Axle Question dana 60 & 14 bolt

[bavarian_blazer]

so,
someone over here is giving up his project and is selling an overhauled dana 60 gm 14 bolt - combo for about 600 (!!!) $ , for both

unfortunately, the dana 60's already gone, but it seems that nobody wants to have the rear axle.

Well, can I use a gm 14 bolt rear axle and a ordinary/standard 10 bolt in the front or are there any differences (gearing etc) ?

didn't spend much time with axle swaps yet, so I'm not quite used to this topic I'm planning to install a 4 inch suspension lift/ 35 12.5 tires in the future. I know the gm 10 bolt is considered to be weak, but the k5 isn't going to see tough offroading action the next time, so I don't know if I should keep the 10bolts (I'm running 33 12.5s right now, think the 10 bolts can handle these tires without falling apart ).

here are (crappy) pics the seller sent me :

(btw: axles are out of an 76 k20):

here's another axle some other guy is selling (for 300 euros = about 450 $)

 

[bavarian_blazer]

..oh, and is there any chance to run the gm 14 bolt with 6 lugs (if I'm keeping the 10 bolt) until i get a dana 60 one day ;-) ?

 

[dstrbdxp-AK]

Differences? if the 10bolt is 1/2 ton it would be 6 lug. 14bFF is 8 lug. Only 6 lug 14bolt is the semi floater.

 

[la-zdunck]

what gears are in them? what gears are in your 10 bolt? the 10 bolt would be fine with 35's for what you're planning, but if you start pushing it, you'll want the 1-tons. if you aren't planning on wheeling it hard, or running bigger than 35's, i don't see a point to swapping the axles.

 

[Zeus33rd]

FYI...

The axle in the first and third pics is a D44, not a 60.

 

[Desert Yeti]

Most 14bolt full floaters (like that one) came with either 3.73 or 4.10 gears (a few had 4.56). Find out what it is and if it matches your front axle's ratio.

No one's purchased the rear yet, not because it's not a GREAT axle, only because they're a dime-a-dozen...very common.

There's no such thing as a full floating 6 lug 14 bolt. At least from the factory. There was a company building conversions for a while, but they were way more expensive than just swapping the front axle to 8 lug to match the rear.

GM built a lot of 8 lug 10 bolt axles. Just find one and pull all the outer bits off. Bolt them into your truck to match the 14 bolt rear and buy some 8 lug wheels. Better yet, find one with the same gears as the 14 bolt for cheap and just swap both axles.

All this being said, if the biggest tire you're contemplating is 35" AND you're not into hardcore wheeling, I'd just leave the stock axles in the truck.

 

[bavarian_blazer]

@All:

thanks a lot for your help & advice. I'm keeping the 10 bolts for the next years. got me new brake components already and, over all, I think they really should meet my demands.

Thanks again!

Fl