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Re-gear vs axle swap vs re-gear AND swap...

Irish1941

Irish1941

1/2 ton status
Joined
Jan 20, 2011
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Location
los angeles
Kinda on the fence as what to do. This last desert adventure showed me I need to re-gear. This is where I'm at with my $1000 budget:

1)Swap gears in my truck.
CON: Would still have the gov-loc. Can't afford to upgrade diff. and axles.

2)Swap axles from a '89 Sub with 4.10 and a Detroit
CON: I have to buy the truck to get them. $800 and still gotta swap it all over then stuck with a Suburban I don't want and no place to keep it. In fact don't really have room to swap the diffs out either at my house.

3) Swap front gears and do 14 bolt SF.
CON: Set the housing up for Blazer perches and buy new front gears. Truck would be down for few weeks plus still need to find the right 14 SF to make it worth while.

4)Light it on fire and walk away. (wife's vote is #4)

I have all new ball joints in my current front 10 bolt and would hate to have to buy four more for the Sub axle. Never tired re-using ball joints.
Plus I have a few sets cool 6 lug wheels and 15" BFGs I'd have to sell. THEN get steel wheels I want.
Where should I go from here? :dunno:
I'm leaning towards the Sub with the bonus of scrap value on it but it's just me doing the work and I ain't a kid anymore. Could maybe do it in 2 big days but 14 bolts aren't getting any lighter. Still have to put my old diffs back under it to roll it away and I'd need crummy 6 lug rollers...
When does it end? :doah:
 
Buy the Burb, take what you need and sell it... Worst case you sell it for scrap to make some money back... You could part the Burb out as well... Get a Detroit for free... Sell the junk under your rig also... You might even make money on the whole deal... That's how I built my blazer for almost nothing...
 
Depends on the quality of the job you want to do, but don't forget things like ujoints (axle and driveshaft), ubolts,, brake lines, 14bolt brakes etc.

I vote do the whole swap. I knew my outers (and bj's) were good, so i swapped my outers onto the new 10bolt. Worked great.

Don't underestimate the amount of time it takes to put into a quality swap though. I spent a lot of hrs, but mine is street driven.
 
My Blazer is my daily so everything is new or darn close to it.
All new 7 u-joints are Spicers done 800 miles, ball joints 1500 miles ago...you get the idea.
Think you guys helped push me the way I need to go.
Out front, I'll just swap in my current axle shafts, hubs and knuckles.
Pretty sure inner/outer wheel bearings are same as 8 lug. Just did all those 3 weeks ago. :doah:
U-bolts for sure, new brakes all around for 3/4 ton axles. Blazer has new, longer front hoses so good there.
I can take the Sub out to my desert storage lot until I can sell it or just send straight the scrapper.
Now just gotta dump all my current 6 lug wheels...anybody need some wheels?
 
Kinda what I was thinking but who'd want a Suburban on 10 bolts with a salvage title? Better off to just part it out quickly and crush the rest.
It's half price this weekend at the junkyards so I'm going go see what diffs I can find for $75!
 
Maybe I missed it, but what axles are in the Sub? If they're 3/4 ton, definitley buy it, swap axles, sell sub, and be happy with your axles and new Detroit locker.
 
$300...nice! Those deals never find me. All I ever find is the guy selling a 14 bolt open diff for $400.
Yeah, it's a 3/4 ton 4WD with 350 TBI/700R4/241.
Sorry guess I left that part out.
So I'd get the axles, drive shafts, another cable speedo 241 passenger drop plus a pile Suburban interior parts.
Scrap price is $450 picked up. Almost not worth it unless I could sell a bunch of stuff off it or try and get it for $500.
This may not be a good idea after all.
 
Is the suburban all rusted up or does it have decent panels? I would think you could part it out and at least break even.....especially in the CA area.

So, for the front, can you keep your existing axle shafts and just install a new hub, rotor and calipers.....or is there more to it?
 
jeff in co said:
Is the suburban all rusted up or does it have decent panels? I would think you could part it out and at least break even.....especially in the CA area.

So, for the front, can you keep your existing axle shafts and just install a new hub, rotor and calipers.....or is there more to it?
Click to expand...

Suburban is clean and straight. Roof paint is gone. cooked off by the sun years ago. Trouble is every Sub is clean and straight here.

Front is pretty much as you said. Swap over my new stuff on to the 4.10 diff.
Later 10 bolts shared everything except backing plates(some call it caliper mount) rotors and calipers. Even the spindles and hubs are the same.
An easy afternoon would have the front axle together.
Think D44s need different spindles etc for 8 lug swap...not sure on that.

Getting the diffs out from under the Sub and my K5 diffs back in so the Suburban can roll again is another story...2 big days maybe.
 
Factory '89 Sub will most likely have a SF 14 bolt rear as well in case you didn't know that.
 
dhcomp said:
10 bolt outers and d44 outers are identical.
Click to expand...
There ya go. Keep that in mind for future reference.

MTBLAZER89 said:
Factory '89 Sub will most likely have a SF 14 bolt rear as well in case you didn't know that.
Click to expand...
Yep, I know. Earlier ones got FF though...
Holy crap...I just remembered the junk '85 big block 2WD Sub I have IS a 4.10 FF! Maybe if I pull that instead and then dig up a 4.10 10 bolt, I'd be in and out way cheaper...:thinking:
I haven't looked at that truck in 10 months but it did drive ok and stopped good.
The diff is right on RPO sheet. Always thought that was weird.
Maybe being a big block pushed the option to a FF rear?
 
Also, the ebrake cables changed in the late 80's, as well as the backign plates

and the 2wd shock mounts are different.
 
'85 to '89('91) e-brake cable should be the same. Think '85 was change over year.
Didn't know or even think about shock mounts being different. Thanks!
Shock mounts kills that idea...don't have a welder anymore.
Like I said it's half price this weekend at pick your part so I'll see what I can find. I'll try and put my eyes on all the differences.
If there's nothing good, I'll grab the Suburban and start taking parts off.
 
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