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New wheels and tires last week. Need new axles this week.

Techson94

Techson94

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New wheels a week ago and rear end broke yesterday.

Dana 44 front. 10bolt rear. I know I need to upgrade rear.

1) Is there an upgraded rear axle that is strong and allows me to keep 6 lug axle.

2) I found 82k20 4.56 running gear front and back for $900. Thumbs up or down
 
There are 14 bolt semi-float rear axles that are 6 lug. But they are rare.

What did you break on the rear end? What size tires do you now have? What gear ratio do you currently have? Is it possible to repair the rear for less money/ replace just the rear with another axle? Probably.

The 82 K20 is probably going to have a 14 bolt full float rear end (8 lug) and a 10 bolt (8 lug) front end. You can change over the front to 6 lug. Probably with the gear off your current front end. But as far as I know, the rear is stuck at 8 lug, so you might as well just change the wheels to 8 lug and be done.

$900 could be a little high. Depends on the overall condition of the axles. Fully rebuilt with new seals/bearings recently - great deal. Just pulled out of a junkyard and need everything - terrible deal.
 
Thanks for reply.
35in tires. 4 in lift.
Light off roading.
I haven't opened rear end but I think I broke pinion gear. Wheels spin in park drive shaft doesnt with a very loud noise in excess of 1mph.
I think stock on 1989 k5 was 3.73.
 
What broke in the rear? What were you doing when you broke it? Do you plan to upgrade other things as time goes on, or are you content as is pretty much? A gov-lock 10 bolt is fairly prone to failure, but mal-treated (or with age) most any diff will fail at some point in any case.

I don't think the 6lug 14sf is rare, they came in a lot of rigs, but they introduce problems of their own. Afaik all are 14mm lugs, which IME didn't mate up to the wheels properly. I converted the front and rear to 1/2" studs, however apparently the 1/2" studs that worked properly up front are no longer made.

Edit: obviously typing when you provided details. While some have success, I think you are outside the 10 bolt realm with 35s. I'm a big fan of the 14sf if one simply doesnt need the weight and clearance loss that comes with the strength of the 14FF...correct statement, no one can or should argue the 14SF is a stronger axle than the FF. Howver, you'll find very few that have broken a 14SF. Of course it happens, just not nearly as common as it is with the 10 bolts. Blasphemy, but I bet I've heard of as many 14FF failures as I have 14SF.
 
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I put a semi-floating 14 bolt with 6 lugs in the back of my '90 and was impressed with the size of the parts. It took some work to do the swap of course, because of moving spring pads on the axle. I also didn't want to keep the metric wheel studs because they were so large, the lug nuts didn't sit how I preferred in my rally wheels. It took some research and work to install 1/2" studs front and rear. I drilled the hubs and rotors on the front.
I would wonder if an '82 K20 has a semi-floating 14 bolt with 8 lug in the rear. Which I believe would make it a cheaper axle to buy. Still would be plenty for your application, though.
 
I broke a 14bsf shaft on 35s. I know most will say that's not common.

I wouldn't run the 14bsf off-road. If you have any intentions of playing in rocks just get the Full Float 14 bolt.

There are 14bff 6 lug conversion kits. I think I could've looked further into going this route with my build. I would've been able to upgrade fewer parts at once for less initial cost.
 
I’ll third the 6 lug semi float vote

there were some differences in the brake line fittings from my 77. I didn’t have issues with the wheels
YMMV
 
I will add that I think you could build a 6 lug 14 Bolt Full Float cheaper than a 6 lug SF axle and with less time involved. While people may vote for the 14bsf, no one will tell you its superior to the 14bff.

A 14bff from a Suburban or 3/4 ton truck will bolt into your truck.

The 14bff perches are in the correct location, so no need to cut and weld new perches.

The 14bff also has a wider selection of available lockers and other parts at a lower cost.

6 lug 14bsf axles are harder to come by and often folks have a higher asking price.
 
Semi float keeps the 6 lug axles (and wheels)
If a guy is already changing wheels, that’s a moot reason

I went 14SF due to lower weight at the axle and better ground clearance. If I were to get into more difficult terrain, I may consider that upgrade


Another option would be slamming some custom axles in a 9” Ford
 
I've got a 14bff with 37s. Full throttle on the rocks with the rear bouncing is no problem. Do it once. Do it right.
 
Richcz28. Are you saying the suburban 14bff had a 6 lug option? What years?

I really appreciate all the replies.
 
Techson94 said:
Richcz28. Are you saying the suburban 14bff had a 6 lug option? What years?

I really appreciate all the replies.
Click to expand...
Yes, it is an option, but it either takes custom machine work or custom parts to get 6 lug hubs as well as drums or rotors. I would caution you to check your wheel center diameter to make sure that they will go over the axle hub.

And for the usage that you said, it's definitely overkill while losing ground clearance.

I have watched a 6 lug 9.5" 14SF shrug off some mild bouncing in Moab on 37" tires. But some folks can be the unlucky ones who break an anvil, too.
 
There was a light duty 3/4 ton in the early/mid-90s that was 6 lug. I don't know if it would be a worthwhile upgrade, or if it would even interchange, but might be worth looking into.
 
6 lug hubs for the 10.5 are very common now and somewhat affordable.
They just make it 63.5" wms.
 
Techson94 said:
Richcz28. Are you saying the suburban 14bff had a 6 lug option? What years?

I really appreciate all the replies.
Click to expand...

No, you would have to buy custom hubs for the 14bff. I was saying that the spring perched on 14bffs from Suburbans and K20s are the same. This means you won’t have to weld on new perches and shock mounts.

The 6 lug 14bsf these guys are talking about is from a gmt400 era truck. These require minor fab work to install. You will have to weld on perches and shock mounts.

In my opinion it’s far less work to find a 14bff and swap the hubs.
 
Honestly, the easiest thing is a pair of axles from a K20 and keep them 8 lug. Think long term. Sell old wheels and buy 8 lug ones. Everything bolts in, everything is cheap and parts are plentiful. You also have upgraded brakes. Plus, K20 axles were available in ratios that work with 35" tires (i.e. 4.56). People get attached to their rims, but years down the road, staying 6-lug seems silly. Any stock 6-lug front will need regearing, which costs more than swapping out your rims. So you have to find 6-lugs that have already been regeared or put another $600-$1200 in the budget to re-gear.
 
Cheapest and easiest to get it back on the road would be to find a junkyard rear 10-bolt and slap it in. Obviously not considered an upgrade and you could break it again, but consider how long it took to break the current axle. Assuming the axle that broke is the original from an '89 it lasted for a long time.

For the 14SF axle, that is a good option for somebody only running 35's and light off-roading. This axle is MUCH beefier than the stock 10-bolt, though obviously not as beefy as a 14FF. Here are a few comments about the 14SF.
- 14SF rear axles were very common in the rear of 3/4 ton (K20/C20) trucks and Suburbans starting in the early-80's. I remember when junkyard shopping for a 14FF 20 years ago it was much easier to find a 14SF as compared to a 14FF.
- With the above said, I have never seen a FACTORY 6-lug 14SF in a SQUARE body Chevy (up to '87 trucks, up to '91 K5s and Subs).
- I have only seen factory 6-lugs 14SF in the '88-newer body style trucks with IFS. These were fairly common on the lower-GVWR 3/4 ton/2500 series trucks through the late-80's up to maybe mid-90's era. There were also some 1/2 ton/1500 series trucks in this era that had them a factory option, typically with the F44 option package (believe it was some sort of HD towing package).

For converting a 14FF to 6-lug I wouldn't exactly consider this cheap compared to the other options. Sure, you can buy a set of 6-lug aftermarket hubs for $400 but you still have source all of the rear brake parts and have the axle shaft flanges machined down. The brake parts includes rotors, calipers, caliper brackets, brake lines, and wheel studs...and of course buy the axle.

For the axles from an '82 K20 for $900, that seems like a lot of money unless they have been rebuilt and maybe some other aftermarket parts. It does say they have 4.56 gears which I don't believe were very common from the factory for that type of truck. Again, when junkyarding for axles the only 4.56 gear axles I ever saw were from a 1-ton, with most of the 14FF rear axles having 4.10. For the 14SF it seemed like 3.73 or even 3.42 were more common.

For the stock axles on an '89 K5, 3.73 does seem to be pretty common but it wasn't the only option available. Pretty sure 3.42 was around also...only way to know for sure is to pull the cover and look at the actual gears. I will also say that the Dana 44 was not the factory front axle on this vehicle either......not saying that is not what is currently under the vehicle, just that it didn't come from the factory that way. Chevy hasn't put front D44 axles under trucks from the factory since around the late-70s.
 
Well..this thing was Frankenstein.
Verifies dana 44 up front. Have no idea what gears are since I looked up and dana 44 were not stock in 89. I will pull diff cover to I'd.

Always wondered why rear axle was narrower than front but never went off roading. It wouldn't stay in 4wd.

I got the grinder on the 4wd shifting plate to allow it to change gears fully.

Played around once I got it working for about 10 minutes. Felt like it could pull a house down. I bet they have 2 different gears and it broke the pinion.

So I found for 300 and a 90 day warranty a 14bff out of 99 2500. 3.73. Obviously need to verify front gears in dana 44. I guess I should get a d60 and be done with it.
 
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