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Super 10 bolt?

U

uberbeans

1/2 ton status
Joined
May 14, 2004
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Jacksonville, Florida
Money being no object can you make a front end 10 bolt "bullet-proof"? What if you had Chrome-moly shafts, CTM joints, Warn hubs, Yukon gears, 1350 u-joint, and a Detroit or lock-rite. How close in strength would it be to a D-60? Honest opinions with no ball-busting please.:D
 
IIRC a 10 bolt woth all the doodads will be about as strong as a stock dana 60, maybe a little more if you had a locker or something that replaced the whole carrier. The R&P would be the weakest point then.

Edit: you would still have smaller bearings, ball joints, and smaller axle tubes.
 
If money was no problem , I would buy two premade ready to drop in 60's . One rear , one front .................. Both in six lug :thumb:
 
pauly383 said:
If money was no problem , I would buy two premade ready to drop in 60's . One rear , one front .................. Both in six lug :thumb:
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I can appreciate that but what I was looking for was a strength comparison and just how strong the ultimate 10 bolt would be. Not to mention the fact that converting your truck from 10 bolt to D60 isn't a cheap proposition with the brake changes and wheels and everything. I've heard setting up a front 60 conversion including the axle without a locker could cost like 1600 bucks. Makes a really built 10 not seem that bad if you could get decent strength.
 
I am wondering the same thing. I plan on really beefing up my front 10b when I am done building the rear 14sf. After sitting down and really figuring up costs vs what I will be doing with it I didnt think it was worth it. I guess if I really start getting the urge for body damage I might upgrade to the D60 later but it would probably be on a tube buggy.
 
uberbeans said:
Money being no object can you make a front end 10 bolt "bullet-proof"? What if you had Chrome-moly shafts, CTM joints, Warn hubs, Yukon gears, 1350 u-joint, and a Detroit or lock-rite. How close in strength would it be to a D-60? Honest opinions with no ball-busting please.:D
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This is EXACTLY what I did to my truck. Ive got the Loc-Rite in the back only though. I used mainly Yukon Gears and all good parts from Randy Pinon. I dont wheel too horrible hard, but its holding up well. Im only running 32" with a wimpy 305. Once I get the Crate GM 350 then well will see. Id like to also go up to 33" someday.
 
In all honesty , for most of the wheeling I see on this site , you are better off with some spare shafts somewhere on board , and an easy right foot to stay in the 35-37 inch tire range on a 10 bolt front .

Some of the guys I wheel with can go a whole season without breaking a front shaft , and a few break a shaft or two periodically .

I wouldn't really worry too much about making it bulletproof , just use some quality parts and go wheeling . If you have the cash buy the shafts , but they aren't absolutely neccessary .................unless you drive with a heavy foot .
 
The big thing you would have to worry about would be the ball joints wearing out or breaking as opposed the the kingpins on a D60.
 
between chromo shafts, ctm's, gears and some sort of locker you'd have a pretty nice 10 bolt. but even with all that it's still a 10 bolt and you could get a stock d60 that would be comparable in strength and a higher likely hood of a desirable gear ratio for less cash.

in my 10 bolt im running 4.56's, a lockright and 37" ssr's and ive gone through 5 axle shafts now. sure puttin in spares isn't a huge deal, but it gets REAL annoying after a while. with the local yards barren of 4x4's, a spare pair of shafts has typically run me between 70-80 bucks from a forum member. it adds up.

not to mention you're either down for a while at the trail swapping a shaft, or you're down a wheel(if locked) with more load on your remaining shaft if you wait till hittin the house to do it. ive also heard of stub shafts taking out spindles and locking hubs with them when they grenade.

if you plan on really wheeling your truck, i dont see any good reason not to go with a 60. the initial cost is higher, in the long run, it's worth it.

with that said my 60 should be going under the truck in a month or so.
 
i was thinkin about the same thing with my d44. one of my grandfathers friends pretty much makes his living lifting trucks and putting 40's and up... he's always used the stock axles... meaning he has used some ten bolts... and he has never said a word about them breaking.. yet these are show trucks, dd, and mud boggers.
 
If you are going to wheel hard with 37" tires and are going to be shock loading the axles with a manual tranny then I would start looking for a D60. I am a huge supporter of 1/2 tons can get it done but if you don't have alot of money invested in your 10bolt front already and plan to wheel hard with 37" tires or bigger then you need to seriously think about dropping all that coin on a D60 and 14bff.

I personally wheel a 10 bolt front with 35" & 37" MTR's, locker, 4.56 gears, and I have not broken a shaft yet rockcrawling. I ruined the ears on one but I have never broken one. I personally think this is due to good driving habits, good spotters (the main key), and having a slightly limited steering radius. I carry plenty of spare parts for the 10 bolt because I know I can definilty break it at any time. I am just ok with the fact that it will break at some point in time and I will have to fix it.

Harley
 
i thought about dropping all those nice parts into my 10b, but i didnt like the fact that it will still be a 10b which isnt very desirable if you have to sell for whatever reason. all those parts would cost about the same as a decent d60.
 
Upgrading shafts, u-joints, etc. will just open you up to other weak points. The housing, ring and pinion, ball joints, knuckles, hubs, etc are all much weaker than those on a 60. That being said, there are many people succesfully running 35-37" tires on 10 bolts but I would look for a 60 or just carry stock spares.
 
NO. don't waste the money. like was said earlier. you won't get your money back out when you eventually go to a 60. I did everything possible to beef my 44 and I snapped a shaft everytime out. The last time was messing around in my own driveway on a pile of plowed up snow.:doah:

There are deals out there on 60's. you have to be patient and always be looking. I have less then $800 in mine. it has new hubs, rotors, wheel studs, races, seals, brake pads, calipers, and u-bolts.
 
MattK said:
between chromo shafts, ctm's, gears and some sort of locker you'd have a pretty nice 10 bolt. but even with all that it's still a 10 bolt and you could get a stock d60 that would be comparable in strength and a higher likely hood of a desirable gear ratio for less cash.

in my 10 bolt im running 4.56's, a lockright and 37" ssr's and ive gone through 5 axle shafts now. sure puttin in spares isn't a huge deal, but it gets REAL annoying after a while. with the local yards barren of 4x4's, a spare pair of shafts has typically run me between 70-80 bucks from a forum member. it adds up.

not to mention you're either down for a while at the trail swapping a shaft, or you're down a wheel(if locked) with more load on your remaining shaft if you wait till hittin the house to do it. ive also heard of stub shafts taking out spindles and locking hubs with them when they grenade.
if you plan on really wheeling your truck, i dont see any good reason not to go with a 60. the initial cost is higher, in the long run, it's worth it.

with that said my 60 should be going under the truck in a month or so.
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M 10 bolt has the Yukon gears (4:88's) and a Lock-rite. I am running 37's. There aren't alot of rocks here in Florida mostly trails and mud, though I am planning to move back to Washington one day and thats when I will probably have to go with the 60.
I was wondering about this for the mean time. I think I will go with the chrome-moly shafts and CTM's and have my shaft upgraded to 1350's. My ball joints are new. I will just carry spare parts. What do you think?
 
gmc4cw said:
NO. don't waste the money. like was said earlier. you won't get your money back out when you eventually go to a 60. I did everything possible to beef my 44 and I snapped a shaft everytime out. The last time was messing around in my own driveway on a pile of plowed up snow.:doah:

There are deals out there on 60's. you have to be patient and always be looking. I have less then $800 in mine. it has new hubs, rotors, wheel studs, races, seals, brake pads, calipers, and u-bolts.
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Does it have a locker in your 60? Did you have to change your wheels? That adds up, right? What shafts and u-joints were you running in your 44? I'm concerned about my lost money in my parts already invested. If I could just spend 5 or 6 hundred more and make it pretty strong then maybe it is worth it. What do you think?
 
uberbeans said:
M 10 bolt has the Yukon gears (4:88's) and a Lock-rite. I am running 37's. There aren't alot of rocks here in Florida mostly trails and mud, though I am planning to move back to Washington one day and thats when I will probably have to go with the 60.
I was wondering about this for the mean time. I think I will go with the chrome-moly shafts and CTM's and have my shaft upgraded to 1350's. My ball joints are new. I will just carry spare parts. What do you think?
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my truck has never really been on any rocks other than some goofing around. i've broken 2 in pure mud pits and 3 doing trails/climbs. it's possible to get around fine without breaking anything, but dont plan on be able to use much power to do so.

looking at the ORD site...you are lookin at just shy of $1000 to upgrade to warn axle shafts and ctm joints alone. you can find 60's for less than that without a whole lotta work.

then you factor in that the weak point becomes the carrier. if that goes, its possibly to take the gears with it. the risk adds up...you upgrade one thing, the other stock parts become weak links until you're running basically a brand new axle. doesn't sound very cost efficient.

it's up to you man, it'll get you by, but i know with my truck, driving style, and terrain the 60 is an easy decision for me.
 
uberbeans said:
Does it have a locker in your 60? Did you have to change your wheels? That adds up, right? What shafts and u-joints were you running in your 44? I'm concerned about my lost money in my parts already invested. If I could just spend 5 or 6 hundred more and make it pretty strong then maybe it is worth it. What do you think?
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I already had 16.5 8 lug wheels. I had a 14ff/dana44 before. I had warn HD shafts in the 44 with the high dollar spicer joints. don't recall the number 5somethingX. I had $625 in shafts alone before joints or locker.

Lets say a locker is $xxx for a dana 44, how much more is that same locker for a 60?
stock 60 shafts are stronger then HD 44 shafts. so no extra cost there.

stock 60 u-joints are the size of your fist. upgrade when you break one. the ones I am running came with the axle and it was laying in a field for at least 7 years that I know of. I'm trying to break them. really I am.

I kept telling myself that $100 here or there was better then $800-1000 for a 60. I got tired of breaking down on the trail, wasting time trying to fix it only to break again. I paid $360 for the 60 with DRW hubs. $320 for new GM hubs with rotors, studs, and races installed. Loaded calipers are a joke, something like $50. they had all the clips and they took back the 30 year old cores.

You just have to make it your mission to find the deal. Its harder to find a good one, but worth it.
 
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