Dana 44 vs GM Corp frt axles

[ramack]

Hey,

I have a 77 K5 that has the Dana 44 front axle. I'm looking at buying a 79 K5 which should have GM Corp. 10 bolt. The 79's body is in a lot better shape than my 77 and I can buy it for less than what my time/material would be to replace the bad panels on the 77.

Which is the better axle housing/shaft, the Dana 44 or GM 10 Bolt?

Rich

 

[YZEATER]

they are close enough to same thing, that is doesn't matter.

 

[xCaliK5x]

Is the Dana 44 really that bad???? I would love to swap in a D60, but here in socal, that axle is hard to come by and not cheap. I will play the waiting game and hope I can still drive it home in 2WD.......

 

[Hogback Fabrication]

Is the Dana 44 really that bad???? I would love to swap in a D60, but here in socal, that axle is hard to come by and not cheap. I will play the waiting game and hope I can still drive it home in 2WD.......

GM used the D44 first and then decided to basically copy it and make it themselves (hence the 10 bolt). They are nearly identical.

 

[AJs72K5]

The Dana 44 will have flat tops if you ever want to go crossover. It's also got slightly larger shafts.

 

[Hogback Fabrication]

The Dana 44 will have flat tops if you ever want to go crossover. It's also got slightly larger shafts.

My '77 did not have flat top knuckles, and as for larger shafts, yes the D44 uses 30 spline shafts and most 10 bolts use 28 spline shafts (after '88 or so 10 bolts were 30 spline as well). But the minor diameter, the part that's going to break, is nearly identical in size between all of those so I wouldn't really argue that D44 shafts are stronger.

 

[xCaliK5x]

I do not mean to thread jack, but since its already being discussed,

I run 36" tires, my terrain is mostly just dirt/sand. I don't do boulder hopping, nor do I do mud. What terrain is actually harder on stuff? I would assume rocks, then mud, then dirt and sand, but if your tires grab, then they grab.

I looked at the price for shafts and joints, and it seems they will run me half the price of a used D60. If the stronger U joints and shafts will work for me great, but I don't want to be penny wise/dollar poor.

 

[resurrected_jimmy]

You can replace a lot of stock shafts for the price of a set of upgraded stuff. Run it until you actually see what breaks

 

[ramack]

Thanks for all the input. Glad to here they are both equivalent.

I'm on the way to look at the K5...

Rich

 

[xCaliK5x]

I suggest to start by modifying the stock axleshafts to accept full-circle clips for the u-joint caps, and go with Spicer joints. I had good luck with that on my 10-bolt. The front axleshaft failures on my truck were always related to loosing the clip on the u-joint, and then the cap walking out the yoke. Full-circle clips prevent that; pretty decent bang for the buck mod.

Cool, I will try that first. I am getting ready for another go around with it here pretty quick. I want to address that, the tierods, drag link, body mounts and ball joints.

I want to do a cross over/high steer but I'm on the fence due to the cost of it and if I switch axles down the road.

 

[thatK30guy]

The Dana 44 will have flat tops if you ever want to go crossover. It's also got slightly larger shafts.

Not all D44's have flat tops. Only the 1st design axles did. Those are '76/'77 and older ones. 2nd design axles use the current knuckles that were used all the way up to '91.

Chevy started the use of the 10 bolt axles first. GMC "used up" the D44's up thru '82. But I have seen GMC's with both front axles before but they're the brand that phased the D44's out.

 

[ramack]

Yahoo! I bought it. Drove it home from N. Denver Metro to S. Denver Metro without tags, without incident, whew. Starting the week out right, ha.

Can't wait to tag it, and get it up in the mountains. That IS why I moved back here.

Rich

 

[DeviousK5]

Being too late and all i think you made the right choice, shafts aside. The 10bolt has a slightly larger pinion, whereas the D44 has a slightly thicker housing(neither of which you hear about breaking much). The real winner for me (10bolt) is that they are dime a dozen at wrecking yards , and most of the time when you find the D44 its been robbed for parts. To add to that lots of folks give their old 10 bolts away(I did this weekend) as its too much of a hassle to sell for 50$

 

[rufusbooth]

Not to hijack too much does anyone have any links to a write up on how to modify the shafts to accept the full circle clips?

Cheers,

Rufus