Turbo
Coupe Rear Axle Swap
By
Jose I Castañeda,
A.K.A JetAssist jivancastaneda@aol.com
I
installed a rear
axle swap on my 85
Mustang GT and used
the 8.8”
traction-lock rear
out of a '88 T-coupe
A4LD.
3.73:1 is on
the automatic
T-coupe the five
speed cars come with
3.55:1.
It has been
great, however you
have to compromise
on e-brake strength
(just doesn't hold
or aid stopping as
well as drums).
Find a whole
axle and make it
easy on yourself,
they are cheap about
$150-200 on the
posts in this site
or in the message
board at http://www.Turbotbird.com.
You will only have
to buy e-brake
cables as well as a
brake line from the
pumpkin to the body.
Go to a Ford
dealer for this,
they are the only
ones who know how to
help.
Ask the parts
guy for a pair of
M-2809-A brake
cables, and the axle
to body brake hose
for the T-Coupe by
specifying ‘87-‘88
Turbo w/rear discs
and ABS, everybody
else is ignorant
about these sort of
things.
If you are
installing in a ‘87-93
Fox Mustang you will
have to replace the
M/C and do some
brake tubing
fabrication work. It
took me quite a bit
of research but I
found that for a
Mustang it is not so
bad a swap.
Ford used the
same axle in 1993
for the SVT Cobra
and didn't change
dimensions at all
though they may have
changed the brake
lines. (?) I had to
buy a 7/16 to 3/8
brass adapter
fitting to hook my
body brake line to
the brake hose
because it was going
in my Mustang.
That was it.
The Quad shock
mounting points are
different on the
TurboCoupe axle but
all I need to do is
drill a hole two
inches down on the
flange and I'm good
to go.
I don't need
the quads because I
have
polyurethane-bushed
BBK control arms in
back.
All
you need to do to
swap the axle is:
1. Jack up car and support body securely on stands.
2. Remove drive shaft
3.
Loosen brake
hose to body
connection Liberal
use of WD-40 is
highly recommended
for your
year model.
There may be
enough gear lube
slung up there to
have prevented rust
lock.
4. Place jack and stands under axle and lift to normal ride height.
5.
Remove upper
control arm to axle
bolts, lower the
axle to release
spring tension. Pull
the
springs, (great time
for a little hacksaw
work to remove half
a coil or a full
coil or just replace
with high
performance units).
6. Remove lower shock mount bolt and Quad shock or slapper bar mountings.
7. Remove lower control arm to axle bolt. and slide out the entire rear axle assembly.
8.
Installation
is in the reverse of
removal. *1,*2,*3
Misc part numbers:
- E-brake
Cable: M-2809-A
- Body
to diff brake hose:
E7SZ-2282-B
·
*1. You
could probably knock
it out in a Saturday
afternoon depending
on how quickly you
work.
It might go faster
if you have pizza
and beer for some
buddies that will
lend a hand.
·
*2. On
installation
remember to mount
the axle on the
lower control arms
first, then cock it
backward and mount
to the upper arms. I
kept scratching my
head because when I
would lift
the axle I couldn't
get the arms to line
up with the axle
ears.
The pinion
was pointing
downward though and
made the upper ears
be out of alignment
with the upper arms.
·
*3.
Replacement of the
parking brake cable
is simple enough If
you have trouble
removing the
retaining expansion
clips, just stick a
3/8-3/4 inch hose
clamp on and tighten
it, pull on the
cable from the other
side and it will
slide right out.
Enjoy your modern brakes. One thing I would strongly suggest is to check the T-bird caliper mount pins for free movement and binding. This will cause trouble if not addressed and may overheat and warp your rotors if seized by constantly causing the caliper to place pad pressure on it. You will also feel the car's tail end shimmy from side to side if you have a warped rotor and the pins are seized. If you find this situation on your used replacement axle, do not just twist the pins thinking you will free them. Get a propane torch and heat the aluminum around it ever so gently and slowly twist the pin within the bore. (Don't crank on it because I broke two off flush with the bore about five weeks ago when I mounted cross drilled vented rotors and discovered this situation on my axle). Be gentle and allow the heat to expand the aluminum releasing the pin due to its greater heat expansion rate. You will find that it has rusted to hell in the bore but just get some brake clean and a pipe brush and wear out your arm cleaning out the grunge. Buy a new pin kit from the parts store and make sure that the caliper is fully operational before you reassemble everything. You could instead choose to buy new units from Ford at $200+ dollars each or just buy rebuilt !"Loaded"! Calipers from the parts store for about $90-100 (make sure to tell them that it is a special order item and that he will have to call his supplier for it, maybe even direct to Bendix or Wagner. I've done this also...
Good Luck,
JetAssist