10 Bolt

[jsasada81]

WAIT! Before someone gets on me for not using the search feature...I have, and could not find my answer directly.

This newbie thanks you for your patience.

I recently purchased a 1988 Jimmy. It was used as an engineering vehicle at the airport I work at. Only 89,xxx original miles.

Here is my question. I am ready to buy a 6" BDS all spring lift. I have already purchased rims (15x10) and tires (35" BF MT's)

After spending an unhealthy amount of time on this site and seeing that I am about to spend big $$ on a quality lift, I am getting nervous that my 10 bolts (front and rear) will not hold up with 35's.

My question is this. How weak are they really? Am I going to snap an axle shaft just from riding a trail, spinning the tires a bit or climbing a small hill? I can see rock crawling or suddenly "hooking up" with hard ground and shocking the axles. What about easy trail riding, hill climbing, and some mud? I just need an honest answer with some examples of what I can and cannot get away with. I know it depends on the driver, etc. Can someone give me some real world expectations for this setup?

Thank you kindly

 

[Hogback Fabrication]

You don't have to be hard on it to break a shaft, I've seen lots of shafts simply pop while the truck was just crawling.

I think you're worrying too much. Buy a spare rear axle shaft for each side and wheel it. If you start breaking stuff, then you can start thinking about upgrading.

I know many people that successfully run 35-37" tires with success on 10 bolts.

 

[abig84]

i have ran 10 bolts for like 5-6 years with 38 inch tires. they have outlasted 3 trucks and are still going strong under a SFA s10 blazer. you just have to ease into the throttle and ease off. dont go bouncing up no rocks. but for hills and mud youll do fine.

i did break one front axle shaft doing a 4low burn out on gravel while they were under the suburban

id say about once a year i had to replace ball joints, and i would randomly crack a outer wheel bearing. but i never got stranded cause of them.

 

[AJMBLAZER]

If you're going to be regearing to accommodate those big tires (hint hint) then you might be money ahead to try and find some 3/4 ton axles with a better gear ratio (4.10's).

 

[Blue85]

There's nothing stopping you from running what you've got. Eventually you will realize that you need lower gears. If you're lucky enough to have 3.73 you can probably get by. If you have something like 3.08 you'll have to use "D" instead of "OD".

To go 8-lug now would mean selling those new wheels. You should upgrade the axles when you want lower gears. In my experience, 10-bolts with higher gears are cheap to free, but the lower gears are hard to come by. At that point you can go 3/4-ton for about the same money (not counting the wheels). To re-gear the axles is like $500 to do yourself (tricky) or $800+ at a shop, so you can see that swapping axles makes sense.

 

[abig84]

If you're lucky enough to have 3.73 you can probably get by.

thats what i have, i think thats half the reason they lasted so long. most people i know who put 4.56s into 10 bolts end up blowing them up cause the teeth are smaller