Axle a wheel interchangability

[brett37]

I read a article where they took an 83 Chevy blazer and upgraded the rear 10 bolt to a 14 bolt semi float from an 88 and up donor truck. They said these axles where in light GVW 3/4 ton trucks. The article said it was a complete bolt in job except for u-joint.

My friend now says they are different and the wheels wont interchange on his 6 lug trailer where he had the old six lug Chevy rim on his trailer and then tried to bolt on the newer rim to his trailer and it was a no go.

I was planning the axle swap to upgrade my rear axle in my blazer since it has the 6.2 and I plan to do some hard 4x4.


QUESTION: Will the rims of the 83 blazer bolt on the newer 14 bolt semi float 88 and up axle?

Don't want to buy axle and find out the expensive way I have a problem.

 

[sweetk30]

dont know what he has going on but ? somthins funny.

old rims = bigger hub hole and will bolt on to newer 6 bolt.

newer rims = hub centric smaller hole and will not bolt to older axle.

and your upgrade will only be from 8.5 ring gear to 9.5 ring gear. still c clip axles and carrier known to have problems in stock open style on right side eating out the hole for the side gear. i have seen a few in my time. easy fix tho. just swap in a detroit for around 550ish.

but this is all up to you. good luck.

 

[Desert Yeti]

There's a lot going on here, so one thing at a time:

First some '88+ light duty 3/4 ton trucks came with a 6 lug 14 bolt semi-float (9.5 inch ring gear) rear axle. Any 6 on 5.5 lug wheel will bolt to these axles.

Swapping one of these into an '83 Blazer is not a bolt-in however. I think the spring perches have to be moved. I think the shock mounts may be different too, but don't know that for a fact. It's still not a difficult job, but it's not bolt-in either.

There are semi-float 14 bolts that came in the pre-88 trucks, but to my knowledge, all of them are 8 lug.

There's no such animal as a 6 lug 14 bolt FULL FLOATER (10.5 inch ring gear) although there was an aftermarket company making conversions for a while that were way pricey.

In my opinion, the only way a 14 bolt semi-floater (SF) makes sense is if:
A) the axle is free and doesn't need any work
and
B) You're really attached to your 6 lug wheels. I was in this boat last year and finally decided it just made more sense to suck it up, sell my awesome aluminum beadlock 6 lug wheels and buy cheap black 8 lug steelies to do the axle swap.

As incentive to go 8 lug, if you get a 14 bolt full floater donor axle out of a 73-87 3/4 ton truck (rather than 1 ton), it really will bolt right in to your '83. Just a couple of hours of work with hand tools, jack, and jack stands. There are some conflicts with how the parking brake cable is set up on some years (not sure of the change-over) but the whole thing really is super easy for the peace of mind that comes with running a full-float axle with a monster ring gear.

Hope this helps!

 

[Matt J.]

I'll take a pic of my rear axle tonight. I have the Light Duty 14 bolt sf with the 6 lug rims. They are definetly 6"on 5.5" so as said above, rims should work.

I need to look again to be sure but I believe the U-bolts are mounted reverse/upside down. Upside down to me is the opposite of this "U". Nuts on the u-bolts are closer to the ground.

BTW this is on an 88' K2500 Pick Up Light duty 3/4 ton. This is the axle that all the toyota guys like because of the lug pattern (so I'm told???). I'll have to look at the shock mount locations also.

 

[Matt J.]

Don't want to buy axle and find out the expensive way I have a problem.

No one mentioned the gearing. Do you know the gear ratio of the said rear axle? That could get pricey if it didn't match the front axle.

 

[Matt J.]

Okay, I just snapped a couple pics. These light duty 3/4 ton axles are way different than I thought (hey I'm still learning too). Spring perch is 48" center to center compared to my 3/4 ton burb which is 43" center to center. The shock mounts are different also. I think you're better off doing what was said earlier and find an 8 lug ff or sf. Here's some pics anyways for reference.
88' K2500 LD

6" on 5.5"

Reversed u-bolts

Shock mounts

 

[brett37]

Thanks guys I am confused now beacause I got this info from Pertersons off road magizine and we are talking about a semi float 14 bolt. They claimed it was a bolt in except for u-joit. My gear ration is 3.54 with 700r4 with 6.2 diesel.

 

[6.2Blazer]

Thanks guys I am confused now beacause I got this info from Pertersons off road magizine and we are talking about a semi float 14 bolt. They claimed it was a bolt in except for u-joit. My gear ration is 3.54 with 700r4 with 6.2 diesel.

These magazines are definitely not the be-all, end-all when it comes to technical information. A good example was just a month or so ago when one of the big magazines did a used vehicle special and talked about getting a K5 with a 454 and 1-ton axles (these never existed stock).

In any case, going from a 14SF is a huge upgrade as compared to the stock 10-bolt rear axle.

 

[Stomis]

These magazines are definitely not the be-all, end-all when it comes to technical information. A good example was just a month or so ago when one of the big magazines did a used vehicle special and talked about getting a K5 with a 454 and 1-ton axles (these never existed stock).

In any case, going from a 14SF is a huge upgrade as compared to the stock 10-bolt rear axle.

LOL if anything 6.2 I would say the magazine are written by dopeless idiots 75% of the time. I cant stand seeing SAS's wrapped up in 2 pages and the plethora of incorrect material I read.

Dont go off magazines period.