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Dana 44 later 10 bolt difference??

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hunter29078

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I am a bit confused. I was looking for parts for a dana 44 front end, which is what I have and noticed from the literature I was reading that gm used the 44 until 80 and in 77 had a 10 bolt. Both axles are 10 bolts and both use the 8 1/2 ring gear. So my question is what is the difference between the two?? Is one better than the other or are they the same and GM just used someone else beside dana to make them?
 
GM just went to a cheaper parts source I am sure... a lot of the parts are actually the same from '77 and up (wheel bearings, spindles, brakes, etc). They just kept installing the D44 until they ran out, then switched to the 10 bolt.
 
kennyw said:
GM just went to a cheaper parts source I am sure... a lot of the parts are actually the same from '77 and up (wheel bearings, spindles, brakes, etc). They just kept installing the D44 until they ran out, then switched to the 10 bolt.
Click to expand...
True quote above.

GMC used up the last of the D44's up to '82.
 
hunter29078 said:
I am a bit confused. I was looking for parts for a dana 44 front end, which is what I have and noticed from the literature I was reading that gm used the 44 until 80 and in 77 had a 10 bolt. Both axles are 10 bolts and both use the 8 1/2 ring gear. So my question is what is the difference between the two?? Is one better than the other or are they the same and GM just used someone else beside dana to make them?
Click to expand...

Well, they're not the same, no, but they are more or less equal in strength and have some interchangeable parts.

Pix from our very own http://coloradok5.com/axleguide.shtml

The D44 was made by the Dana Spicer company and the pumpkin looks like this:

dana44.jpg



The 10b, more formally the "GM Corporate 10-bolt front axle" was made by GM themselves (though IIRC that division was spun off as American Axle Manufacturing at some point) and has a differential that looks like this:

gm10bolt85in.jpg


Different axles from different manufacturers ... they just happen to have the same number of bolts on the diff cover. We call the GM one a "10 bolt" to distinguish them from the other GM axles (with 12 or 14 bolts), but don't confuse them with axles from other manufacturers.

Now, the outer bits (spindle, wheel hub, rotor, caliper, locking hub, etc) can be interchanged between a D44 and a 10b, depending on year and lugs (i.e. 6 lug, 1/2 ton or 8 lug, 3/4), but the inner parts are unique to each.

Whew. Nothin' like a long answer to bore y'all to tears, huh?

-- A
 
the dana 44 is slightly stronger than the 10 bolt,but its nominal at best.they are pretty much equal with the inner axle shaft on the 44 being a lil weaker and the 10 bolt ring slightly smaller so being weeker.both can be built to handle some more torque but anything over 37 inch tires,even on a built 10 bolt or 44 will break it.35 is the highest recommended tire on both.so that is pretty much it.there are a lot more parts available in junk yards for 10 bolts than 44s also.
 
30 spline 10 bolts are quite a bit stronger than a D44. Thicker axle shafts. Bigger bearings. and a few other things. Harder to find tho. Only came in 88 and up.
 
Thunder said:
30 spline 10 bolts are quite a bit stronger than a D44. Thicker axle shafts. Bigger bearings. and a few other things. Harder to find tho. Only came in 88 and up.
Click to expand...

Most D44's that came in K5's were 30 spline and use the same diametrical pitch as 30 spline 10 bolt shafts (i.e. they are exactly the same size at the spline and are interchangeable).

Most 10 bolts in K5's use smaller 28 spline shafts.

Which 10 bolt bearings are bigger than D44 ones? That would be a new one to me.
 
the earlier dana 44's were comparably weeker.had knecked down axle shafts on the long side.also had smaller 297x ujoints up to i think 73 74.they were the same size as the jeep ujoint,but on a heavier truck,so a lil weeker there also.but for the most part the dana 44 and 10 bolt hold up about the same with the knuckle out being the same parts after 78 with the exception of the 3/4 ton 10 bolt.as was said ,mainly a apples to apples comparison.they are basically interchangable and take the same amount of abuse.mid 77 to 82 they were almost identical for strength and were used about the same in trucks and blazers.its easier to find 10 bolts in the junkyard though because most yards dont keep anything older than mid 80's anymore.at least the ones around here.38377k5.the only bearing change i know of is in the wheel bearing area of the 10 bolt.which had a bigger inner bearing as the dana 44 had both inner and outer being about the same size.
 
chulisohombre said:
........both can be built to handle some more torque but anything over 37 inch tires,even on a built 10 bolt or 44 will break it.35 is the highest recommended tire on both......
Click to expand...

35's? Seriously, for around 400 bucks you can get better shafts. Keep fresh joints in them and do regular maint. and these axles will handle allot more than you think. 9 times out of 10, with a higher quality shaft, the joint will break before anything else. Driving style is a very large factor too. Ive had 40's on a 10B, locked with chromoly shafts with minimal issue. This is in the rocks, no mud for me.
 
I've got 8k on my new tires.. 9.5 or so since I did the drivers side ball joints, which are still tight. The passenger side is still nice and tight on the factory ball joints.
 
just witnessed 1st hand

my buddy just busted his 91 v2500 10b 3/4 ton axels at the ears...being a fairly hard shaft to find, so a 1980 d44 went in, it ate the ring & pinion in short order...paid $$ for whatever is special about the 88-91 shafts & put the 10b back in & still romping

i had/have a 3/4ton 10b & the inner bearing on both were as big as a coffee can, outter bearing was/is about the size of all d44 inners i've ever seen.
 
88-91's are actually what is mostly in the yards around here for burbs.. I've got a couple sets of spare shafts that way
 
hmatiak said:
35's? Seriously, for around 400 bucks you can get better shafts. Keep fresh joints in them and do regular maint. and these axles will handle allot more than you think. 9 times out of 10, with a higher quality shaft, the joint will break before anything else. Driving style is a very large factor too. Ive had 40's on a 10B, locked with chromoly shafts with minimal issue. This is in the rocks, no mud for me.
Click to expand...
even with a higher quality shaft,the ring gear cant take much more pressure than a 35 inch tire.then you upgrade that and you are breaking hubs.no real upgrade for that other than replace the drive gear every time you strip it.and even with better shafts,if you have a pretty high torque on it and it snaps the joint,you still have it slappin around in the knuckle and may break that also along with many people saying that it sometimes breaks the ears off the shaft.so there goes your 500 dollars worth of heavy duty shafts.as i said,a 44 or 10b can be made stronger.but it doesnt make it bulletproof or strong enough to handle more than a 35 inch tire consistantly without breakage.the biggerst i would go would be 37 and that is pushing it,even on a built axle.on road wheel bearings will go out a lot faster and balljoints get weak much over a 35 inch tire.in the end,you end up with a 1200 dollar axle still weeker than a stock 60.which is whats needed for tires over 35 to 37 inches.its a fact not a opinion.he wanted to know the difference between the 2 and strength of the 2 and thats all that was stated.if you have had good experiences with running bigger tires,then good.its not the norm for a 1/2 ton axle to hold up to that abuse.and most do not.
 
It's amazing how a topic can be thoroughly discussed in years past and then get dredged back up and the facts get slaughtered:

thunder said:
30 spline 10 bolts are quite a bit stronger than a D44. Thicker axle shafts. Bigger bearings. and a few other things. Harder to find tho. Only came in 88 and up.
Click to expand...

Thicker axle shafts?? The Dana 44 of this era always had 30-spline 1.31" shafts, which are the exact same dimensions of the '89-ish to '91 30-spline front 10-bolts. Both The D44 and 10-bolt shafts also had neck down areas just before the splines that were approximately the same diameter.

38377k5 said:
Most D44's that came in K5's were 30 spline and use the same diametrical pitch as 30 spline 10 bolt shafts (i.e. they are exactly the same size at the spline and are interchangeable).

Most 10 bolts in K5's use smaller 28 spline shafts.
Click to expand...

Never seen a K5, or any Chevy, Dodge, or Ford pickup with a Dana 44 front from at least the early-70's on up that anything but 30-spline. About the only non-30 spline D44 axles I have seen were rear axles in older Jeeps and such.

NO, NO, NO - Dana 44 shafts and 30-spline 10-bolts are NOT interchangeable. The diametrical pitch is different (you can slide either shaft into the other axles side gears, but they are not the same gear cut). Plus the overall axle shaft length on both sides is quite a bit different since the center section offset is different, meaning that a 10-bolt front is more towards the center and thus the short-side shaft is longer than a shortside D44, and the long-side 10-bolt shaft is shorter than the D44. Plus the inner seal surfaces are different so if you swapped shafts between the two axles the seals would not be riding on the machined surface of the shaft.

Sure, most K5's used the 28-spline 10-bolt but only because GM only made 28-spline 10-bolts until until around '89. The only reason they switched to 30-spline front inner shafts was because they went to 30-spline rear axles in these years and it was cheaper make a relatively small number of 30-spline 10-bolt inner shafts (only the K5's and Suburbans used them until '91) versus making both a 28-spline and 30-spline 10-bolt carrier. There was no really no strength gain when going to 30-spline inner shafts because they still necked down to the same diameter as the 28-spline shafts.

chulisohombre said:
the earlier dana 44's were comparably weeker.had knecked down axle shafts on the long side.also had smaller 297x ujoints up to i think 73 74.they were the same size as the jeep ujoint,but on a heavier truck,so a lil weeker there also.but for the most part the dana 44 and 10 bolt hold up about the same with the knuckle out being the same parts after 78 with the exception of the 3/4 ton 10 bolt
Click to expand...

Really early Dana 44 fronts had the 260x u-joint, which was the same as the Jeep D30 front axles of that era. The larger joint they used up to the end of the front 10-bolts axles was the 297x equivalent size.

Not sure what you mean in the statement "with the exception of the 3/4 ton 10-bolt".
 
backing plates,hub,rotor all were different on 3/4 ton 10 bolt.i have heard the caliper was also a bigger piston on later 3/4 ton axles.no experience with that though myself.im still using my 72 1/2 ton calipers in 10 bolt 3/4 ton outer parts.had wrong part number on u joint.i thought it was 297x for some reason.;)you got me there.thx for the calrifying numbers.haha.i know my 72 shaft was knecked down compared to the 78 shaft i replaced it with.didnt look like it had been replaced with a aftermarket.but you never know.i thought that in 73 they stopped making the knecked down shafts because of breakage.
 
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