New Rear End 98 3.8
 

I had to get the rear end replaced on my Mustang. The Mechanic found a rear end at a junk yard from a newer model 4.6L stang. Did I get an upgrade? Has anyone else done this with thier car? It seems like I have more torq, but that may because the old rear-end was so wasted. What about gear ratio, what's the difference between what I had from the factory and what I have now?

Thanks,

Erik

its a great upgrade you got. the stock v6 rear end is a 7.5" rear. its a good rear but doesnt take much more than about 300rwh and it will fail. the 8.8 is what is found in the gt mustangs and can take an assload of power. even stock. As for the performance part, your car most likly had gears that were lower than 3.27 which is the gear ratio found in the GT's. So thats why your car feels quicker.

If it's a late model GT rearend, then it has the 3.27 gears like Spike said. Your 98 has 2.73 gearing, so that's where you would be feeling the extra grunt from. Also, another advantage of the GT rears are that they come with Tlok from the factory, so you're no longer one-leggin it.

is this a straight bolt on for the V6?

thanks for the info
 

Thanks for the info spike and blackone. I'm happy to know that I have an upgrade. Can you believe that my mechanic did this for $485.00 parts and labor? It's not easy to find honest and knowledgeable mechanics but this guy is an exception. He ordered parts and rebuilt the the rearend but said he was not happy with how it worked out. So he went out and found this rear end. Now i am excited about upgrading the car so I went and got a new paint job, projector headlights, and a cold air intake. Tires and rims are next if I don't go broke first.

Erik

Post some pics of the new headlights when you get them on.

For the most part, this is a straight bolt-on. Keep in mind that the 99+ axles were about 1.5 inch longer than the pre99s in total length from side to side, so take that into account when you do it. I have some pics of when we swapped mine last year, but due to January 20 degree weather and us trying to get it done, not too many detailed pics were taken. Nonetheless, here ya go...

http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~huang16/rear10

http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~huang16/rear
http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~huang16/rear2
http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~huang16/rear3
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(replace the last numbers)
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http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~huang16/rear15