10-bolt hubs vs D44 hubs

[campfire]

I'm confused on 10-bolt vs. D44 axles. I have read several places that 10-bolt outers and D44 outers are swappable. But when I look at the hubs on my spare D44 they're much shorter than the hubs on any of my 10-bolts.

Here is the 10-bolt on the front of my M1009 (1986):



Here is my spare D44 (1978-ish):



I'm having a hard time picturing the short-nosed D44 hub fitting onto my 10-bolt spindle. So...what all is swappable between these axles? Does the entire outer assembly swap between them? And are lockouts easily fitted to non-lockout D44 hubs?

I'm missing how these pieces are supposed to be interchangeable...

 

[1BEATK5]

8 lug axles are wider than 6 lug. The hub mounting point is offset different. Kind of like changing the back spacing of your wheels.
Also since the 6 lug has a locking hub and the 8 has a drive flange, it makes it look like its off even further. Optical illusion if you will.


Edit-I should say that the WMS of the 8 lug is wider. The housing is not

 

[dremu]

The outers are interchangeable, as mentioned, for 6-lug and 8-lug, but not inbetween. I forget about the spindles inside, though I seem to recall there being two styles of D44 ("early" and "late".)

Also note that there is "hub", that attaches to the brake rotor and has the lug studs through it, and "locking hub", that bolts into the end of the first one with the six allen head bolts.

The locking hubs are also interchangeable, and though you have two different brands/styles there they should interchange just fine.

Less confusing?

-- A

 

[kennyw]

You should just plan on exchanging all the parts from the knuckles out (including stub shafts) because the flat top knuckles used the smaller bearing with a different spindle/stub shaft. It will all bolt onto your 10 bolt without any issues.

You should be able to swap the lock-out hubs onto the D44 if you don't want the drive flanges though.

You also want to keep your current 10 bolt calipers since it uses a metric banjo bolt (they are a direct fit on the 8 lug backing plate).

 

[K588]

Kenny - you might know are the 10 bolt calipers the same between 1/2 and 3/4t 10 bolts ? I thought they were but also thought I read somewhere they were not.

 

[dremu]

Kenny - you might know are the 10 bolt calipers the same between 1/2 and 3/4t 10 bolts ? I thought they were but also thought I read somewhere they were not.

While interchangeable, 1/2 and 3/4 ton calipers are not the same.

Specifically, there are two or three different piston sizes, the 3/4's being bigger.

However, the casting is the same size and you can, should you so choose, use the one in place of the other. Just don't mix and match left and right as that's a guaranteed way to go in circles when you brake

-- A

 

[kennyw]

Kenny - you might know are the 10 bolt calipers the same between 1/2 and 3/4t 10 bolts ? I thought they were but also thought I read somewhere they were not.

They are nearly identical. The only difference being the piston bore size internally. You will be fine keeping your current calipers if they are in good shape.

If you ever need to replace them and want the larger bore caliper, then order the 3/4 ton version for your year truck to get the right thread on the banjo bolt.

 

[K588]

Thanks for the clarification on that

 

[6.2Blazer]

I believe the dimension in question is different because of the 6-lug vs. 8-lug hubs and not because of a 10-bolt vs. D44 thing. Measure from the center of the balljoint out to the end of the cast hub assembly and I bet they are the same. Pretty sure the difference is that the wheel mounting surface (where the wheel studs are) sticks out further on the 8-lug version and thus makes the "snout" look shorter. Combine that with the 6-lugs having the locking hubs that stick out even further than the flanges on the 8-lug and that is what you get.

As mentioned above you may just be able to pull the D44 hubs off and slap then on the 10-bolt but it depends on the D44 bearing style. There were certain earlier versions that used a smaller inner bearing that will not fit on the 10-bolt spindles, however I have heard that most 8-lug D44's used the same as the 10-bolt. I have also never heard of the stub shafts being different unless talking about a very early version D44 with the smaller u-joint. In any case if you have the two complete axles you can make the parts interchange and just a question as whether you need to swap the spindles or not.

 

[campfire]

Alright. This sounds more complicated than I had initially figured, but that should mean more fun!

The D44 has a lot of rust/parts aren't spinning or turning completely smoothly, but I can work on stripping it down. Just to prevent overworking the problem, does anybody know which years/styles of spindle are compatible with the 10-bolt (or how to identify such)? I haven't decided how, just yet, but somehow my 3.08 6-lug needs to become a 3.73 8-lug. May be easier to simply rebuild the entire D44 (losing swapability with the other trucks of its era...)

Will non-lockout-hubs accept lockouts? Sweetk30's D44 hubs (http://coloradok5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=315387) have bolt holes formed into the end of the hub. On mine it looks like the dust cap sits where the holes for the mounting bolts should be...

It may be easier for me to buy the hubs and swap them on directly (assuming they fit, of course)...

http://coloradok5.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=159806&stc=1&thumb=1&d=1401995368

 

[kennyw]

I have also never heard of the stub shafts being different unless talking about a very early version D44 with the smaller u-joint.

From what I have seen on here, they are different lengths and/or different snap ring grooves. Nothing else was different. It would be easy to measure before removing the axle joints to find out.