Just got my 4Wheel Parts wholesaler magazine Off-Road Adventures and it had some nice info about all the Ford axles that have been made. Stuff like semi float,full float, axle spline, shaft diameter info and various other things what i found interesting was that for the 9.75 and the Front IFS 8.8 the max tire size they say it can handle is a 33 inch. They also give the 9.75 a strength rating of 4 and the IFS 8.8 a 3+ Highest available is a 5

Richard D.

 

I have the same article you do. It really should be no surprise though, as the 8.8 is a very small axle. It is much more fit for rangers and explorers than full sized trucks even with the 31 spline axles. With this said, I have seen trucks running 40" super swampers with lockers on this axle and no problems. On road show trucks? Some of them.........but I have also seen a few that partisipate in mud drags. It all comes down to how much wisdom you posses when you decide to push the gas peddle through the floor. To be safe I would say if you stick with less than 35's and some sort of traction device you should be fine as long as your not abusive or run a built 351 and enjoy using it. There are however, a large selection of hop ups for both front and rear 8.8's to make this axle quite strong. But the problem arises that the axle shafts are not the only thing holding your axle together. I have heard of people snapping the whole axle tube, mostly from excess air between rubber and ground. That is why this is not considered a good off road axle.