10bolt beefup

[stumpbuster]

runnin 40's on my FRONT 3/4 ton 10bolt now, and was wonderin what i can do to strengthen it.

any of these good ideas?:

-chrom moly shafts
-u-joints
-truss

*I DO NOT WANT TO GO FOR A DANA 60, THE CHEAPEST ONE AROUND HERE ARE $700 AND I DONT WANT TO SPEND THAT MONEY.

 

[thedrip]

You're going to spend that money in parts to hop up the 10bolt, but if you insist. *GOOD* balljoints. Plan on replacing those often (few thousand miles). Chrome moly shafts, upgrade ujoints, truss, leave the differential open.

 

[stumpbuster]

so pretty much all the stuff i mentioned.
ok, well that would be about 1/2 the amount of money of the dana 60.

jus wasnt sure how much the chromoly helps, or is the high tensile steel a bunch of HYPE

 

[owenst7]

so pretty much all the stuff i mentioned.
ok, well that would be about 1/2 the amount of money of the dana 60.

jus wasnt sure how much the chromoly helps, or is the high tensile steel a bunch of HYPE

4130 Alloy is much more durable than the stock shafts. If you have a big enough junkyard nearby you could probably run stock shafts and carry lots of spares though. Be prepared to tear that thing down every couple runs . I'm not sure I'd run CTM ujoints though because they will probably make the ears of your shafts fail. I would think snapping a ujoint would be better than replacing the whole shaft.

Personally I'd run 37"s and use the money I saved on 40"s and building a 10 bolt to acquire a D60. Or, just run 37"s. If you drive in mud with a lot of wheelspin, just forget it. Every time you catch traction you will grenade something.

I know you said you didn't wanna hear it but come on, we've all been in your position before too $700 isn't bad for a D60 either, I just paid $1200 for my one tons. Crossover steering can be cheaper for a D60 for a lot of people, that was a big reason why I stepped up to it.

 

[stumpbuster]

oy veh guess there no easy way.. nor do i have that kinda cash

 

[Big Blzn]

If you can get chromo shafts and CTM joints all for less than $700 I'd like to see the receipt. Not gonna happen.

Question about this: If you get all the best shafts and joints what about the spider gears in the carrier. The are still stock, won't they just fail quickly too?

Might as well get the 60.

 

[owenst7]

oy veh guess there no easy way.. nor do i have that kinda cash

Take this going from a kid supporting himself through college at the moment:
Don't run 40"s yet! But if you already have them, leave the front open and forget putting money into it. Replace parts from junkyards as much as possible, get the cheap chinese lifetime warranty parts from your local "parts" store (Kragen, Shucks, Vatozone..). If you don't have crossover already, I'd say leave your swaybar on and run stock steering. No sense in buying a D44 steering arm, you'll have trouble selling it for much later.

Keep a really close eye on your steering arm studs. If they loosen at all, they will shear and you will most likely have to replace the knuckle (ask me how I know! ).

Check junkyard rigs for aftermarket parts. The Pick N Pulls around me have tons of GMs with 4-6" lifts (not good ones), but you can snag blocks, steering arms, pitman arms, etc. and get them for stupid cheap.

I have a bunch of 1/2 ton stuff left over, including a 4" push-pull steering arm. I'm sure there's tons of people on here like myself that would send you their old 1/2 - 3/4 ton scraps for the cost of the shipping.

Question about this: If you get all the best shafts and joints what about the spider gears in the carrier. The are still stock, won't they just fail quickly too?

Any damage to the carrier is most likely going to cost you a lot more money than shafts/ujoints and will most certainly be more involved and require purchasing a few more tools. Great thing is a 60 swap when you already have an 8 lug rear is cake, other than wrestling the heavy f***er under there. Just did mine last night. I will say that it really blows when the smallest rollers you have around are 35"s and you only have 24" jackstands.

 

[dhcomp]

IF you decide to upgrade, i agree leave a stock part in there as a fuse.

I suggest ujoints. Basically, leave something easy to replace as the weak link. Then carry spares.

But i agree with the "Don't run 40's yet" statement.

 

[mnstrburbon]

42"s and 3 years no breakage i run sand and trails .
There are a couple things that i think have kept mine from breaking. keep the wheel straight when Wheeling it hard. Don't crank the wheel one direction and hammer it down get the front hopping and bouncing it will break and so will a 60. Get a rear locker and run 2x unless you get stuck or cant make it then put it in 4x, you can go alot of places in 2x locker.

 

[owenst7]

Get a rear locker

Good advice. This will take a lot of strain off the front like you said.

Stumpbuster:
Is this your DD? Could you get away with a welded rear? If not, maybe invest in a Detroit (if your rear is a 14bff they're like 300-400 I think).