Front 10-bolt = Rear 10-bolt?

[Blue85]

Here's a question: Are the carriers for front and rear 10-bolts the same? This is why I ask: Since I have slop in my rear spider gears and I'm planning to replace the carrier or whole case as some point, can I swap the spider gears front and rear for a short term fix? I know that there are no C-clips in the front, but that doesn't neccesarily mean that the spider gears are different. If the side gears ARE different, then could just the top and bottom gears and the cross shaft be swapped?

Has anyone else done this or does anyone have some recommendations?

'85 JIMMY
'90 paint/grill/trim 5"susp 33/12.5/16.5
Fresh 350 B&M '87 TH700

 

[Emmettology 101]

Most front 10 bolts are 28 spline until you get up into 89-91, then they are 30 spline..

The rear 10 bolts are 30 spline.. If you get a newer 30 spline front 10 bolts axleshafts then you can run the rear 30 spline carrier....

Hop ethis answers your question. If you have more e-mail me.

Mike

See <font color=green>EMMETT</font color=green> -&gt; http://emmett.coloradok5.com

 

[Blue85]

But what about the spider gears?

'85 JIMMY
'90 paint/grill/trim 5"susp 33/12.5/16.5
Fresh 350 B&M '87 TH700

 

[Emmettology 101]

That I am not sure of.. If you have them both out, visually inspect them side by side and see if you can "see" any differences. If they look the same and if you put them together and the teeth line up and they are the same thicknesses, i would try it, if it were me..

Another thing you can do is call National Drivetrain or one of them places. They should be able to tell you if the part numbers are the same if they dont know for sure!

Mike

See <font color=green>EMMETT</font color=green> -&gt; http://emmett.coloradok5.com

 

[Blazer1970]

The older rear 10 bolts were 28 spline also.

Tim

1970 Blazer CST 4X4 350 SM465 NP205
1987 Suburban 4X4 350
1988 Chevy Pickup 4X4 350

 

[MONSTR44]

They are the same in your rig - do not worry!!!

 

[Blue85]

Well, I swapped my front spider gear set for my rear spider gear set with no problems. They are exactly the same. My rig is an 85 with front and rear 10-bolts. I'm not sure if it was the spider gears that were worn a lot or just the cross-shaft, which had visble wear marks from the i.d. of the gears. The rear diff is now pretty tight and I don't have any clunking anymore when I drop it into gear. The front diff, of course, is looser, but I don't think it will be a problem because I use it so much less and it was always smooth in 4WD before anyway.

The only thing that sucks about about the swap is that you have to remove one of the front spindles in order to get the side gears out of the front diff, which adds a lot more time to the job. In the rear, you don't even have to remove the wheels. Just push in the wheels to get the c-clips and then pull one wheel out a few inches to swap the gears.

The best way to tighten up the rear would have been to buy a new set of spider gears, which would have been a lot faster and would not have loosened up my front diff at all. The dealer wants $300 for the set, but from what I understand 4WPW has them for less than $100. If you replace worn spiders, you should definately replace the cross shaft at the same time. I only went this route becuase I don't think that I will be keeping the 10-bolts for very long and I don't want to put money into them. Please mail me your extra 3/4 ton axles. Thank you.

'85 JIMMY
'90 paint/grill/trim 5"susp 33/12.5/16.5
Fresh 350 B&M '87 TH700

 

[getsome]

The spider gears in the rear of my 84 10 bolt were pretty chewed up so I called around and only four wheel parts had a set and they were $125. I said screw it and decided to buy a 14 bolt for $250. I'll have it in by this weekend.

Getsome