10 bolt Q?s

[DR]

Whats everyones opinions on beefing up 10bolts to keep good ground clearence? As of now, I have a built th400 with a 208 and soon to be tbi vortec. Im running 373 gears and 35" tires. Im thinking of going with 456s stronger shafts, and some type of selectable locker. It is somewhat of a daily driver, and the 4wheelin does get to be enough where I could sure use lockers... but not quite rock buggy hard core. ( if that makes since) Any thoughts?

Also, I heard there is a kit that will allow you to use a bolt on the wheel end of the axle shafts IE 9" style. Any one know of such a kit?

Thanks all!

 

[pauly383]

Moderate wheeling , finesse style of driving , and carrying spare shafts will let you wheel a 10 bolt with 35's .

Lots of AZ boys running 1/2 ton gear . The 14 bolts aren't needed until you are really crawling .

No dice on kits anymore , was a full float kit from Warn , but it was pricey and dropped from their line .

 

[DR]

Cool, thats what I was hoping to hear! Any thoughts on a good gear vendor?

 

[pauly383]

Richmond has always made good gears .

I have Yukons in my 12 bolt , and they are holding up , although I have heard some quality problems with their axleshafts lately .

 

[obijuan]

i really like mine and its pretty much a street queen 350 days of the year. i dont have upgraded shafts but i dont have the g80 carrier anymore and i bet that helps alot. ive done a little rock stuff but not really anything crazy, not really what i like. so far i hav ebeen very pleased with my axles.

 

[badmix]

Ihave beefed up 10b. Yukon Axles, Loc Rite locker, 4:10s, all new seals and bearings. I dont wheel too hard but I feel its pretty durable. Im running 33s.

I agree that you do have to know its limits and dont think its bulletproof. be easy on the skinny pedal and you should be fine.

SHots of muah blazer.

 

[obijuan]

oh! ill play!

 

[AZ79K5Project]

I'm running 33's with upgraded axle shafts 3.73's 10B/12B. Lockrite in the front and saving for the Richmond Powertrax for the rear.

It's easy to jump onto the D60/14bff train.

You are going to have more torque going to the tires with 4.56's. Be careful and be aware of the tire size limit and getting the tires bound up. You should be fine though.

I would consider going to the the 1 ton stuff if you plan on running larger tires or any taller gearing.

just my $0.02

 

[pauly383]

Forgot about that , once you have the leverage of gears with the large tires , axlewrap comes into play . I have it now , not too bad with a 305 , but I figure on getting a wrap bar .

 

[DR]

Yea, my thinking is that with the lower gears I can use less throtle and hopefully make my equipment last a little longer. I know it feels like I lost a lot going from the 33s to the 35s.

 

[GEORGIA GABE]

You can make a 10 bolt last for a while with big tires... I ran 42Iroks on my front ten bolt for a while... you just have to get used to swapping axles pretty regular. In the rear I would find a 12bolt or Semi float 14 bolt rear before you spend money regearing the 10 bolt. Remember though there is a reason people say go 1 ton... I spent alot more money by building my truck slowly then I would have If I had just ponied up and did the 1tons.
gabe...

also let me look around, I might just have what you need to regear and lock the front axle. Its always cheaper to find deals on used stuff from people who have upgraded.

 

[DR]

Yea for sure. Let me know.

 

[Stumpuller]

the 10 bolt in my 87 puked its guts out towing a VW pipe buggy home ... with no engine!

i know it may have been ready to come out or not but still, i didnt look good sitting along the road in febuary getting a quicke rear end job to make it home.

 

[supersize75k5]

Forgot about that , once you have the leverage of gears with the large tires , axlewrap comes into play . I have it now , not too bad with a 305 , but I figure on getting a wrap bar .

soon as you loose your axel wrap you will feel that torque monster 305 motor put the power down.. little traction and sh!t will be popin!

pop..

 

[Gaffed]

You can probably go 1-tons for about the price of upgrading your 10-bolts.

think front and rear

$600+ for diff's
$280ish for gears
$250 rebuild kits w/bearings
$500+ installation
$500 for axles

Once I get my 3/4 tons sold, I'm going to start building towards 1-tons.

 

[Thunder]

I run 10b/33" MTs locked front and rear with no problems other than wearing out U joints faster.. Yukon 30 spline axles in front, Stock 30 spline in the rear. I got tired of my detroit's street manners so I put a rebuilt gov bomb in the back. I really like the combo. Great street manners espically on snow and ice. Goes anywhere off road.