-7 is not discussed not is any type of 8.8 drum brake rear end.
So from what I understand (Chuck or Eric correct me here) is that the:
1) 87-88 Turbo Coupes had the 8.8 rear end that was the same housing width as the 86-98 Mustang 8.8 housing and were disc brake. 2) The 88 XR-7 Cougar had a drum brake 8.8 that was the same width as the Turbo Coupe rear end from axle flange to axle flange but the housing is the same as the 86-98 Mustang 8.8 housing and not very common. 3) There were some 87-88 Thunderbirds that had an 8.8 with drum brakes but I believe the housing was wider like the 7.5" housings.
I looked at the chart and the XR-7 is not discussed not is any type of 8.8 drum brake rear end.
1) Correct.
2) Correct.
3) I don't believe any 1987-88 non-Turbo Coupe got an 8.8" rear. At least, I've never found any evidence. Even the 1988 XR-7's got the 7.5" rear. Now in 1988 only, the rear drums went to 10" regardless of model, and that was for V6 and V8 cars. (I have heard from a few people that their car still had 9" drums but those are exceptions).
It is possible to take an 8.8" housing and use T-Bird/Cougar axles, backing plates, and 10" drum hardware and make your own 8.8" drum rear.
Last post by Aerocoupe -
So from what I understand (Chuck or Eric correct me here) is that the:
1) 87-88 Turbo Coupes had the 8.8 rear end that was the same housing width as the 86-98 Mustang 8.8 housing and were disc brake. 2) The 88 XR-7 Cougar had a drum brake 8.8 that was the same width as the Turbo Coupe rear end from axle flange to axle flange but the housing is the same as the 86-98 Mustang 8.8 housing and not very common. 3) There were some 87-88 Thunderbirds that had an 8.8 with drum brakes but I believe the housing was wider like the 7.5" housings.
I looked at the chart and the XR-7 is not discussed not is any type of 8.8 drum brake rear end.
Last post by Chuck W -
Looking a the axle chart listed in the pinned thread in this section (HERE
I have postulated that MAYBE you could use the 99-04 axles and brake set up on your wide 7.5 housing in your Sport. The numbers are really close. At least according to the chart.
You would need to swap to the rear discs though, and your flange to flange width would be 1.5" wider. This is all just a guess though.
If you're keeping the drums, you'll need to either have your current axles converted to 5-lug or buy new, custom ones and use some Ranger drums.
94-98 Axles won't work in your wide housing. The bearing surfaces are in the wrong location. If your car was an 83-85, you'd have the narrow housing that would work with the 94-98 axles.
