Want to go 1 ton

[swyfor5]

Plan on going with Dana 60 frt. axle, 14 bolt rear, 4wheel disc. brakes. Getting ready to do a frame off resto, but did a little more research. Going to go through and redo the drivetrain, suspension, and etc., before any major teardown. I guess, set it up the way I want it , and then tear it apart and make it perfect! Looking at Boyce for axles, any advice? Dont want to do a lot of fabrication, can I buy these axles from Boyce that will bolt right in? Boyce say's so, but any feedback? Also any driveshaft mod tips? Thank's in advance! Gotta love this board for great info! K5 to stay alive!

[florida4x4]

All the D60 factory applications bolt in. Got one for my 72 from a 84 K30... I think Boyce sells CUCV axles. Same thing.

[swyfor5]

Great, Florida that's good to know. Anything else to watch out for guy's? Can't wait to tell the wife I need to start shopping for new wheels and tires!

[c502]

It has been my experience that the 14 bolt rear end from a K30 one ton 4x4 Chevy or GMC is the only bolt in rear end to the early Blazers. Every other 14 bolt you have to move spring perches. Not that big a deal, but this one bolts right in. Just something to keep in mind.

[florida4x4]

If you are serious about traction try to get one with a powerlock. The CUCV's had them with 4.56 gears. Check out the D60 bible in tech section on Pirate4x4. It gives a part number for those axles.

Like c502 said, the 14FF 1-ton axles bolt in and the 3/4 ton's require moving the perches. no big deal if you have a torch, grinder and welder.

[swyfor5]

Thank's guys. I want one that bolts right in. No messing around. Drop out the old, in with the new! Anyone used Boyce axles for this type of app?

[1969k10stepside]

One thing to note,if you install a 14 bolt from a 1 ton.You wont have to move the spring perches.You will how ever have to re locate shock mounts to the front of the axle.That's not hard to do though.Just thought I'd point that out.

[EFI70Blazer]

Both shock mounts have to be remounted. One inboard further and the other needs swapped to the other side. Later model rear's have the shock mounts wider because they are mounted on the outside of the frame instead of the inside of the frame like early model Blazers. Trust me i just did this along with putting new perches on and locating my rear end further back. Here are a couple pics.









Never did take pics of the shocks installed or putting the shock mounts on.

[EFI70Blazer]

I still need to set up some gears to match the back since i changed to 4.10 ratio. Disc brake upgrade is also planned. I only moved the rear 1" back, but my tire does look a lot more centered than it was.

[swyfor5]

VT, can you help me here? Looking at Boyce setup, can't afford Dynatrac, what should I do?

[vtblazer]

Find a donor truck for cheap but consider all the angles for the swap.

If you can't afford the axles as things are right now, maybe scrounging around finding parts is the way to go.

How far do you want to go with your truck? (your build hopes)

Will you be doing a spring swap when the one tons go in or staying with what you have?

52 & 63 inch springs can be found uber cheap too.

[swyfor5]

Right on, currently running 8" lift superlift springs, frt., and back. Not a lot of flex, never been on a ramp, but I know it's not good. Rig is not going to be a big rockcrawler, but I want it to be setup for any situation. Can you give me a primer on the 52"-63" spring setup? Have to find the funds soon, don"t want to go scrounging, want to go new as much as possible. Hoping to sell off a lot of the old parts to offset the cost of the new parts. Includes stock axles, w/wagon wheelsw/ 39.5 super swamper tsl's, etc. Have been hording parts for this build for years and can't wait to get going! Currently running a stock 4 speed manual tran's, any thought's? Oh, enough already, gotta go!

[swyfor5]

I think I've made up my mind . Going to go with the Boyce D60 frt. axle, adding a ord crossover steer setup. Don't think I need the hi-steer kit? A 14blt, from Boyce in the rear. Think I'll use my current spring setup as a base guide. Maybe change suspension later. Oh, almost forgot, will need a rear shackle flip setup from ord. Need to eliminate the 4" blocks in the rear. Any feedback on this setup? Currently running 39.5" tires, might want to go a little bigger! Just have to save the funds for this project!

[onetonk5]

Find a donor truck like VT said and you will save some $$. Boyce is way over priced in my opinion.
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=571886
Look at what this guy is selling D60 fronts for.

[florida4x4]

I bought a donor truck $1200 and then rebuilt the axle with all new bearings, kingpins, 35 spline outers, warn hubs, gears and a powerlock for another $1500. Put my 3/4 D44 in the donor tryck and sold it for $1500 Then I made the crossover steering with a superlift 1104 pitman arm and a Sky manufacturing steeting arm. I think I'd use the OTT steering arm if I did it again. Nothing wrong with the Sky part. It's been on the truck for 5 plus years. The difference is that OTT uses factory fasteners and not cut off threaded grade 8 bolts and lugnuts. I would rather have the factory grade fasteners even though Sky has worked well.

One other thing you will need is track / panhard bar. It is necessary as the crossover will be pushing the axle side to side. Granted, I ran my truck without one for years but now that I have 39.5's and 6" springs the steering slop is more noticable. It needs to be the same length as the drag link and mounted as parallel as possible. I just collected the parts to do one.

[vtblazer]

Originally Posted by florida4x4

One other thing you will need is track / panhard bar. It is necessary as the crossover will be pushing the axle side to side. Granted, I ran my truck without one for years but now that I have 39.5's and 6" springs the steering slop is more noticable. It needs to be the same length as the drag link and mounted as parallel as possible. I just collected the parts to do one.

That sounds like a pretty good idea doing a panhard bar.

What parts are you gathering to make it happen?

[florida4x4]

I'm using 1.25x1.20 DOM tubing with threaded inserts and 3/4 heim rod ends.

[swyfor5]

I have no clue, as to what that is. Any pic's? Am new to the 1 ton game, but I am a quick learner!

[florida4x4]

I don't have pics of the parts right now but here is some information that may help.

http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billav...ngresearch.htm

[swyfor5]

Thank's Florida 4x4, pic's are always a big help to me. Think I will go with the crossover and the hi-steer setup, just think it's better with everything up above the leaf springs. No worries about hanging up and bending! Anybody got any feedback on extremeaxles? Say they can get me axles really cheap, sounds to good to be true. Anybody?

[vtblazer]

I got my 4340 axles and spool from Four Wheel Supply, great guy to deal with, check him out.

http://www.fourwheelsupply.net/

[swyfor5]

VT, I have to back up here. I need to purchase a complete dana 60 frt axle, and a complete 14blt axle for my rig. With my limited experience in this area, I have found Dynatrac, Boyce, and a few others that sell complete units. Really don't want to have to move spring mount pads and etc. From what I've found so far Boyce is the cheapest? I really want to bolt in rebuilt units, that are ready to go. I know this will cost me! Any advice on where to go from here? Thank's for all your help so far!

[florida4x4]

Boyce ought to be a good choice. get them to build them with the gears and traction aides you want. For serious offroad use, I suggest a dana powerloc in the front and a detroit locker in the rear. the detroit will bark the tires around corners but you learn to accelerate to the turn, make the turn with the engine idling, then give it the gas as you straighten up.

[swyfor5]

Thank's florida, that's what I'm talkin about! Any body got thoughts on if you really need to go with hydraulic assist setup for steering for this type of app? As in crossover system, hi-steer setup, with stock steering box- or? Really didn't want to get into the hydraulic's but I want to do it once and do it right.

[florida4x4]

Are you hitting the rocks? Hydraulic is for axles that are running a detroit locker - you can't turn without it. The powerloc will allow you to steer when you hit the gas but it only has 80% of the locking power of a detroit so in the rocks it's unacceptable. For the mud and trails, powerloc wins hands down.

To help power my milemarker hydraulic winch, I modified my PS pump for more volume and pressure and a nice side effect is the steering works very well. If stock is not good enough you can do that or buy an AGR pump. If you DIY you gotta watch out for PS boost greeed. Before I got the combination right, I overpressured and blew the cap out of a steering gear I like to hack my truck. AGR or similar might be a better choice for you.