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3/4ton or 1ton in mud?

muddybuddy

muddybuddy

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hey guys, ive got gears and a locker to do 3/4ton. currently its still on 10b f/r. i was wondering if 3/4ton would be strong enough for the mud, or should i look for a dana 60? the truck is 8" lift and 35s, and i plan to keep 35s. i kind of want to lock the front but dont trust a 10b locked up. what would you do?
 
drive it carefully, and see what it will (or wont) do.

keep you eyes out for a 60 or a 60 equiped truck (part the rest)

could always throw the locker in and buy u joint on sale and stock up, even if you get a 60 a good used 10 bolt locker will sell good here.

its all in how you drive it, 35 and mud i dont see a problem at all.
 
ya that was kind of my thinking, because ive already got all the 10b stuff, and ive had it up for sale on here and some lookers, but none serious....if i do lock it up or even put a limited slip, will i be able to get most of my money back out of it if i find a dana 60?
 
For strict mud, a lot of local guys run 3/4 ton over 1 ton, even on bigger tires. Some of the reasoning for that is cost, but a fair amount of people have told me that they run a smaller axle up front to try and lessen drag up front from the mud. On 35s you'll be fine, just don't get too insane.
 
so even if i put a posi or locker in there, i will probably still be ok? i dont wanna break axle-shafts or anything if i can avoid it
 
You guys must have had better luck than most of us. Have seen a couple guys try limited slips in the front of 10bolts, broken axle shafts quite often. I know a few that mud drag and run 1/2 ton fronts, just for weight. But they got tired of constantly breaking and now have alloy shafts and spools.

Running 35-36x12.50s I've seen many axle shafts, u-joints, R&Ps and even busted carriers. Most of this was on trail rides, non-competitive bogs. Some get lucky, some don't. Seen them last fairly long at times with 38-40s(non-big block), but not with LSDs.
 
Most of the guys I know that race mud and have tires in that range are using 1/2 and 3/4 ton stuff. Very few if any actually have 1 ton. Lot of weight reduction which helps in the mud plus your spinning straight line. Easier on parts than having gobs of traction and torque on the other side. Just for an FYI one guy I know built his transfercase out of a couple hanger bearings, single row sprockets and I think he said #60 roller chain. He's been hitting it hard for years with quite a few ponies and its still together. Oh, almost forgot the sprockets are held on the shaft with a single 1/4" key.

Mud is usually nicer for drivetrain parts. I think you'll be OK with 3/4 ton. Just my .02.
 
drove 70 miles to watch a mud bogg tonight... it was AWSOME.. anyway, there was a fellow there that had a WICKED truck... it flew threw the deep mud pit in only a few seconds.. I talked to the fellow and he said it was a 612 motor pushing a little over 1000 hp (hearing the beast run, I certainly believe it).. it had about 40's on it... he was selling gumbo mudders he used to have on the front because he said they were too agressive and liked to break shafts.. but he's been doing plenty of 1000hp runs with big tires with no brakage.... I asked him what front axle he had, expecting to hear Dana 60... he answer a GM corporate 10 bolt.. :bow:
 
You're kind of in that "no mans land" area with your tire size.....


You may break a few parts on a 10 bolt but the tires aren't quite large enough to make a D60 an obvious answer.

My strategy would be to run the 10 bolt (and carry a few spare shafts and joints) and see how often you break. As I'm sure you know, driving style makes a difference too. If you are only occasionally fragging parts, you could probably make a few select upgrades to shafts and maybe go the CTM route.

If the breakage is non-stop, you might have to acknowledge that the 10B isn't going to get you where you want to be strength-wise and start the process of looking for the 60.
 
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