New axles!......again

[The Pumpkinator]

Been a while since I posted anything on here, and the blazer has undergone a few changes since then...

Back on topic, I picked up a pair of 3/4 ton axles from a buddy for $1500 (wish I had pics of the truck they came out of, that thing was massive! 46s with a 12+ inch lift). Its a D44/14bolt combo, the D44 sports new gears, new inner seals, Detroit Truetrac, chromoly axle shafts, and 8 lug outers. The 14 bolt also has new gears, new inner seals, and comes equipped with a Detroit locker, the crazy thing about these axles is that they have 5.38 gears

I'm currently in the processes of cleaning them up and painting them along with replacing any worn or broken parts I can find, I'm pretty sure those D44 spindles and wheel bearings where hating life with those 46" tires, not to mention the axle shafts....


However I would like to hear everyone's thoughts with running 5.38s with a NP241c/700R4 combo on 37" tires, I messed with some gear calculators and supposedly with that setup I would be pulling 2700-2800rpm on the highway in OD at 75mph.

 

[paratrooper307]

They look nice, and ratio should give pretty snappy performance with that tire. I'd be concerned about running a 5.38 ratio on a 10 bolt front. The pinion starts to get pretty small at that stage and I'd think it would be a weak point, particularly if you are talking about beefing up axle shafts. But maybe I'm worrying over nothing...

 

[Deuling]

Didn't know they made 5.38s for a d44...

 

[TheBeast_88K5]

Thats a crazy high gear, in a 44....

 

[The Pumpkinator]

I thought 5.13s were the limit for a 1/2 ton carrier, the D44 will be a good stepping stone between what I have now under my truck vs the D60 that I have collecting dust, it was more cost effective to go this rout since the axles where already built, and $1500 is a steal. So by the time I have my D60 ready to go then I can sell the D44.

However I must have missed this thread: http://coloradok5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=313263

This answers most of my questions/concerns, there are only two problems I can think of with running 37s on that D44, as mentioned the pinion has very few teeth on it, and the external hub locks may fail.

But if the previous owner was running 46" tires on it powered by a mild 454 (and he gave that truck hell) then I might be safe out on the rocks with 37s and a stock 350?

Anyways here's an update on replacement parts, new wheel bearings and races, new inner rotor seals, new spindle for the driver's side, and new Warn hub locks....




http://coloradok5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=313263