dirtridinz71
I'm Awesome
All depends what size tire you run and how you use it. If staying 35" and just light trail use and occasional mud then a corp 10 or D44 will be fine.
1 ton axle swap possibilities
- Thread starter hipasschev94
- Start date
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All depends what size tire you run and how you use it. If staying 35" and just light trail use and occasional mud then a corp 10 or D44 will be fine.
Sometimes its cheaper to buy an entire donor truck and take the t case and axles and swap them over rather than searching for individual parts. Try looking for a m1008 cucv parts truck as they had the 4.56 gears, rear locker, sometimes front locker too, NP 205 transfer case, dana 60 and 14 bolt ff obviously. Realistically plan to spend about 5000-6000 dollars doing this 'the right way' with all rebuilt axles, a SAS front end kit, shackle flip rear, zero rate rear, etc. ORD makes the best shackle flip and has tons of parts for this, and there are quite a few companys that make a front end hanger kit, i cant really remember which was considered the best, when i was thinking about doing it but there are a few that are not well made so watch out.
btw if you are going to take the time to do this, do it right, do it once, with all 1 ton running gear that is all rebuilt
btw if you are going to take the time to do this, do it right, do it once, with all 1 ton running gear that is all rebuilt
While not whole heartedly, I disagree with this. If this truck will have less than 37" tires, mainly see highway and towing use, and a little playful mud I would not hesitate to use a properly built D44HD 8 lug from a 70's F250 with the Chevy brakes swapped on.
You can build a decent D44 for what it costs to buy a D60 that needs rebuilt and regeared. Plus if you are not going to be in the rocks with it your main weak spot is the u-joints. Running Spicer 760X forged joints in good alloy shafts and full circle clips will make it very hard to break unless you are wheel hoping on rocks with the wheels turned hard over and the engine revved up.
Driving style has a lot to do with it too. My locked 10b with stock shafts brought me through the same obstacle on our last trail ride that broke the shaft on a D60 in a bronco on 38s that came up behind me. A D60 and a built rig is not a crutch for a bad driver.
Now, he still hasn't outlined what he wants this thing to do or how big he wants to go with it. He said mudfest, but Florida swamp truck mud is a lot different from the dirty rain water mud that most everyone here in the Virginia mountains play in. I personally prefer rocks because I don't like putting in seals and bearings yearly but the K5 isn't going to see more than 37" tires and I'm a very mild mannered and deliberate driver offroad so my 10b/12b should do fine for me.
At one point I had considered swapping to a GMT400 ECSB 2500 that was here locally and if I had done that, I was going to run the same 10b in my blazer with 8 lug outers under it. That plan changed when my girls didn't want to give up the removable top of the K5.
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hipasschev94
I'm Awesome
as far as size im planning on running 37's and ya for the most part it will mainly see highway and towing as there a very few oportunities where i live for off roading beside the very few in between trips to the cabin or like i said mud fest but when i do get chances to go off road i beat on my vehicles fairly hard so i do want it to be capable to handle it, and i just got to deal with minnesota mud lol im not sure where that would rank nation wide but we have some fairly good swamps
Do you have some pictures of beating on stuff hard? One ton axles, especially a 14b, are just land anchors on tires under 40" in my opinion. I've seen them in rigs with 35-38" tires and they all struggled with getting hung up on the rear diff frequently. You might look at trading that 14ff for a 14sf with a locker already in it. They are common to find in 4.10 ratio and would do great on 37" tires. You can get them in 6 or 8 lug also to match your D44 or swap it to 8 lug to match the rear.
I'm just trying to give you some options for a street truck that isn't "throw every penny you can make for 5 years into a truck that doesn't really need it in the long run". Not that the others don't know what they are talking about, but I don't think a D60 is need for every SAS that's ever going to be done. Some perspective in the planning stages goes a long way toward actually completing a project.
The guy I mentioned earlier with the tubed up bronco on 38s and one ton stuff has told me a couple times now that he wishes he'd have just put a solid D44 under the front, locked it on both ends with some 36s and been out wheeling with me in my beater K5 rather than $15k and three years tied up in a truck he has to haul everywhere. Would you be better off with an off the shelf 6" lift with 35s and a rear locker?
I'm just trying to give you some options for a street truck that isn't "throw every penny you can make for 5 years into a truck that doesn't really need it in the long run". Not that the others don't know what they are talking about, but I don't think a D60 is need for every SAS that's ever going to be done. Some perspective in the planning stages goes a long way toward actually completing a project.
The guy I mentioned earlier with the tubed up bronco on 38s and one ton stuff has told me a couple times now that he wishes he'd have just put a solid D44 under the front, locked it on both ends with some 36s and been out wheeling with me in my beater K5 rather than $15k and three years tied up in a truck he has to haul everywhere. Would you be better off with an off the shelf 6" lift with 35s and a rear locker?
