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10 bolt chromoly front axle shafts...???

If you find a set of 30-spline stock shafts, those could be your spares for RCVs, but it seems more likely you would blow the hubs or the ring and pinion. So maybe stick with cheap hubs? 2x the strength of stock axles must be as strong as D60, except you have all the other weak links.

I am very curious how much nicer it would drive with CVs during tight turns.
 
Kind of diluting the thread I suppose, but when 10 bolt front axle shafts break, is it often/normally at the u-joint?

Isn't a u-joint in the front axle (when turned) seeing a lot of stress in 4wd since it's not paired with an opposite angle joint like a driveshaft?
 
Most common fail point is the stub-joint area, followed by the end of the spline at the carrier

Most common event to break is during backing with the wheels turned, second being hard pull with some bounce
 
First failure on my D44. Keep this in mind, the outers are the same between the D44 and 10b. This was the pass side outer.
35411090305_4d92967ce5_c.jpg


Driver side. Took out the inner and outer.
40893514020_45f495859b_c.jpg



Blazer Bash carnage (pass side outer and inner):
48801594776_ef8d8f4a47_c.jpg


I can pretty much confirm every time I've had a break I was backing up. First pic I got stuck in sand and had to back out. Second pic was also in sand and had to back out. Third was on slickrock/dirt and I got hung up moving forward and had to back up to reposition.

I'm running a Tru-trac helical limited slip that is pretty tight which did contribute to my shaft's demise.
 
ZooMad75 said:
First failure on my D44. Keep this in mind, the outers are the same between the D44 and 10b. This was the pass side outer.
35411090305_4d92967ce5_c.jpg


Driver side. Took out the inner and outer.
40893514020_45f495859b_c.jpg



Blazer Bash carnage (pass side outer and inner):
48801594776_ef8d8f4a47_c.jpg


I can pretty much confirm every time I've had a break I was backing up. First pic I got stuck in sand and had to back out. Second pic was also in sand and had to back out. Third was on slickrock/dirt and I got hung up moving forward and had to back up to reposition.

I'm running a Tru-trac helical limited slip that is pretty tight which did contribute to my shaft's demise.
Click to expand...
It's amazing to me that your breakage occured in the sand . I have always thought of sand as a more forgiving terrain.
 
Cheavyk10 said:
It's amazing to me that your breakage occured in the sand . I have always thought of sand as a more forgiving terrain.
Click to expand...
After the second time, it sure made me leery of it. But each time I had buried the front end and had to go back to get out. I was never deep enough to require help to get extracted in either situation.

I honestly feel that the tight Tru-trac and shift to reverse with the 700r4 allowed a quick release of torque when the change in direction happened. On last year's desert trip we retraced our steps on the trail I broke the passenger side shaft on in '17. A large chunk of the Eva Conover trail is a dry riverbed. I didn't get stuck, but the plan was to put the t-case in neutral prior to shifting to reverse. The idea was to disconnect the driveline from the auto trans as the torque converter could be holding a slight amount of torque on the system. It was our theory at least.

The switch to a manual trans in my truck negates the idea of going to neutral at the t-case since I have to use the clutch to go from a forward gear to reverse.
 
Honestly going with a Truetrac in front is the reason I've started considering axleshafts. Watched a video the other day with a guy who broke something with a Truetrac in conditions that certainly weren't extreme, some overlanding truck just going up a small obstacle.

Made me start considering the stress I assume the entire shaft is under since there is no CV joint. Makes those $1400 shafts seem like a decent idea, except that making something else the weak link may not be that great.
 
I think it's crazy to spend $1,500 on RCV axleshafts for a 10-bolt, and now you have to deal with breaking the R&P, carrier, locking hubs, knuckles, ball joints, etc.... I'll take a D60 with a drop-in locker (Lock-right, etc...), stock inner shafts, Spicer u-joints, and 35 spline stubs and hubs any day over a fully blinged out 10-bolt or D44. I bought a complete running K30 farm truck (though completely rusted out) for $750. Pulled the D60 front out and sold the 350 engine, trans and transfer case for about the same money. Put a Lock-right, factory Spicer non-necked inners, Spicer joints, and 35-spline stubs and flanges on it and beat on it for years with 40" tires with no failures. A buddy of mine has probably sold 20-30 D60's (kingpin versions from the 70's and 80's) over the years. Usually got around $500-$600 for a Chevy or Dodge version, and maybe $750 for the desirable high pinion Ford '78-'79 era.....that's assuming he didn't want to wait 12+ months to get them sold. From my experience the only high price D60's are if you strictly go through Rockcrawler sites that know what they are. If you go to junkyards and farming communities it's a different story.

Factory 30-spline front 10-bolts were only offered from '89-'91 on K5's and Suburbans so they are pretty rare. Every other front 10-bolt from when they were introduced in the late-70's to '88 had 28 bolt shafts. They are also different than the 30-spline D44 shafts, both in length and spline pitch, so they do not interchange. I know they are rare for a fact because I have a '90 with 30-spline shafts and had to search far and wide 15 years ago to find a couple sets of spares. Can't imagine what it would be like now trying to track some down.
 
You can convert a 28-spline carrier to 30-spline by opening up the end holes and replacing the spider gears. But at the point of getting RCVs, you would likely just use an aftermarket carrier. AFAIK you can still get new stock replacement and chromeoly versions in 30-spline.
 
For those following along, I decided just to carry two sets of spare stock shafts w/ spicer 760x u joints. I got a good deal on them at a local junkyard. I just can't justify the cost of the chromo shafts factored in with a carrier replacement. Wish me luck haha!!
 
keep wheel hop to min / no hard power under heavy turns and backing you should be fine .

i have a friend who use to run 38x12.50 swamper tsl tires and he went threw 10 used sbc engines 1 mud / trail / poker run season . but he hardly popped a shaft . it was mostly the cheepy u-joints back in the day unlike our spicers we have now .
 
I've read that some jeep guys sleeve their front axles for strength.

Anyone try that with a 10 bolt? I'd jump on a 60 if I could find one that wasn't stoopld expensive...

Those rcs axles are nice, but its crazy to spend that much on a 10bolt with its other issues...thin tube walls, weak inner c's.

I guess you can truss it like Adam's rig. Wade catches air with his d44 front, and my old boss had that 1200 horse Ramcharger that ran the mud drags on 2 wheels with ag tires. With a d44...in the air.
 
Cheavyk10 said:
$1500!! :yikes:
Click to expand...
And worth every penny, because they solve the real issue, when turning under power on a regular shaft you are stretching the ears, that's why people upgrade to a d60, it's thicker and stronger, but it still breaks under power.
The cv style and chromoly makes a 10 bolt survive
 
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