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need some drivetrain advice/thoughts...

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xenomarine

1/2 ton status
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i found on craigslist, the axles/diffs from a 76 k20. which i am almost positive to be a D44 and a 14bolt. the gearing is not listed in the ad, but they are $100 each of $150 for the pair.

should i be running over there and buying them? this would be to swap onto my '84 blazer wih 10bolts all around. what else would i need for the swap? brake lines, u-joint parts? steering parts? i'm not sure on all the specifics of an axle swap but i have alot of general knowledge from reading.

also, does anyone know the stock gearing that came on a K20 of the same vintage? and i know axles aren't exactly light, but could my friend and i load them in a truck? what is the typical weight for an axle assembly?
 
They are heavy. The gears ar most likely 3.73's , you need a ujoint conversion, or a driveline with the right yoke for the rear. the front will bolt right up. You need brake lines. You will need to decide if you want an E-brake or not. The price is not bad at all. The 44 is not any stronger than the 10 bolt. You will need u-bolts.
 
$150 Seems about right for a pair of 3/4's.

For the swap you would need new u-bolts and the spring plates for the 14b. Front will swap without a problem, can even use your stock calipers (just hang them up so you won't need to open the line). Rear u-joint would need to be swapped, a conversion joint is easy to find though. It's mostly a remove and replace affair.

My 77 3/4 had 4.10's in it. Most that I have seen also had 4.10's.
 
The 44 will be marginally stronger since its 30 spline.His 10 bolt is probably 28 since it's a 84 model.One other thing is that it might driveflange's or ext lockout's.They quit usin them right around that time.
 
thanks for the replies guys, i've heard that the 44 is a little stronger than the 10 bolt, and the 14 bolt is obviously stronger. i'm hesitant about this because i'm saving my money for a lift, but i would also need a beefier drivetrain to turn bigger tires. i might be able to sell my front 10bolt axle to my friend so he can make a custom solid front axle explorer.
 
The D44 30 spline shafts have a neck to them so it ends up being a wash. Still worth getting.
 
if they ar e geared the same as yours, you could just switch out the hub assembly on you 10 bolt front.

Speaking from experience here, Ive had nothing but problems with D44's, and had pretty good luck with 10b fronts.

maybe just me, but the big hub style D44 is horribly designed.
 
i'm not going to be rock crawling, i just want the extra durability offered by the 14 bolt and the d44, mostly for rough terrain and some mudding. i'm just looking to have some fun with friends mostly
 
jump on em.well worth the price.get the lift later on.go bash some rocks with your boat ancor 14 bolt for a while til you get tired of it.by then you will be able to lift it and put bigger tires on it.3/4 ton swap was the best thing i ever did.1 ton would be nice but i dont plan on anything bigger than 35 or 37 inch tires.so these will last pretty good for that.
 
From my experience as long as you leave the front open a 10b or 44 will handle 37s or 38s without much problem.

I bet they have 4.10s too which is a bonus. I would say get them. Thats what I did started with a stock 44/12 bolt combo went to a 10b/14b combo and then finally to a 60/14b.
 
okay sounds good, the guy responded and said they were in storage and couldn't be gotten at until it heated up a bit, so possibly later in the week. hopefully on friday, which is my only free day until the next weekend, i can go look at and pick up the axles. also, he has a dash pad he's selling, supposedly in decent shape. only $5. that is AMAZING.
 
im not so sure those will be 4.10's... did the truck have a factory 305 in it? if so, I wouldnt be surprised is they were 3.73's, but still well worth the price.
 
even if it's geared 3.73, it's better than the 3.08's i have now, especially to turn the 35's i have in store. i wanted to regear to 3.73 but 4.10 would be good as well.

*intoxicated right now*

just figured i'd let you know
 
My 75 K20 had 4.10s. I think it was pretty common, though I have seen 3.73s also. Best way to find out, just pull the cover look for 41 - 11(3.73) or 45 -11
(4.10) on the ring gear.:wink1:
 
K5Nate said:
My 75 K20 had 4.10s. I think it was pretty common, though I have seen 3.73s also. Best way to find out, just pull the cover look for 41 - 11(3.73) or 45 -11
(4.10) on the ring gear.:wink1:
Click to expand...

i'm not too sure about gears yet, i'm a novice. do you mean that the ratio will be stamped on the gear? or i should count the teeth?
 
Yes the tooth count is stamped on the outer edge of the ring gear. you may have to wipe off the ring gear with a rag to see them. There will be a string of numbers and you will see 41-11 or something similar like 45-11 as said above. That is the tooth count of the ring and pinnion.
41 divided by 11= 3.73
 
okay thanks alot! i didn't know that, good to know. what is the size of the bolts on a 14 bolt or dana 44 diff cover? so when i go look at the stuff, i can bring the right tool
 
Just bring a whole set of sockets and ratchets along with everything else. Something will likely still need to be worked on...at least in my experience.

"Oh, I want those shocks, they're still good!"
So we spend an hour cussing at rusty shocks that don't extend all the way anymore in order to get them off for the guy that sold the axle on Ebay with the rusty shocks in plain sight in the pictures.
 
this guy might not let me see the axles this friday because of the 1 or 2" of snow we got, and the access road to storage isn't plowed......like a 4wd vehicle can't make it up an incline.

on another note, i've been intrigued my the m1009's from a military base in New York. what is an average price for a military spec blazer from a liquidation sale?
 
so i just offered this guy $275 for:

axles (14 bolt and d44)
driveshafts(stock k20 shafts)
transfer case which i think is np205, it has 4 position single stick
transmission(th350 i'm pretty sure)
right front fender(decent shape)
and a cracked dash pad.

what do you say?
 
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