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Topic: 1993 Cobra = 87-88 Turbocoupe rearend? (Read 12696 times) previous topic - next topic

1993 Cobra = 87-88 Turbocoupe rearend?

Matt90GT and FordMuscle both say that the 1993 Cobra uses the 87-88 Turbocoupe rearend. Can anyone here confirm this?

Re: 1993 Cobra = 87-88 Turbocoupe rearend?

Reply #1
Yes...aside from the gearing...
Long live the 4-eyes!  - '83 Tbird Turbo - '85 Marquis LTS - '86 LTD Wagon-  '81 Granada GL 2dr

Re: 1993 Cobra = 87-88 Turbocoupe rearend?

Reply #2
Thanks. I was fairly certain, but it never hurts to ask at the source.

Re: 1993 Cobra = 87-88 Turbocoupe rearend?

Reply #3
Is the TurboCoupe housing the same width as the 87-88 7.5" housing? Just wondering, if so, most of the following dimensions for the 7.5" also work for the TC 8.8.



Re: 1993 Cobra = 87-88 Turbocoupe rearend?

Reply #4
Yes...they are the same...
Long live the 4-eyes!  - '83 Tbird Turbo - '85 Marquis LTS - '86 LTD Wagon-  '81 Granada GL 2dr

Re: 1993 Cobra = 87-88 Turbocoupe rearend?

Reply #5
Quote from: Chuck W
Yes...they are the same...

Ok. Pardon my continued ignorance and pestering...

The Ford documents above show the 87-88 Tbird 7.5" to have housings .75" longer on each end than Fox Mustang housings. You say the 7.5" housing is the same width as the TC 8.8" housing. Matt90GT (and many others) say that all Mustang 8.8" housings from 79-98 are the same width (including the 93 Cobra, MKVII, &TC). Post #12 from that thread has a guy "proving" the Fox and SN95 housings are the same. All these options cannot be... What is the truth?

Re: 1993 Cobra = 87-88 Turbocoupe rearend?

Reply #6
The shafts are longer. :D
95 Ranger Splash 2.3
88 Tbird Sport :ies::ies:
5.0 SO, stainless shorty headers, w/ Magnaflow lers. KYB struts, KYB shocks. 5lug conversion from sn95 Mustang, subframe connectors, drilled and slotted rotors, 03 Mach 1 wheels. sequential taillights.140 speedo

Re: 1993 Cobra = 87-88 Turbocoupe rearend?

Reply #7
I know from experience that for some reason the 7.5 rearend axles are slightly longer than the TC 8.8 rearend axles. The 7.5s axles appear to be about 1/4 longer than the 8.8s. I used 7.5 axles on my 8.8 TC rearend when I kept the drum brakes...
1988 Tbird Stock bottom end 306, Windsor Jr's, Explorer intake, 125 shot.
Best ET: 12.11 Best MPH: 113.8 1/4 mile

Re: 1993 Cobra = 87-88 Turbocoupe rearend?

Reply #8
I know from experience when I had new bearings installed in my '88 Cougar that Mustang axles will not work in a T-Bird/Cougar housings without mods. When my bearings were being done the axles were worn, so I set about trying to find new axles (the Ford dealer wanted $800 APIECE!!!). A junkyard sent Mustang axles, which were about an inch too short. The bearings and seals would not ride on a machined surface on the Mustang axle, plus it would make reinstalling the drums impossible. Now, this was a used Mustang axle, and everything outboard of where the Mustang seal rode was rusty. A new axle may have had a nice machined surface for the Cougar's bearings to ride on, but this would not solve the drum problem. Unless Mustangs use a different backing plate or drum the housing would have to be different.

The shop had to put the Cougar back together with new bearings and old worn axles because the correct axles were not available. I drove the car for a few years like that, with Redline synthetic fluid in it. Never got noisey, never vibrated.
2015 Mustang GT Premium - 5.0, 6-speed, Guard Green - too much awesome for one car

1988 5.0 Thunderbird :birdsmily: SOLD SEPT 11 2010: TC front clip/hood ♣ Body & paint completed Oct 2007 ♣ 3.55 TC rear end and front brakes ♣ TC interior ♣ CHE rear control arms (adjustable lowers) ♣ 2001 Bullitt springs ♣ Energy suspension poly busings ♣ Kenne Brown subframe connectors ♣ CWE engine mounts ♣ Thundercat sequential turn signals ♣ Explorer overhead console (temp/compass display) ♣ 2.25" off-road dual exhaust ♣ T-5 transmission swap completed Jan 2009 ♣

Re: 1993 Cobra = 87-88 Turbocoupe rearend?

Reply #9
Wouldn't the 1993 Cobra housing have different quad shock mounts than the 87-88 TCs? i.e The two housings aren't exactly the same and wouldn't have the same part #, correct?

 

Re: 1993 Cobra = 87-88 Turbocoupe rearend?

Reply #10
From Al Kirschenbaum's Mustang 5.0 Technical Reference and Performance Handbook, page 352:

Quote
The 1993 Cobra's 8.8-inch rear-end housings are fitted with special bracketry that accommodates their unique rear disc brake systems. Otherwise, the housings used in 1986-and-later Mustangs are practically identical. The 1994-98 Fox-4 Mustang's 8.8-inch rear-end housing is 55.63 inches (nearly 3.5 inches wider than the previous, Fox-body versions).


Also on page 355:

Quote
Live-axle (non-independent rear suspension) 8.8-inch Thunderbird housings with 9-inch drum brakes are 1.875 inches wider than the Mustang 8.8-inch housing. T-Birds with 10-inch drums are 3.375 inches wider. (The earlier 7.5-inch rear ends used in both Mustangs and 1983-85 1/2 T-Birds are the same width.)


Al has a few discrepancies with our cars in other places of the book, but in this instance I can't see how he'd be wrong. This book is the Mustang "bible".

Re: 1993 Cobra = 87-88 Turbocoupe rearend?

Reply #11
When he means "housings" is he measuring it with the axle shafts in?

James

Re: 1993 Cobra = 87-88 Turbocoupe rearend?

Reply #12
Why would a 10" shod 8.8 be any wider than a 9" 8.8? The drums are the same width. Kirschenbaum's book is an excellent reference, but there are a several mistakes in his book which makes me take his words with a grain of salt.
I take a truckload of salt with Mathis' books. See why here.

Re: 1993 Cobra = 87-88 Turbocoupe rearend?

Reply #13
Quote
The drums are the same width.
At the shoes, yes.
At the , the 10-inchers are "domed", the 9-inchers are flat.
Death awaits you all with nasty, big, pointy teeth.

1988 5.0 Bird, mostly stock, partly not, now gone to T-Bird heaven.
1990 Volvo 740GL. 114 tire-shredding horsies, baby!

Re: 1993 Cobra = 87-88 Turbocoupe rearend?

Reply #14
So can anyone explain why axles from a 7.5 Tbird drum rearend would be longer than a 8.8 TC disc rearend? Thanks

Ronnie
1988 Tbird Stock bottom end 306, Windsor Jr's, Explorer intake, 125 shot.
Best ET: 12.11 Best MPH: 113.8 1/4 mile