Thats a pretty good deal on the housing. I also like the 8.8 inch housing because it weighs less than the 9 inch. Less unsprung weight the suspension has to control. As far as the axle retainers Ive never seen one let go. Not saying it hasnt but its pretty rare. You would have to have some serious horespower issues to snap the four bolts that hold the retaining plate to the housing. I feel better about this setup than your average 10 or 12 bolt gm. They have little c clips that slide in to a groove on the end of the axle. They dont even bolt in. We built a truck about 6-7 years ago called the Princess and it has the ford explorer style brakes with the axle retaining plates. The truck has over 1200 horespower. The customer still drives it today and has never experienced any problems keeping the axles in place. You could get a thicker retainer plate, but I wouldnt waste my time if your under 1,000 horespower.
