Pirate 4x4 banner

gm 10 bolt options?

6K views 53 replies 28 participants last post by  HAPPYJOHN 
#1 ·
i have a GM 8.5 10 bolt, wanting to beef it up and go posi, but im wanting to still drive it on the road, but when i go to do a burnout i want both tires to light up all the time no problems, and i have heard a spool can be dangerous, so if you guys can give me some options and a list of stuff i need to do along with it! thanks
 
This post has been deleted
#19 ·
Not gonna find very many in Tahoes unless it is a 2 door diesel. Better to look at pickups with the F-44 code. 6 lug 2500's all have them from what I have seen and experienced. If you want to do burnouts why spend so much money, just weld it up. When it blows up, go buy another and weld it again. They are, cheap plentiful, and suit your purpose just fine. When you have a hardcore 4x4 question you should come back. Until that point you should post general questions like this in the general, 4x4 newbie, I'm a swanksta in my dreams forum.
 
#14 ·
it all depends on the tire size you are running, and what gear ratio you want to throw in there. Any increase in tires size over stock will put more strain on the axles and joints. Changing to a lower gear ration will also put more strain on the axle shafts. The posi unit will help slightely offroad but is nothing compaired to a locker. The posi unit will increase your chances of breaking a shaft offroad. Now depending what size tire, gear ratio, and how much power you are putting behind all of this is what you need to consider. That axle is fine on road and offroad without mods, the second you change anything is when you really need to be careful. This happens with every axle, if you run 44inch tires on a stock dana 60 you will break it all day long.

If I were you I would keep my tire size under 35inch, and lower if possible. Also I would not go over a 4:10 gear ratio, anything over that and you will be pushing it. As far as a posi unit goes, why put a posi unit in a weak axle. On the one hand a posi unit doesn't help much, and it costs almost as much as a regular locker. If you are completely decided on a posi unit consider going with a lockrite and some manual locking hubs, that way when you pull on the street you can unlock your hubs and not break your axle shafts. Next I would get a forged diff cover of some sort, like a dynatrac or an ARB if you can find one. For the price it increases the overall axle tube strength and prevents flex in the tubes and helps the gears to stay more closely mated. This would be a relatively cheap axle build and would keep you from breaking as easily as a stock unit, however you are starting with a weak axle so there is only so much you can do. There are other options out there like forged knuckles and chromoly axle shafts. This is not the end of the road for this axle, you just need to figure out what you need it to withstand and develop a plan for making it strong enough to take the beating you put on it.

hope this helped
-Daniel
 
#17 · (Edited)
This happens with every axle, if you run 44inch tires on a stock dana 60 you will break it all day long.


-Daniel
Bullshit. If you break an axle on a 60, you might or might not be able to drive out, with three wheels pulling if you are locked, or front wheel drive if you aren't. You break an axle on the POS 10 bolt, then you get a tricycle.

The OP's stated goal is 2 wheel burnouts, which implies that he intends to abuse it. Nothing about the 10 bolt is suited to abuse. The fact that you can break anything, doesn't make the 10 bolt a better axle. It's a POS barely suited to mild DD use with light loads, and low to moderate power levels.

Oh, a little reading comprehension goes a long way. He is interested in 2 wheel burnouts. How exactly does installing lockouts up front help prevent rear axle breakage? Same goes for forged knuckles, if any such thing actually existed, and it doesn't. They are all cast.

In any case, the entire thread is fucking stupid. It isn't like there isn't a ton of info out there about the axle, it's weaknesses, and what parts are available to "build" it.

Lastly, the idiot who posted the question combined the words "swank" and "gangsta" to come up with a screen name. There is nothing I can possible say about that, other than marvel at it's ...... Fuck, I don't know, I'm lost for words on that, other than it just makes me nauseous.
 
#18 ·
This happened to me twice with a 10 bolt. Once on a trail the diff blew up, and I mean broken teeth, ring gear in pieces, spider gears in pieces, carrier in half broken. Then once on the road, I had just sold a suburban to a guy, road was iced, he made it down the street tire started to spin and BOOM, same problem. Go 14 bolt, it'll save you money.

Sent from the road while ignoring traffic
 
#54 · (Edited)
Won't the peels affect his ability to peel out??


how is my motor not pushing 425hp? and rear i already have rearend problems, i built the motor last christmas. its a vortech setup. forged bottom end forged rods steel crank, i just spent 500 dollars in a cam swap, ported the fuck out of my intake, 600cfm carb thats really holding it back. so dont tell me what i have, jsut because im 18 doesnt mean i dont know shit, i build motors all the time and work on shit, getting ready to build a 406 for our circle track car. this is a really bad forum to get into, i asked a simple question because my rearend isnt big enough for my truck, ive already had problems with it once, all im trying to do it beef it up or get a different setup so i can drive it like its built for, and you guys try and tell me what i have? for those who have actually answered my questions thank you but for those who are criticizing me, well whatever. but i found a 14 bolt ready to go for 350$ im buying. so im buying it. i will never return to this website.......
Well. then, you'll miss this little tidbit; You did NOT say that the rear end wasn't big enough for your truck. re-read your own post. "i have a GM 8.5 10 bolt, wanting to beef it up and go posi, but im wanting to still drive it on the road" No details on motor, trans, or where you're using the ten bolt. you SPECIFICALLY asked how to make this marginally-effective-for-the-street differential better/stronger.

(incidentally, this is not the place to boast about street burnouts ) :rolleyes:

When you were ( correctly ) told not to waste your time and money on this axle, rather to upgrade for the same money to a virtually unbreakable axle,
you got all butthurt, and then proceeded to boast about abilities that you gave no verification of through pictures or links to a build.

If you're going to swing a big e-dick around, prepare to be called on that activity.

Too bad you're leaving pirate, you make the rest of us feel so much smarter
 
#26 ·
I'm guessing not old enough to buy his own tires if he's planning on doing burnouts...

"How'd you guy's like to see me make my new boggers mom and dad bought me look like the teeth in my head in 15 seconds! Woo!" :homer:
 
#27 ·
run it til it breaks. ive had very good luck with 10 bolts. the best thing about them is parts are everywhere. pretty much since everyone hates them you can usually find them for free.... well i dont know about anymore since scrap prices are so high.

im still running my same set of 10bolts that ive had for about 9 years. they held up through 3 trucks with 38inch tires which did mostly mud and i made sure i didnt bounce or rock crawl these axles

they now reside under a s10 blazer with 33s where i flog the hell out of it. as much as you can with the stock 4.3 anyways :flipoff2:

i always tell people if you know you have half ton axles and dont do anything retardly stupid like actually take your truck offroad you will be fine :)
 
#31 ·
well i guess most of you guy's misunderstood me, it is a mud truck, but i drive it all over the place, im running a 425hp 350, roller cam, intake ect.... sm465 planning on 3:73 gear ratio and getting tired of this bullshit one wheel peel. And i want to be able to go in the mudpit and get the fuck out, and when im on the street and my buddies want me to do a break stand then i dont want my shit blowing up, and dahoyle as far as the name goes, fuck off, been using it for 3 years now, it started as a joke then i just started using it........
 
#35 ·
And i want to be able to go in the mudpit and get the fuck out, and when im on the street and my buddies want me to do a break stand then i dont want my shit blowing up.
The 10 bolt won't provide what you're looking for, sorry. The parts are just too weak. I've seen 3 of them blown up with the same tired 350 in a 91 2 door blazer on stock tires. One was a gov loc, which went boom as expected in about a week of abuse. If you do burnouts, if you yank people out of mud pits, if you beat on it even with stock size tires (31"s I think) they will grenade. Not just breaking axle shafts, but breaking teeth off the ring and pinion and breaking the crosspin in the carrier.

It's a POS light duty axle. There are many better options that are literal bolt in replacements for it, so just chuck the damn thing.
 
#33 ·
Sell your truck. Solves all your problems. No way you've done any of that work or funded it yourself if you're that naive when it comes to axles, nor do I believe you're putting out 435 horses with an SM465 and not destroyed your axles yet. :shaking:

Again, just sell your truck, and do some research before you consider buying or "building" another one.
 
#39 ·
And as irritated as you might be from the flaming, its all for your benefit. I have posted "newbie" threads like this and got flamed by some of the same guys you did. But at the end of the day they were correct in what they said. I was being a dumbass and they called me out. Ya know what it did me some good, because in all the flaming, there was good info, and I did what they said I needed to do in the first place.

And the good info here is slapping you in the face and you dont wanna hear it. But it is what it is.
 
#41 ·
yep. be like everyone else and go to rock wells on your daily driver is you want to put anything bigger then a 31 on it.....
It's the pirate thing to do..


Drag racers use 10 bolts and 12 bolts quite often. Yea they don't last forever, but they don't break as easily as MOST people say. I personally think that you will be fine for what you want to do. But thats MY opinion...








































































And your name sucks. :flipoff2:
 
#43 ·
No one said you have to put rockwells on your dd. the whole point of ditching a 10 bolt. You can upgrade to a better axle that is stronger, for the same amount of money he will spend on a "posi" for a his boat anchor. He wants to do "burnouts" with 35" tires and 425 HP. I give that 10bolt maybe 10 "burnouts" then BOOM I guranfawkintee it.
 
#44 ·
mine was in a half ton 2 wheel drive short bed chevy.

Im not even going to try and state that it wasnt abused. It was.

I replaced it with a 3.73 geared 12 bolt. it held up. go figure... even though I didnt try to upgrade it in any way, and I abused it even more.
 
#47 ·
Sure there are millions of ten bolts out there rolling around as we speak. But that is not what this thread is about. He wants to beef up his axle and put a "posi" in it. Under his particular circumstances, when he wants to do burnouts when his buddy's request it, we all have said the same thing, why bother spending a dime, let alone a few hundred, for "posi" when like I have said now for the 3rd time, get a 14 bolt with disk brakes complete out of a late model truck that has a limited slip in it, direct bolt in for the same price as a LS for his boat anchor. Pretty easy decision in my eyes.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top