Strengthening the Housing
Throwing the strongest axles, gears, studs, and other parts into the 8.8 will help it live behind the power made by your engine, but making sure the housing lives is another thing. Adding a rear cover and rearend bracing will help keep the housing from failing. There are other things you can do to the housing, too (see "Weld It Up" sidebar).
According to Tim Frey of Strange Engineering, many times two of the best things you can do to upgrade the strength and reliability of the 8.8 housing are to add weld-on ends and weld the axle tubes to the pumpkin, or centersection, of the rear. "There is no determining factor or horsepower rating that I have seen to tell whether or not strengthening the housing is needed," Frey says. "It can't hurt, however."
One of the more common ways to strengthen the housing is by welding the axle tubes to the pumpkin. "This will aid in strengthening the housing," Frey says. You can remove the rear from the vehicle and have the rear set up in a jig, which holds the rear in a straight position while it is welded, or it can be done in the car. Using a jig is the preferred method. When welding the rear in the car, do only a small area at a time and allow the rear to cool, as this prevents the rear from warping. Another way to strengthen the housing is to add weld-on ends that utilize a 9-inch bearing instead of the standard 8.8-inch bearing. Obviously, running the larger bearings means less chance of bearing failure as the larger bearing will be able to absorb more punishment.