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Upgrade the 10 bolt corporate or swap for Dana 60/44 and 14 bolt ff

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k5blazer874x4

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Modesto, CA
I'm trying to decide if i really need an upgrade to a Dana 60/44 in the front and a 14 bolt full floater in rear. I read in an article that you could upgrade the corporate 10's axle shafts and u-joints and be alright with 36" tires. I was wondering if any of you guys have done this or seen this before, and does it really make the 10 bolts that much stronger. I do the occasional off road such as trails and mud sometimes it gets a little rough. The 10 bolts have held up so far. I'm running 35" A/T tires right now but i wanted to go with the 36" or 37" pitbull growlers and some point install a locker in the rear. if anyone could help me in the right direction i would really appreciate it.

Thanks for the help.
 
i'm running 37" mtr's on stock 10 bolt shafts, if you're easy on the gas, you'll be fine.
 
Jason4x4 said:
i'm running 37" mtr's on stock 10 bolt shafts, if you're easy on the gas, you'll be fine.
Click to expand...

Yeah i run a locked 44 up front with 36 tsls. Those growlers are gonna be heavy though as all pitbulls are huge wide. I wouldnt run pitbulls on a 1/2 ton axle but and regular tire like a tsl or MT wouldnt bother me.
 
Going from a 10-bolt to a D44 in the front is not an upgrade in any way, shape, or form. But in any case I would be concerned about the rear 10-bolt way before the front. It's just so cheap and easy to swap in a 14FF rear axle and change the front 10-bolt to 8-lug (or swap in a matching geared 8-lug front 10-bolt) there's really no reason not to. The nice thing about this is with going to the rear 14FF you will never have to worry about it again, and lockers and disc brakes are pretty cheap and easy to do.

I never will recommend spending the $$ to "upgrade" a front 10-bolt or D44 with bling shafts and such. Just keep a complete spare set of shafts in the truck and learn how to swap them out on the trail....and of course keep it sane with the skinny pedal. If you now how to do it this repair can be down in under an hour taking your time with hand tools. The thing about the front axle is that even if you break something it usually does not disable the truck and you can keep driving in 2wd, including absolutely no issues on pavement. Break a rear 10-bolt and there is a high probability you will have issues just moving the truck.
 
DO the 14bff in rear and take a spare set of shafts on front. Unless you have the extra cash laying around for a D60. The different rear will be a big difference in reliability.
 
If you want to upgrade , upgrade . However , most of the light to moderate trails in the southwest just require a good spotter and some driving skills .

Chromoly shafts , or Spicers and decent joints upfront , and a complete light duty six lug k2500 pickup rearend ( huge bearings and 33 spline shafts ) will suffice if you want to upgrade .
 
Well looked at the prices for the upgraded axle shafts and i could just about buy the 14 bolt ff for the price of one long axle shaft. now im really going for the 14 bolt ff and just convert the front to match the lug pattern.

thanks for the input guys.
 
I am also on the hunt for a 14 bolt. I just got prices for 10 bolt $550, 14 sf 6 lug 600 and 14 FF 8 lug $850 - all not rebuilt - from santa clara truck wreakers. Guy there was real nice and knowlegable.
Anybody got a better source? I called pick and pull in San Jose and got some female num num who no habla'd. navarra truck is prices about the same.
 
lizard49 said:
I am also on the hunt for a 14 bolt. I just got prices for 10 bolt $550, 14 sf 6 lug 600 and 14 FF 8 lug $850 - all not rebuilt - from santa clara truck wreakers. Guy there was real nice and knowlegable.
Anybody got a better source? I called pick and pull in San Jose and got some female num num who no habla'd. navarra truck is prices about the same.
Click to expand...

For those prices I'd be running anywhere else... Check craigslist, put a wanted ad up on this site in the classifieds, anything else...
 
yea same thinking here........i paid 65.00 for a 14b ff and they even torched it out and put it in my truck, then i bought a d44 from the same place all parts intact for 75.00 loaded in my truck. i didnt have to do a thing besides pay...lol................id search craigslist or even look for a parts truck , that would save you cash...
 
Do whatever makes the most sense money wise, I was in dire need of a re-gear my burb had 3.42's in the stock 6-lug 10 bolts. I found a good condition 14bolt FF with 4.10's and was going to convert my 10 bolt over to 8-lug and re-gear. This was going to cost 5-600.00 in itself. I was patient and found a good condition Dana 60 SRW front last week for 600.00 with 4.10's complete. I had searched the local yards high and low and the 10 bolt 3/4 ton fronts are scarce. Most of the local ones got crushed last year when the scrap prices were high. In the end I came out cheaper going with a Dana 60, I am only running 35's so the 60 is overkill but I dont have to worry about it now.

Just FYI, Last year Before I decided to re-gear I rebuilt the outers on my front 10 bolt. Paying wholesale prices on the parts I spent close to 400.00 putting all new bearings, ball joints, locking hubs and seals in it my self. So take that the rebuild factor into consideration. I gave 150.00 for a complete 14 bolt FF with 4.10's out of a 3/4 ton truck.

Be patient and search other sources, Patience leads to good prices.
 
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