dana 44 or 60????

[chops76]

i have a 1976 blazer with a 6" suspension lift and no body lift at all. i currently am running the stock 10 bolt dana 44 with 4:10 gears in the front and the stock 12 bolt with 4:10 gears in the back. i run 35" tires now but i wanna up grade to 39.5's. i came accross a set of matching 3/4 ton axels on ebay for $100.00 plus some gas money and time to pick the axels up. the front is the 3/4 ton dana 44 and the rear is a corp. 14 bolt. i was told that the rear was stronger than going with a dana 60, is that true? also, do you think that this is a good deal? he says everything is in working order, just a little surface rust on the outside a bit. i was planning on setting up with rear disks as well. what would you think would be the best way to go with the different axels? the truck is my daily driver in the summer time, i work construction so there is always a place to play and the thing looks to damn good to sit. any help would be great.thanks

 

[Chaddy]

14 bolts are a bit stronger and if you shave 'em down they have about the same clearance a 60 does.
$100 is a good deal for the pair

 

[k5freak44]

if you upgrade to 39.5s the majority here would tell you to get a 60.

for dd and some mud you should be alrighy strengthwise up front aslong as you keep it on the ground and are careful.


the 14bff will work perfect for the rear tho

 

[chops76]

yeah , i dont get too crazy with the truck, afterall , i gotta drive the thing home but i do like to play though. what would you suggest for a locker for the rear and will the u-joints and drive shaft be the same for bolting up to the new axels?thanks

 

[k5freak44]

you are guna need a convo u joint when going from the 10 bolt to the 14bolt

the 14bolt is used alot because the detroit locker is so easy to install and comes new at around 350.


good luck

 

[chops76]

cool thanks for the tip. where can i get one of the convo u joints ? will the u joint for the rear be the same?

 

[jekbrown]

the truck is my daily driver in the summer time, i work construction so there is always a place to play and the thing looks to damn good to sit.

...this sentence just screams "keep it stock, its even cheaper than $100" to me...

j

 

[Z3PR]

For $100.00 go for it. If that Dana 44 breaks, you can always upgrade to a Dana 60 front at a later date.

 

[Leper]

I sell 14FF for 150-200 all the time. 100.00 is a smokin deal.

 

[chops76]

thanks everybody for thier replies. its been helpful.. one last questions is, what would you recomend for a locker? how well does the factory gov lok hold up? thanks again

 

[bigjbear]

Just a heads up, if you get a FF14B with the gov-lock you will not be able to use a Detroit Locker in it. It installs into the stock OPEN carier. If that is what this one has and you want to run the Detroit (that is what I'd recomend) then pass on this deal.

 

[chops76]

from what the dude tells me, there is no gov lock or anything in there now, its open, i was just wondering what you would suggest on doing with the rear end and how well the gov lock compares to a detroit and which would fit and work best. thanks

 

[Chaddy]

Gov loc A.K.A. gov-bomb doesnt even compair to the almighty DETROIT! just my opinion... Chaddy

 

[chops76]

thanks for the tip...