axle options.

[ALF]

I've recently been contemplating my axle options. I'm currently running a D44 and 12 bolt in a 78 blazer. I'm planning on upgrading to a 38" tire eventually. I don't think I'll ever be able to afford the treasured D60, and don't see a purpose in swapping in 8 lug outers onto my D44 and putting a 14 bolt in the rear cuz then I have to find new rims too . In everyones travels to the local PNP's has anyone ran acrross a 6 lug 14 bolt . I think that is what I would really like to do and then regear at the time of the swap. Or should I regear now and blow up my 12 bolt for motivation to upgrade axles

 

[Mr.Chevy]

I have been thinking the same thing on my 89 blazer and I am like you I dont think I could afford the 60 and 14. But it looks like the next step up or just beef up what you have. I would love to have a 44 and 12 it is better then what I have now but I figur if I am going to upgrade to just go all the way and spend the money (that i dont really have ) for a 60 and 14 with 4.55 gears lockers and disk brakes.

 

[Milner]

A semi-float 14 is not going to gain you much over your 12 bolt. There is a lot of race stuff in Jegs/Summit for a 12B. Get the c-clip elim kit and some alloy axles for it. You could also have a shop put 9" still pockets on the 12B and have shafts made.

 

[Cody]

with 38's and a big heavy rig, the 44 will cost you more to maintain than the 60 will cost to just buy and be done with it. I am in your boat, I couldn't afford a 60 so I went with a 44. 18 axles, 8 joints, and 20+ hubs later I'm kicking myself for not doing it right the first time. I now have some alloys shafts and joints in it which have seemed to solve my breakage problems, but for the $$ I put into the shafts/joints I could have put a 60 in. I could have put 3 60's in for the money invested in all the broken parts and I could have put 10 60's in if you count all the man hours spent finding parts, swapping shafts, and swearing on the side of the trail as all my buddies keep wheelin and I'm stuck on the wrong end of the strap with broken axles.

Cody

 

[KToy]

x2 what cody said. i had a 44 with 37's and broke way too much stuff.

i bought a 77 dodge 1ton and stole the 60 out of it

bought it for 900 and then parted it out for 1100

so i got my money back plus 200 bux minus the 50 or so hours i spend tearing it apart for ppl

it was nice it had a flat bed and all i sold all but the cab and then recycled the rest.


all im saying is ya you can use what ya got and be gentle on it until you find a deal like i did. chevy d60 are easy to find for 700 bux in my opinion.

cody needs a HP d60 from a for and those are very hard to find.

good luck on the axles you decide to use.

 

[Cody]

cody needs a HP d60 from a for and those are very hard to find.

right. Ford 60's are a little harder to come by. my situation is compounded by the fact that not only would do I need a 60, but if I did I would have to redo my entire frotn suspension and change it out to 5 x5.5 to match up to everything. Initially, it would have cost me an extra 500 bucks to go from the 44 to a 60, but now it would cost the price of the 60 plus another 1000 to rework everthing. So it would coust me 1000 to buy my way out of my mistake, plus all the money and time I've spent on the 44 since I put it in.

I deffinatly understand your situation and not being able to afford it, I'm just sharing my story with hopes that someone else won't make my mistake.

I will tell you this though, I'm pretty rough on my stuff. I went a year before I started breaking parts. If you're easy on it, the 44 may live, but if you're at all hard on it with the weight of a blazer, you're going to KILL it. We had a FS Ramcharger w/ 35's on Rusty Nail and he blew up his 44 and he wasn't even that on it.

Cody

 

[KToy]

i usually break my ujoints on flat ground turning with a lil push of the gas. those things snap like tooth pics..

also i might add this is on a toyota 4cyl so ya a huge blazer with a v8.

if you do not put a locker up front it should last you just fine. as soon as you throw a locker in the front its gonna blow up.

so just do a locker int he rear 12b and your good.

 

[mbryson]

........... We had a FS Ramcharger w/ 35's on Rusty Nail and he blew up his 44 and he wasn't even that on it.

Cody

.....(and on Lower Helldorado, Hell's Revenge, Moab Rim, Pritchett Canyon.....).....I've got as much experience with a Ram D44 as I do with an XJ D30.

 

[lewis]

before you decide to switch to the semi float 14 bolt check out the gearing options and locker prices. they don't offer very many gear ratio's and the lockers are more.