Quote:
Originally Posted by 70RedBlurr
4X4 Community comes through once again spitting information and dropping knowledge.
So I know I want disc brakes up front and stay 6 luggers. My biggest fear was dropping in my 383 stroker and breaking an axle. I mean my stroker is most definitely not putting out 600 foot pounds of torque, but I want to do my axles once and not have to upgrade to 8 lug and then have to chase down another set of 8 lug weld wheels. Jeffahart thanks for the link brother. I quickly realized what kind of offroading i am going to be doing and what my needs are. Ill be doing mostly fire roads, some intermediate trails to camping locations and for sure hitting those mud pits! I would be really happy driving to the junkyard or searching Craigslist for some used factory axles i could rebuild with some slightly beefier parts and add a limited slip or locker to. I know for sure I dont need custom fabbed axle housings. Although I will more than happily entertain the thought of buying beefier rebuilt OEM axles from a shop that wont break the bank. anyone out there have any recommendations?
Oh and is cross over steering worth converting to in my application??
Thank you once again gents for the input. I am reading it all and doing research as well.
|
Here's a bit of knowledge. An 8 lug D44 or 10B really is no different than the 6 lug versions other than the rotor lug count. Axle shafts are the same between them. So in the end, the 8 lug 44 or 10b isn't gaining anything over the 6 lug version unless you need one to match a 14b rear axle. If you want to fortify either version, get chrome-moly axle shafts for it.
For your intended usage either 44 or 10 bolt would be more than fine. The 44 or 10 bolt will handle the weight of your 383 and live with the torque. If you leave the front diff open you will be less likely to snap a stock shaft. If you do go with a limited-slip or locker, upgrade the shafts for sure.
I'd wouldn't go past 35" tires with either axle as it will keep the stress on the shafts within reason. Going bigger will require the upgraded shafts for sure.
I wheeled my old '75 for a long time on 35's and an open front diff. Beat on it actually with the manual trans. Turned out I broke the 12b rear before the front got any damage at all. The 12b failure wasn't on a trail either. Lost a tooth on the pinion and it got shot out of the cover a block away from my house. Now I will admit in my '91 while it had the 5.3 I did manage to snap an axle shaft 3 times with my D44 8 lug front axle. I am running a Tru-trac up front and it seems to be part of my issue with breakage. The Tru-trac has a tendency to wind up under torque and the auto trans seems to keep the torque applied. Each time I broke I had gone from drive to reverse to back out of a situation. Chromo shafts are on my upgrade list, but the 8.1 project kinda snowballed and killed the budget. Just have to keep my right foot under control until I upgrade.