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3/4 ton axles?

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no1uknow

1/2 ton status
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Nov 10, 2004
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Southern Cali
Ok, I currently have the stock 10bolts on my 88 K5 with 2.73 gear ratio with 33s and no traction aid with 15" wheels anyway I obviously need to regear but I am a little tight on funds right now but I found a cheap set of axles d44/14bff combo with 4.10s for $300 which I think is a good deal anyway my question is, is there anyway I can make my wheels fit these diffs obviously mine are 6 lug and the diffs are 8 lugs since my wheel/tire combo are almost brand new and It would be cheaper for my to buy the r and p and a lsd than to buy a new wheel/tire combo. any ideas?
 
You would need new wheels.

Is it cheaper to spend money on new gears front and rear, install kits front and rear, and likely pay someone to install both (it's far from a simple remove and replace operation, shims/gear contact and bearing preloads need to be set very precisely)? Honestly you'll be over $1k going that route, and you still have an open diff in both axles and 10 bolts which may not be strong enough if you go to bigger tires later.

Going to the 3/4 ton axles, you can keep your current tires and get new wheels. It depends on which wheel and what backspacing you want but making 15" wheels clear 3/4 ton brakes isn't usually a huge deal. I've been through the same thing, that's how I ended up with 42" tires with an 8 lug 15" wheel :doah: (much harder to clear 1 ton brakes with a 15" wheel).

So, you can either:

Regear your 10 bolts which is $1K+ without a limited slip, keep your wheels

Buy the 3/4 ton axles, sell your wheels and buy new 8 lug ones (might be back a few hundred there, not sure what you have) and end up with a rear end you'll never have to upgrade, bigger brakes and end up costing you $600-800 with the gears you want.


We sell lots of ring and pinion sets and we don't sell used axles, so take my opinion for what it's worth :D
 
So I can make 8 lug 15" wheels fit on these diffs? Hmmm interesting since I do plan to get 35's when the 33's are done which will probably be in a few years since they only have a few hundred miles and they are used mostly in sand.........thanks
 
Yep, the front is where you'll have more issue than the rear. With 3/4 ton axles it usually isn't a huge deal if at all but that depends on the wheel and backspacing.

Lots of info out there on this stuff, google will help lots and joining/searching here will probably help more.
 
Summit is probably going to be the best price for 15" steel wheels in 8 lug. I looked at them, but since I plan to do a disc brake conversion on my 14bsf, I need to run 16" wheels.
 
I am looking at TSM's kit with 12 3/4" rotors. It might be possible to get 15's on to them, but they say it won't fit so I planned to move up to 16's when I do it.
 
lectric80 said:
I am looking at TSM's kit with 12 3/4" rotors. It might be possible to get 15's on to them, but they say it won't fit so I planned to move up to 16's when I do it.
Click to expand...


What's the application for those rotors?

Those would definitely be hard to fit with 15" wheels...
 
To be honest I don't know for sure. They don't list it on the site, so without knowing what the part number is it would be hard to know the actual application. I only really hit on theirs because it seems to be the only complete kit for an 8 lug 14bsf that I have found so far. Cost is a bit high, but with new eldorado calipers and the kit, I think it is worth the cost for the better braking.
 
no1uknow said:
any idea on the bolt pattern for them 8 lug 15s?
Click to expand...

Bite the bullet. Sell the wheels/tires you have now. Upgrade to 16 or 17" 8 lug wheels with the 3/4 tons. Heck, you can find used sets of H2 wheels at fairly decent prices, or just buy a set of new steel wheels from Summit. Yes, you will have to buy new tires but new tires are never a bad thing. Don't get stuck in the 15" 8 lug vortex of terror.
 
thanks for the bolt pattern.....I do plan to upgrade to a bigger wheel like a 17 but at the time I am limited on funds so if I could score an inexpensive set of steel wheels that are 15 will give me a couple of years to save and get me a nice wheel/tire combo.........
 
Don't go with more than 4.25" These will require some grinding.

3.5-3.75 a little bit of grinding.

2.75 pretty much no grinding

The 4.25 and the 2.75 are the most common ones you will find.

But remember as you go with less backspacing yes there is less grinding to make them work, but it sets your tires out more and causes the ball joints and wheel bearings to wear a bit quicker.

Also not sure how the locals are about fender flares/mudflaps, but 2.75 will get their attention if they are Nazis about it.

2.75 looks better in my opinion and gives these trucks a cool stance, but the drawbacks are listed above.
 
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