72 3/4 ton 10 bolt rear end

[Hoodogie]

My 72 has a 10 blot rear end with 4-10s. I've been told that I can't get 3.73's for it. is my only option an overdrive transmission? I want to haul a small camping trailer with it. Any recommendations on what tranny is best would help, it will give me some direction on what to buy if I go that way Thanks P.
s. I have a brand new rebuilt 350t in it now could have saved a few bucks

[Shinysideup]

They came with 3.70 ratio. You could easily swap to a 700r4 for overdrive.

[kwmech]

Sounds like you have the Eaton rear. You could swap to a Dana 60 rear or put in an overdrive. I personally would not recommend a 700 for any type of long distance towing. I would step up to a 4L80 with a separate controller in your 3/4 ton. OR a Gear vendor overdrive

[Stocker]

I'm also thinking you might have an Eaton..... sometimes mistakenly identified as a 10-bolt because the rear cover is attached with 10 bolts. Here's a pic of an Eaton:

[special-K]

It's an HO52, which has a 10 bolt cover. Dana 60 also has a 10 bolt cover. So does a Dana 44, for that matter.

[Mike C]

What do you use your truck for? Do you have fab skills? You can get an 8 lug semi-float 14 bolt from a newer truck with 3.23, 3.42, or 3.73 quite commonly then weld on new perches for your coil spring setup (will need custom u-bolts for the 3 1/4" tubes) or if you have leafs, you can move the perches and re-weld.

Unless you tow a bunch any of those would be good solutions for driveablity without the cost of an OD trans.

As mentioned, the Dana 60 can be found in a bolt-in with 3.54 or 3.73 but they are not as easy to find as they once were.

I think 4.10 was the smallest gear you could get in the HO52? At one time somebody was making some 3.90 gears but they sold out years ago. The Ho52/72 is the grandfather of the full-float 14 bolt and you can use a full-float detroit and 30 spline axles in one. A really skilled dude might be able to make the ring and pinion work as well.

[jradford]

Just went through these questions with my truck on a thread. Do a search for the thread on my post. There were excellent replies with rearend options charts for this truck. My 72 C20 is a dana 60 with 4.10. My truck is a leaf spring option truck so the rear end is not the standard rear end. The C20's with leafs got a heavier axel.. The thread has tons of info to help you. If you can't find it I will see if I can find my saved info for the 72 C20 axel options. Surprised me at how many there were.

[stsalvage]

Most of the guys Keep trying to say the 700R4 is the way to go.Should really ask them how much this the transmission cost to rebuild.----------- Plus the extra 1300.00 for get the shift patterns right.

That is the one thing most of the guys for get to leave out.Big mistake.

We can use there money.Morons.I've talked 2 - 3 different trans shops that tell me they love to just build the 700r4 and left you put it in and be done with it.What most of them hate is having to set up the trans for shifting points when to kick down when to hold pressure.700R4 are a nightmare.Now i understand why they went to the computer control ones.

Only problem with the 4L80E is there is not problem wonderful bulletproof trans.But you need a cab that came with a 4 speed or a big block with the th400 the bell housing dose not fit under the small hump floor trucks.Not enough room

[stsalvage]

The gear vendor is a wonderful add on if your looking for a over or under drive gear that is the best

a few points about a gear vendor If you want a 6 speed you have to order it for the th350 or the th400 or the 2 speed power glide.

Now this is the funny thing about a gear vendor if you want billy goat for a gear all you have to do is flip it around Now you have a low ass gear you start with a 4.11 gear but in the end you end with a 5.25 if your looking to do some hill climbing or tail driving or rock climbing.

But your running a 4.11 I feel the last gear cruising at 90 mph you will be in 3.25 or even a 2.90 RPM's will be at 2300 rpms.

Price tag of a gear vendor is 2500.00 or a little more But well worth it.

John Force uses a Gear vendor in his funny car it can handle the RPM's and mega torq

[Hoodogie]

you guys have been a great help as always. Thanks for all your suggestions I'll let you know what I go with and how it turns out.

[Hoodogie]

My mechanic friend suggested that tranny instead of the gear vendor but it won't fit from what you said glad you mentioned that he hump is to small. I will have to go with the gear vendor I guess $$$$$$ this truck has exceeded my budget a long time ago. Thanks for the info I would have bought the tranny to find out it wouldn't fit good job

[jocko]

FWIW, considering the additional stuff ya gotta do with a trans swap, tv cable adjusting stuff, all the peripherals, etc etc, and the labor of the engine move fwd (it's definitely doable, holes are there already), the trans swap can be almost as expensive as the GV install. GV is straightforward, the only things needed are the GV unit and a driveshaft (either shortened donor, shortened original, or custom made). Depending on the level of 700R4 you were eyeing, you could also easily exceed the cost of a GV unit with the whole swap, but, generally speaking, 700R4 swap is usually a little less expensive than a GV swap. If you source a buddy trans deal, then it can indeed be significantly less. Also keep an eye out on CL for GV units, they do come up for sale from time to time.

[kwmech]

Originally Posted by stsalvage

But you need a cab that came with a 4 speed or a big block with the th400 the bell housing dose not fit under the small hump floor trucks.Not enough room.

Not true, the 400 will fit under a small hump. When they rub is when the cab mounts squish down being 40+ years old. My 69 GMC, from the factory had a T400 in it with a small block. I installed a 454 which pushed the engine back 1.5'' and there is still clearance around the bell....enough to get my hand in there. It is tight , but it doesn't rub

[kwmech]

Originally Posted by Hoodogie

My mechanic friend suggested that tranny instead of the gear vendor but it won't fit from what you said glad you mentioned that he hump is to small. I will have to go with the gear vendor I guess $$$$$$ this truck has exceeded my budget a long time ago. Thanks for the info I would have bought the tranny to find out it wouldn't fit good job

See my above post. However a gear vendor is a strong unit and I have one the above mentioned GMC. They are pricey though

Just realized that you have a 4x, that changes everything unless you pull the engine forward to the 2wd mounting spot. Then the only major thing would be the auto shifter pivot that bolts to the frame. It ends up right where the shackle sits. So updating that to something a little more modern, eliminating the pivot linkage. Personally I think anything would be better than relying on a 700. I've had many issues in the past and will not voluntarily install one in any of my vehicles.

[Hoodogie]

Originally Posted by kwmech

See my above post. However a gear vendor is a strong unit and I have one the above mentioned GMC. They are pricey though

Just realized that you have a 4x, that changes everything unless you pull the engine forward to the 2wd mounting spot. Then the only major thing would be the auto shifter pivot that bolts to the frame. It ends up right where the shackle sits. So updating that to something a little more modern, eliminating the pivot linkage. Personally I think anything would be better than relying on a 700. I've had many issues in the past and will not voluntarily install one in any of my vehicles.

Mine is not a 4x it's 3/4 ton camper special. 350 with a TH350. I've been looking around the forum and it looks like I need the large hump to install a 4L80E.

[special-K]

That's not a hard thing to do. Get the area around the hump from a carpped out rusted cab. That is one area that rarely rusts, having no place to hold crud in, center of truck, and most of all...usually coated in grease and oil

[Hoodogie]

I'm not sure I want to get into taking out the seats and carpet seeing that the truck is pretty much done and I have just put everything back together, will see, I'll have to think about it for awhile.