Hey Everyone! Here comes the dumb blonde in me , LOL


I need to gear the big dawg but I am clueless as to what gears I need....& where to get them meshed...I am in Sacramento CA .....Friends are reccomending me to River City Rear & Diff...I'll probably end up there, hear nothing but good stuff about them....


OK...... What gears do I need if I run my 37s?


& What gears do I need if I run my 39.5s?

Friend keeps pushin toward 7:10?!?!?!?!?!?! That seems EXTREMELY LOW
Please help! Thanks!


Erin:)

Here is a handy table to help you decide.
http://www.4lo.com/geartable.html

If you have a manual 5.13's should be plenty. If you have an auto you may want to go a little lower. my .02 It all depends on your drivetrain and style of wheelin

Ummm......What axles? Kinda hard to suggest gearing options without any information. 5.13's may be as low as you can go, but with decent drivetrain, that should be plenty to turn 39.5's

Good point 5.13s are the lowest available for a C14FF. You also want to be careful of the pinion size. Going too low (especially in axles like the C10 or D44 that you likely have) will give you a pinion that will be very small and much more likely to break. Anything lower than 6:1 or so is getting a bit small even in a D60/D70. Pinions like that don't last when squeezed between big tires and compound gear reduction behind a V8 while toting a 5k+ lb beast...

I just have the stock 1/2 ton axels I beleive...10bolt

would going to 1 ton axels be a decent investment?

Thanks Again! I REALLY appeciate all this help!

Well, the general consensus (and my opinion as well) is that anything over 36" tires is getting into 1 ton territory. Of course that varies some with usage (mud, rocks, trails, etc.) and driving habits (some people have 2 speeds, stopped and wide open). However, 1 tons are not a trivial investment. Figure pushing $2k if you do the work yourself. Search for info on kingpin Dana 60s fronts (D60) in particular. They are somewhat rare and expensive (primarily due to the Jeep guys raiding every K30 they can find for the front axle - ;) there is a whole good natured (mostly) fight about this).

Anyway, just as a bit of a warning, there are many here who consider it their duty to police Pirate BB to keep it “pure”. This is considered the “college level” 4x4 tech site and “entry level” questions most often meet with some pretty harsh flaming. The GM forum here is about the only one that tolerates entry questions at all, and I’m honestly surprised that this question has not drawn out a flamer or two by now. So, not to draw any potential “members” away from pirate but, CK5 (www.coloradoK5.com) is generally much more hospitable to beginners AND it is totally focused on rigs like yours (also much higher volume, it is THE place for GM truck info on the web). My advise would be to go to CK5 to get the basics an learn, they are a friendly bunch in general. But, don’t forget about Pirate! There are topics covered here that just don’t receive attention on CK5 and I find answers here that I could get nowhere else. That’s why I’m a member of both sites…

Good luck!

Originally posted by BadDog
and I’m honestly surprised that this question has not drawn out a flamer or two by now.

Chix don't get flamed :D
that's the bottom line.....

as far as gearing goes, what motor, transmission and transfer case are you planning on using, what type of wheeling will you be doing? Those are all factors in the gearing equation.

Especially chix with PITBULLS!! :eek: :D

I don't care chick or no chick, 37's or 39.5 on stock 1/2 crap is just plane :rainbow: Get some neon shock boots for that mall cruiser.

Okay, now that that is out of my system, you're looking at at LEAST a 14 bolt full floater in the rear and eight lug hubs up front to match with 4.56 to 5.13 gears for 37's depending on your drivetrain and driving style. For 39.5's you'd better have a Dana 60 under the front and defineately 5.13's with more than a stock small block to push them.

But Chix also have to post a picture of thier breasts...That is a manditory PBB rule! Sorry no exemptions, post away!:skull:

BAD thanks for the heads up , but I think Ill plant my lil blonde ass right here :)
Admired ya guys for a long time , and Ive chosen to learn from the best :) You should be flattered.....

Tuck, but do chix get banged???? ?



Thanks 4 Bangler but its not going to be a mall cruiser and im not running any shock boots But i appreciate the attempt :flipoff2: :flipoff2:

If you plan on keeping stock 1/2 axles with 39.5's it will break at the mall too. :flipoff2:

Seriously, if you're not crazy with the go pedal, your stock front axle will be fine with eight lug hubs on it, the rear (assuming stock '90 Blazer 10-bolt) won't last twenty minutes with 37's, time to step up to a 14-bolt. Best thing to do is find some old whooped out pre '79 3/4 ton and rob the eight lug goodies from the front, and the whole rear axle. If you wanna recoup some cost, buy a 3/4 ton that runs and toss your 1/2 junk under it and sell it off.

Yeah, probably best to swap the entire axle assemblies as a pair. Coming from a 3/4 ton, you'll likely get lower gears, 4.10s are pretty common, and you'll get a matched gear set. C10 or D44 front with 8 lug outers are pretty much the same, just make sure you get the full C14FF rear. Like 4Bangler said, you can often resell the 3/4 ton with your axles under it for about what you paid for it. Just make sure you tell the person (if they can’t tell) what you did. You can do the same with a K30 if you can find one. It’s entirely possible and not uncommon to get a K30 for $2.5-$4k, swap the axles and sell it for the same price. Or, do like I did, just get rid of the light duty stuff and get a K30 to build. All the heavy goodies and none of the work.

Lots of options depending on what you want, what you got, what you can do for your self, and what you are lucky enough to find…

Oh, and I like your attitude! You single? ;)

Look for potential problems before you buy anything. When I swapped to a FF14 and D60 I had to relocate the rear spring pads, make a special braket for e-brake, and get a new master cylinder. It was well worth it though. The brakes and the steering are much better and I don't have to worry about breaking nuthing.......yet. If I had the time and the money I would have bought a k30 and swapped axles and stuff. Probably would have saved me $1000 or so. If you buy one get a 77-90.

Charlo

Good points. A K30 C14FF will have closer set spring pads that need moving out about 2" and the e-brake cables are different. I've been told that the e-brake cables can be swapped at the backing plate though, so maybe not too big a problem, but I can't say for sure. Generally speaking, a 3/4 ton C14FF is much easier to install and is usually a bolt in. But check the e-brakes anyway, there are (I believe) 2 different styles.

Also, 77 was the first year for a D60 front K30. However, they had weaker necked down axle shafts till around 1980 (anyone interested can search to verify the exact year, it's on here somewhere). Then any SRW K30 up through 1986 is a good donor. In 1987 GM changed bodies and introduced the IFS. From that point (or was it the next year for 1 tons?) all K30s had IFS fronts. But, GM also kept producing the hold body style with a SFA D60 up till 1991 or so, but rebadged as a "V30". And don’t completely discount a DRW (from a dually or chassis cab) D60. They come with a spacer so that you can run the dually offset wheels in the front and maintain the proper track width. But a competent machinist can turn the spacer down and make it into a SRW width axle. One other benefit of using the dually axles is that you can bolt on Hummer beadlocks so that is worth thinking about too…