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3/4 ton rears and options

slyguy_22

slyguy_22

1/2 ton status
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ok i have a set of 3/4 ton rears d44 & 14sf. that i figured i would swap into my blazer. i was thinking that i would leave the front rear open and get a spool for the 14sf. thoughts opinions? Also was thinking that i would like to upgrade the front and add hydro assist. anyone do this on a d44? can it be done? i will be running 38.5 boggers on this setup and will be ocassionally driven on the road and such. also have 35's that i can put on for street driving just need to get some 15x10 8 lug rims. Thanks for any input.
 
Was that a front rear, or a rear front :doah: Just giving you a hard time, just find it amusing when people use the term "rear", than say it goes in the front....

Anyway,

1. Are you sure it's a D44 and not a 10-bolt? The reason I ask is that if the axles came out of the same truck, then there was never a factory offered D44 front/14SF rear combo...at least that I know of. Not that it makes much difference as a D44 and 10-bolt are pretty much equal, but if you are ordering parts in the future it could make a difference.

2. 38.5's are pushing it for that front axle. If you keep it open and are not stupid with the throttle (especially with the wheels turned) it may be able to survive to a certain degree.

3. The 14SF is a decent rear axle, though I always have to question whether or not you should use it or just get a 14FF and be done with it. I guess if you were sticking with a D44 or 10-bolt front you should always break the front before you would break the rear.
 
As far as i understand all the 3/4 ton trucks & burbs came with the d44/14sf - 14ff from 73-79/80 then they switched the front rears to 10 bolts thru 91. The front axle is a d44 and the rear axle is a 14sf. i got them for free so i figure it will be a better setup then what i have now. I have a dana 44 up front and a 10 bolt axle in the rear. Ive run them with 38 boggers and had no problems (other than the driveshaft i broke) turned out to be defective. So basically i will have a stronger rear (back axle) and they'll all be 8 lug to keep things simple. plus the 3/4 ton rears i have a 4.11 gears.
 
Your history is a little off.

I don't believe they started using the 14SF until the early '80's, at which time 3/4 tons could have either the 14SF or 14FF rear axle. Dana 44 fronts (it's not a "rear" if it's in the "front"!) were used up until the late-70's, then they switched to 10-bolts.

Therefore a factory D44 front / 14SF rear was never offered from the factory to the best of my knowledge.

I won't say that you did not find this combo out of a truck, but it's really common to find parts previously swapped around especially when you start looking at 20-30 year old vehicles that are so common and parts are easily interchangeable.
 
post pics, we'll tell you for sure. that combo was not offered. if that's what you have, someone swapped something around. do they have the same ratio?

6.2blazer-- the front rear kills me too.
 
You know i didnt think about it till i read your post, the rear axle is probly a dana 60sf. i know its def not a dana 70. ill have to checkout the cover bolt pattern. Yeah sorry im a tard sometimes. I meant that the d44/d60 combo till 79/80 then it switched to 10b/14sf-14ff. My bad. the dana 60's were offered in both sf & ff? Fords also used the dana 60ff in the mid 80's. hum i do have one of them down at the shop also. but as for the rears in the pickup they are matching gears the truck is a 77-78 K20 so whatever they came factory with & the rear axle is a semifloater.
 
Ok what rears did they use then? I know they didnt use 12b or 10b. so what were they?
 
front rear? lol 14 bolts all full float up till like 80 or so? then after that the 20s got the semi floats
 
6.2Blazer said:
Your history is a little off.

I don't believe they started using the 14SF until the early '80's, at which time 3/4 tons could have either the 14SF or 14FF rear axle. Dana 44 fronts (it's not a "rear" if it's in the "front"!) were used up until the late-70's, then they switched to 10-bolts.

Therefore a factory D44 front / 14SF rear was never offered from the factory to the best of my knowledge.

Check the technical section on the home page. 14ff/sf were from 73-87 3/4 ton and they acctually used them up threw the 90's. so yes i was correct in that it is a dana 44 / 14sf. You guys had me so confused:eek1: Got me thinkin i was retarded or something. any how the reason i posted this was to see what if any hydro assit units they made for the front axles. i know they make them for sure for the dana 60's but i wasnt sure if they had any setups for the d44/10b axles. If so does anyone have a setup and how do they like it.
Click to expand...
 
slyguy_22 said:
Check the technical section on the home page. 14ff/sf were from 73-87 3/4 ton and they acctually used them up threw the 90's. so yes i was correct in that it is a dana 44 / 14sf. You guys had me so confused:eek1: Got me thinkin i was retarded or something. any how the reason i posted this was to see what if any hydro assit units they made for the front axles. i know they make them for sure for the dana 60's but i wasnt sure if they had any setups for the d44/10b axles. If so does anyone have a setup and how do they like it.
Click to expand...

The technical section is full of errors that don't get fixed, what these guys are telling you is likely correct.

You can have hydro assist with a dana 44/10 bolt, they use a 6" stroke ram instead of the 8" ram that D60's use. You need to have crossover steering before you add hydro assist.
 
Yeah i finally found some info i can use. Thanks. How strong is the crossover steering in a d44/10 front axle? i would assume that i would have more problems running crossover steering with hydro assist than i would without the hydro assist. Do you have a d44/10 hydro assist setup? do you like it?
 
yeah i got a camera if i remember this weekend ill take it along to the garage and snap a couple pics.
 
The weakest part in the 10b 44 crossover is the studs. I had enough lift at one time that I put a spacer in between the steering arm and the knuckle. I broke the studs more than once. Try not to run a spacer get a northwest fab arm
 
slyguy_22 said:
Yeah i finally found some info i can use. Thanks. How strong is the crossover steering in a d44/10 front axle? i would assume that i would have more problems running crossover steering with hydro assist than i would without the hydro assist. Do you have a d44/10 hydro assist setup? do you like it?
Click to expand...

I have crossover and hydro assist but on a D60.

With a dana 44 front its pretty unlikely that the steering will be the weak point.

crossover = fine
crossover w/ hydro assist = fine
hydro assist without crossover = steering box being torn from the frame.
 
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