Hello this my sound like a stuppid question. Must of use read that the 9" is the way to go and the 8" isn't so bad but stay the hell away from the 7.5". Why is this? they make H/D parts for the 7.5" rears and it seems to be more parts for them than the 8.0". also so what are they using them in biffed up 7.5" rearends in?
if you're going to swap in a 7.5, just go with the 8.8, that is a much stronger axle than the 7.5, much more aftermarket, can be taken out of almost any vehicle that had a 7.5 as well, 31 spline is available in explorer...
I think the 7.5's they are talking about are in the later model Stangs, 80's on up. Not sure the parts will fit the Mav 7.5's, plus the Stang's had coil spring and four link type suspension. Might be an earlier 80's that used leafs??? This discussion on 8 vs 9in is an ongoing debate, some say the 8 is junk because they have broken to many etc. My thought after running them in race cars with 400 HP and never lost one, is that for auto trans should be litlle problem. Those who are using std. three or four speed etc, and shocking the whole drive train with foot slipping off the clutch at high rpm's to get launched or make infamous black marks in the local parking lots, "are going to break them, as well as 9in and axles and u-joints etc" The weakest link in the Maverick 8in is the rear pinion support bearing, is only half the diameter of a 9in. Still will hold up to lots of horses behind a c4 or others, with 10.5 slicks and spools. Been running them for last 12/15yrs and have not had a bit of trouble using 4.62 gears. Canged to 9in only because of the wider gear ratio selection and even use the 8in axles in the shortned housing in my fairmont. Guess I just feel sorry for the poor little 8in that seems to get a bad rapp from a lot of people. Just for info, a fellow racer who is up in years(74 to be exact) runs a 56 Ford with a 440 Mopar engine and 727 trans. Has a 57 Ford 9in housing and 4.56 gears with 11.5 M/T's. He has lost a couple rear gears to this torque monster motor, but never and axle. Oh yeah, he uses the Maverick 8in 28 spline axles in it. Car weighs 4400 lbs and runs 6.99 to 7.01 1/8th mile. I rest my case.
