10Bolts ?? Dilemma...

[njonl]

I am not sure what to do. Help me out here. I have stock 10 bolts now. I have tires and a lift for my truck but I am strapped for cash at the moment. I have a set of 36" Iroks and a skyjacker 6" lift. I don't really want to buy wheels if I go to 8 lug. So.. my dilemma... I could have a 14 bolt tomorrow but then I would have to get new wheels right ?? Or... I could gear my ten bolts. I do MILD 4-wheeling.. mostly mud. Some trails. Mostly trailering and going to and from work and school. What should I do ? Give me your opinions..

 

[down4thakrown]

If you could afford the stuff to swap to the 8 lug i would.
its only a matter of time before your rear end will go. Also for as much as it would take to get it home and replaced you would be wishing that you would of spent the little extra $

 

[retroblazer]

Put the tires and kit on now. Wheel what you have, but if you really rely on this truck as a driver, be prepared for the consequenses of doing it half-assed. Gearing and braking are two things that come to mind that you will deal with everytime you drive. If you're just driving around town, it won't be a big deal, but a lot of stop and go traffic wouldn't be fun. My question is, are you really sure that you know what the real cost of doing this lift is?Have you priced in driveshaft mods? A set of steel wagon wheels are pretty cheap, so if the wheels are stopping the process, I'd have to say I'd wait. /forums/images/graemlins/thinking.gif

 

[Hossbaby50]

Be prepared to roast expensive transmissions if you dont have a good gear ratio too. with 36's you need at least 4.10's with a 700R4. I wouldn't be using OD alot except on the highway at higher speed.

The 10 bolt rear will be highly taxed with 36's. If it is a govlocked axle you better be prepared to break the govlock. I broke mine 10 bolt govlock with 32's on the street.

Do good maintainence on the front axle and the 36's will be ok up there for awhile. It is possible to break parts up there too. So keep that in mind. Skinny pedal is bad with 36's and 1/2 ton stuff.

Harley

 

[bigredk5blazer]

The key to making the 1/2 ton stuff live is proper maintence and quality parts. If you're just looking for easy bolt ins then go with a 14 bolt rear and a D60 front from a 1-ton truck. It doesn't get much easier.

If you plan to keep the 1/2 ton 10-bolts then be ready to do some work to make them durable. Definately go with 4.10s or even 4.56s with 36" tires. 30 spline axels for the rear are a good upgrade for trucks with 28 spline rears stock. A Warn full float kit will greatly increase strength too, plus if you do snap a shaft you don't have to worry about it walking out of the tube. If the rear's got a lot of miles on it and you just want it to live for a while open it up and replace the spider gears. They are notorious for failure on high mileage rears. They also tend to fail catastrophically and take the whole rear with them, or even lock up the rear if the cross pin falls out.

The front is tougher than the rear. The u-joints are probably the front's weakest link. Aftermarket shafts with 760 joints are a great upgrade. The stock 297 joint is failure prone. If you must run them I would recommend changing them after every third time wheeling. When the u-joint fails it often takes the axel with it, and can even crack the differential inside the axel bore.

The trans won't like your new additions either if it's a 700R4. They can be built to live, but most people don't know how to do it. Most shops just treat them like a 350 or a 400, and don't know the nuances of the 700R4. If you need help in this area just ask and I can give you some advice. The overdrive gear is great if you do a lot of highway driving.

 

[Hossbaby50]

If you can't get 760's then run the standard non greaseable joint. The joint itslef doesn't usually fail, the caps walk out of the axleshaft because the snaprings work themselves out. When this happens then the joint fails then the axles are trash too. The inner axleshaft near the splines and the ujoints usually fail first.

The answer for the cap walk problem is to use full circle snap rings (must machine out clearence) or to tack weld the caps into the axleshafts. I have done this and I have been ok threw about 5 runs in the rocks.

The other major concern about ujiont failure is if it fails it can destroy the axleshafts and then the axleshafts can shear the ball joints. When this happens your tire will fall off. Doesn't happen often but it can.

30 spline rear axles can be a benefit in the rear 10 bolt but only if you add in a differential that replaces the stock carrier. Stock 30 spline carriers are weaker then 28 spline carriers. Govlocks are weak in general.

Harley