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Fantastic build! Don't let the nit pickers get to you, far as Im concerned it helps to create a better product than only having one set of eyes or thought process looking at it. I do have some questions about it if you dont mind.
1 Some of us would like to lower the rear of our cars without using flag poles for bolts on the leaf spring. How close does the diff sit to the bottom of the body?
2 Anything you would do differently now that you have completed it?
1. When i lowered the rear originally i notched the crossmember to raise the factory diff 3/4” higher up into the body in conjunction with lowering bolts at the springs. Modeling the new diff off that it basically touches the fiberglass. I should’ve placed the new diff lower more like stock so the cvs would be straight at ride height.
2. If i had to do over id prolly make the cradle lighter. I’d also prolly build trailing arms from scratch out of tubing to accommodate the C7 hubs without aluminum carrier/spacers, which would also save weight. Also i should’ve had the CVs shortened a little more to make servicing them easier. It’s a chore to remove and install the axles.
All in all I’m happy with the project. Only drove it at slow speed in my neighborhood so far Bc im having issues getting the brakes bled out. Time will tell if the axles can handle the power. The diff and hubs are proven pieces that have gone fast, it’s just the expedition axles that are a crap shoot for what they can do.
[QUOTE=Kacyc3;1596536636]Fantastic build! Don't let the nit pickers get to you, far as Im concerned it helps to create a better product than only having one set of eyes or thought process looking at it. I do have some questions about it if you dont mind.
1 Some of us would like to lower the rear of our cars without using flag poles for bolts on the leaf spring. How close does the diff sit to the bottom of the body?
Van Steel makes a kit to raise the differential up into the chassis approximately 1" SG-54
Does any one know the difference between the (2003-2008) and (2009-2016) EXPEDITION axles? I know they have a different part number, but that is all I can find out. I have a chance to buy some low mileage 2016 axles, but I not sure they will work. If they are a little longer or shorter, that wouldn't be a big deal. Thanks Don
Does any one know the difference between the (2003-2008) and (2009-2016) EXPEDITION axles? I know they have a different part number, but that is all I can find out. I have a chance to buy some low mileage 2016 axles, but I not sure they will work. If they are a little longer or shorter, that wouldn't be a big deal. Thanks Don
i found the same thing. I had a hard time finding the later axles, the 08 and down are available at any parts house. Not sure of the difference. Fortunately they are only $30 on eBay used
I ordered one of the early axles from ebay and it was pretty rusted and pitted. The later axles I can get only have 7000 miles on them. It would be nice to get them if they would work. Lance, have you given your axles the ACID TEST yet. I can't tell you how much I appreciate you shareing you build. Thanks Don
Al in, with lightweight willwood brakes and coilovers, I’m in this project $2400 using all new parts except the axles. I suspect this could duplicated with used parts for well under 2k. Reuse factory brakes and leaf spring and it could be done for $12-1500.
I ordered the 2014 axles. I will compare them to a 2005 axle and let everyone know the difference. Hopefully they will be usable and allow for lower mileage options.
Last edited by sagebrush rebel; 03-07-2018 at 01:16 PM.
The upper picture is a 2005 axle and the lower picture is a 2014 axle. Everything is the same as far as lenght of the bearing surfaces and lenght of splines. The spline layout is different on the hub ends. Not sure if this will make a difference. The diameter of the main shaft is the same, but seems to be bit longer, which has no affect on us. The 2014 axle appears to have the same type of CV joint on both ends where the 2005 has a different CV joint on each end. I will have a 2015 Mustang axle to compare with when I meet up with my friend from Las Vegas
Any updates to this thread? Professor I saw you were contemplating using expedition rear end and axles, did anyone fit one of these up yet?
Planning on swapping in a differeng IRS setup soon and this looks very promising especially for the $ involved.
Sorry, haven’t been getting notifications for this.
Moser shortened the axles for me. I’ve put some miles on the setup and made many hits on the street with 275 pro radials with no hiccups. Even with a pretty aggressive 1-2 shift on nitrous nothing has shaken loose yet. Haven’t made it to the track for the ultimate test of a dead hook on nitrous. The setup has taken the abuse I’ve given it on the street and i have no reason to suspect it won’t live at the track too.
Using the nut to pull it into the hub, it will fully seat in the splines, however there will need to be a 1/2” spacer between the hub and cv as the shaft isn’t splined all the way down. For some reason the splines get tighter the further down you go, i miked it and can’t figure out why. Acts like it’s tapered but it’s not. I’d be curious to see how big the 9.75 is demensionally, the 8.8 is already a tight fit vertically. Either way I’m committed to the way I’m going now.
I know this thread is long dead, but I'm using it to do a diff swap as I type. I just wanted to add on that the 9.75" diff is too tall to fit under the stock rear floor. If you're willing to cut the floor then it could be made to work but I'm going to continue on with the 8.8 as it should be more than strong enough for my setup.
Its been a minute since Ive been on the forums, life happens, built a new house, built a new shop, etc etc. Anyway, the IRS swapped vette has been holding up fine all this time, put a lot of miles on it, have been running drag radials for years so its seeing constant abuse and shows no sign of giving up. Aside from a little driveline vibration in the main driveshaft lately, Id say this Mustang IRS diff deal ended up being a good, cheap, reliable way to make these vettes push a little more power.
How sensitive are the half shafts as far as being parallel to the road? I plan to raise the diff in my car to level them out when I put in the coil overs and offset trailing arms. I have not had a chance to read the nearly 200 posts yet, but did he modify the Corvette trailing arms?
02-07-2018, 12:55 PM
