I'm looking for a rear end to replace my Maverick's old one for better handling and disc breaks. Because the Granada I was looking at didn't have disc breaks on the rear, I was wondering if a Chevy Blazer or Ford Bronco would work? If so, what years, and will they have disc breaks?
You can swap disc brakes from ford 8.8 rear ends onto an 8 inch 5 lug rear.Get em off a rear end from a mid to late 90s' crown vic/lincoln towne car or explorer.Check the tech articles on the forum, many have done the swap and Frank(71gold) did a tech write up on the swap.Its good reading and junk yard parts should be fairly cheap compared to shortening a bronco 9" or a (not very good)GM 10 bolt from a blazer.Good luck!!
An 8 and a 1/4 rear?? I know about the 8.8's, but have never heard of that one. I have a disc brake rear from a Blazer (S10), 1998 3.42 (GU6) with a GM gov-lock (G80). I have thought about it as well, it is 54" from wheel mounting surface to wheel mounting surface. A bit narrower than a Mav 8 inch but could be made to work with bolt on spacer/adapters to convert it to 4.5 inch bolt circle from the 4.75 GM pattern. Also would have to change the spring perches to FORD spacing as well and cut off the frame bumper pad as well. rk
you could put a Dana 44 in it out of an Izuzu trooper/honda passport they were 60" wide and had rear disks...(yes the axles were made in America even though the rest of the vehicle wasnt) Im getting ready to put one under my CJ thats how i know abut them
You are correct sir...I meant 8.8 guess I will edit my post to show the correct info.Thank you.I dont like the GM rear ends from the blazers..I have replaced quite a few bad ones...they seem to eat themselves alive.I would not want to use one in a V-8 app without appropriate mods hence the reference to the disc upgrade for the 8 inch which is stronger than the 10 bolt and its a cheaper mod than beefing the 10 bolt or shortening a truck 9" which will still need a going over anywhoo.Its just more cost effective in the short term/interim to just do the disc swap on the 8"
id stay away from that blazer diff. its a 7.5 ring gear where yours is a 8" ring gear. the pinion in the blazer is supported by only 2 bearings the 8" is suported by 3 bearings. the axles in the blazer are retained by c clips at the inner most point of the axle the 8" has bearing retained axles so if you brake a axle (they usually break at the splines on the inner side of the axle) it will come out on the blazer diff and stay in on the mav diff. the govloc posi unit has a bad habit of blowing up. if your after disk breaks only then do the explorer conversion. if you want a posi and gears on the cheap then your best bet is to get a explorer diff and shorten the longer side to take the short side axle. or have a posi and gears put into your 8"
Sadly, I have to replace the rear end. My front end is actually set higher than my rear, thus screwing up my traction. I just want disc breaks for more stopping power and so my insurance will decrease.
Okay, we are either on different wavelengths and you have a seriously modded car, or you have a stock car and are missing the point that the rear end has nothing to do with how high the back of your car sits. If the car is stock, and you want discs and the rear to sit up higher than it does, then get a set of Crown Vic discs and new leaf springs and be done with it. If the leaf springs are still strong and stock height is where you are, and want taller, then get an add-a-leaf, a set of HD springs, or shackles. If one of those isn't enough, then get all of them. It'll still be cheaper and more structually sound that what you are contemplating. Btw: A saggy rear is actually better for traction as the weight is already transfered to the drive wheels.
Much of what you said is true, however not ALL Blazers have the 7.5 (early box blazers) or 7.625 inch ring gear, if you pull it from the RIGHT one it is an 8.5 inch ring gear. So for anyone looking or curious pull one from the 2 door 5 speed 2 wheel drive and you get the bigger full size center section and 54 inches flange to flange, if you need a bit more width (Mavericks don't) pull it from the 2 door ZR2 package either 5 speed or AT and you get 3.73 gears and most likely a Gov-lock to boot. As to them blowing a part, maybe in a heavy full size over powered 4WD, but in light weight applications they do just fine. Such as my 2000 GMC Jimmy 2WD 5 speed, works fine and lasts a long time. But like I said, I thougth about it, and then thought why put Chevy parts in my Ford??? The 8 is good for at least 300hp in standard trim and could be beefed to take more if need be. rk
