I bought the 8.8" rear end out of a 1990 Mustang today. There's this rather large "weight" bolted around the housing at the pinion shaft. Would I be correct in assuming I can just unbolt it for use on a Challenge car? I'm assuming it's there as some sort of ride dampening device.
Second question, since I have no torch or plasma cutter is the best way to cut off all the brackets going to be a 4" cutoff wheel. The internet seems to suggest that Ford axle tubes are relatively thin so I'm wary of "over doing it" with a cutting wheel. Any advice is welcome.
The big weight is an NVH deal. I didn’t need it on mine. Everyone removes it.
on the angle grinder.... have fun burning through wheels! That is some real Detroit steel there! it took me forever, it took my buddy with a torch about 1 minute
Final thought- shave the “ears” that protect the abs sensor. I didn’t do this. And while it doesn’t contact my chassis, it looks like if I got hang time it could contact the chassis or brake lines...
edit- you may not have an abs system being a ‘90
Yes just remove that weight. It's there for NVH reduction on street cars. It's been normal practice to remove it when you install an aluminum driveshaft on your Mustang as it's no longer required.
As to the removal of brackets.
Just be careful when grinding and you should have no issues. The tubes are about an 1/8 inch thick or a bit less but I wouldn't consider them "thin".
Take your time. If you do cut into one just weld up the cut if you have access to welder.
I spent 2 hours removing rust and brackets yesterday. I got them close with a sawzall, closer with the cutoff wheel, and smoothed with a flap wheel
I thought the weight was there as an anti-wheelhop device (change a resonance?) after Ford admitted that the horizontal shocks mostly did nothing.
My dim memory says that showed up around the same time they stopped using those shocks, whose name I have long forgotten.
In reply to Knurled. :
False. Those sideways shocks are called quad shocks, and they were used all the way until end of the SN95 chassis in 2004.
The weight is strictly an NVH device, totally unneeded.
In reply to Javelin :
Huh. Maybe people just removed those shocks even before the dealer sticker, then. I don't ever remember seeing one on something newer than the MAF-era models.
I would like to point out that wheelhop is very much an NVH concern, as the driver will experience all three when it happens.
