[besthaticouldo]

im pondering an 8.8 swap into my zj.

gear ratio things are under control and i'll probably leave it open until i can get an aussie for it.

but...my questions lie in brackets

1. do i cut the brackets off my d35 and weld them onto my 8.8 housing?

2. should i get all new brackets?

3. where would i get new brackets from?

 

[NRV95ZJ]

you can use the stock brackets, will save you money but will take a long time and they aren't very strong. rusty's makes a kit for like $250 that is pretty stout

 

[besthaticouldo]

link???

 

[AndyZJ]

Clayton makes a kit, Rusty's makes a kit, I think Rubicon Express makes a kit, TnT customs should make a kit. When I did mine, I bought a TJ bracket kit because it was cheap, like $199, but I had to shave the brackets down to line up right for a Grand Cherokee. Either way I'd trust a new bracket kit over the stock crap, especially if its going to see trail use.

 

[jeep geek]

rusty's offroad is at http://www.rustysoffroad.com/

 

[Haymaker]

tnt customs also makes a lot of the brackets and they are very well priced

 

[besthaticouldo]

what brackets would i need?

 

[Haymaker]

I ordered the lower control arm brackets, coil buckets, and shock mounts from them.
http://www.tntcustoms.com/Treks_Content.asp?vId=5

I'm still trying to find a place to put the brackets on for me so I can't say how well they work yet but they look awesome, and good price compared to most other places too. They were pretty cool on the phone too.

 

[besthaticouldo]

what other brackets do you need?

trac bar and upper control arm?

 

[Schwarttzy]

Okay here's what you really do.

1st find a guy with a plasma cut get a case of beer and 50 in your hands.
2nd cut one piece off at a time and weld it in the same position on the 8.8. Keep in mind the pumkin in the 8.8 is of to the passenger side about 1 inch and a 1/2
3rd you buy a 8.8 with a LSD because it is the same price for the axle and for the Aussie locker for a 8.8 LSD.
4th Get some 5/8" spacers (I got cheapos if you don't got the cash for spidertrax or similar)

By the way I have this done on my Jeep, and any one that says your going to rip the factory mounts off either didn't weld good enough or is jumping their jeep. But I would buy the IRO shock mounts.

If you have disc brakes on your 35 they will work fine on the 8.8 but you need ford rotors.

and if your thinking "you cant find some one with a plasma cut," trust me when I say "LOOK HARDER!" (what I would give to talk to myself before I started my Jeep)

O ya and get a grinder to clean the rust off.

 

[Dirtdiver]

If you are doing this yourself to make things easy, then call Dan at Ruffstuff is stuff is really beefy and you wont need to trim the brackets that Rubicon sells or Rustys I think is needing triming to cuz they are for TJ which are angled and the ZJ mount straight.

 

[SirFuego]

3rd you buy a 8.8 with a LSD because it is the same price for the axle and for the Aussie locker for a 8.8 LSD.

Huh? If he has any intentions of locking it with a lunchbox, he needs to get the open carrier. A LSD is not a locker...

Oh an a word of warning for the Clayton's brackets -- they are set up for an upper-triangulated 4 link. They are sweet because they are high clearance (nothing below the tube), but they don't work with the factory 5-link setup.