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solid axle swap questions on a 96 Chevy Tahoe

12K views 11 replies 5 participants last post by  Beat95YJ 
#1 ·
I have a 1996 Chevrolet Tahoe that I am planning on swapping a LQ9 in to replace the Vortec 5.7 with very mild head work, small cam, and headers for the swap so it might make 435hp at the flywheel. My question is should I get a 14 bolt 6 lug semi floater and Dana 44 6 lug front since I am planning on running no more than a 35" tire? Or should I get a Dana 60 and 14 bolt FF in 8 lug? I'm not planning on doing any serious wheeling just mild trail riding and towing. It has about 3" lift now with 32" BFG Mud terrain now and is OK but before I drop a bunch of coin into rebuilding the front end and regearing what I have i would rather get a much stronger set of axles with better aftermarket support and upgrade the suspension.. Let me know what vehicle to get the axles out of and what ratio I need to gear it at. Thanks.
 
#2 · (Edited)
With that power level the axles will be least of your worries. It will kill the 4l60e long before the axles.

Ideally you would want to do a 4l80e swap with the LQ9. The 14 bolt sf would help. You could run the 6 lug stuff first then always upgrade later to maintain a budget. Especially when doing and a engine swap to keep on a budget. Just run 4.10 gears. This can be found stock already setup in the axles and you could run them like they are to save money and get it on the road. Then swap to 14b ff/Dana 60 front you could do later easy enough once the SFA swap in done.

Now the GMT400 trucks came with a 6 lug 14bf SF if you look hard enough you could find one that bolts in to your tahoe pretty cheap. Then just run a 10 bolt or Dana 44 front. Till you can upgrade them.

You have lots of options.
 
#3 ·
With that power level the axles will be least of your worries. It will kill the 4l60e long before the axles.

Ideally you would want to do a 4l80e swap with the LQ9. The 14 bolt sf would help. You could run the 6 lug stuff first then always upgrade later to maintain a budget. Especially when doing and a engine swap to keep on a budget. Just run 4.10 gears. This is can be found already setup in the axles and you could run them like they are to save money and get it on the road. Then swap to 14b ff/Dana 60 front you could do later easy enough once the SFA swap in done.
I run a built 4L60 in my buggy with a 480 HP LS3. I know a local guy with an AWD Silverado SS with a supercharged LSX putting out 900 legitimate HP. Also running a built 4L60. I don't have crazy money in mine. Common rebuild upgrades plus a HD input and front drum support. This guy isn't racing and only running 35's so I don't see the trans being an issue.
 
#4 ·
Not true. I have a Trailblazer SS with a 4L65E which is a 60 with 5 planetary gears and it makes more than what this LQ9 will and it has a 3600 stall TC. Granted it's a level 6 RPM tranny but I don't like the 1st gear in an 80 nor do I like the OD. I'm not concerned about staying in a budget and if I was I don't think I would go to the trouble and expense of a SAS with cheaper axles only to change everything later. That is the least budget minded approach, buying axles, doing the swap, only to later be buying axles again, swapping the bigger axles under it along with 8 lug wheels and getting the stuff to swap the brakes and steering. Back to the transmission I will obviously build it to a similar level to what's in my TBSS
 
#5 ·
Not true. I have a Trailblazer SS with a 4L65E which is a 60 with 5 planetary gears and it makes more than what this LQ9 will and it has a 3600 stall TC. Granted it's a level 6 RPM tranny but I don't like the 1st gear in an 80 nor do I like the OD.
And that 4l65 is $$$$ a 80 will take that power level stock for way cheaper. A stock 4l60e will fail behind a stock 4.8L just ask GM on the millions they have spend on warrantying them. I was just giving options

I'm not concerned about staying in a budget and if I was I don't think I would go to the trouble and expense of a SAS with cheaper axles only to change everything later. That is the least budget minded approach, buying axles, doing the swap, only to later be buying axles again, swapping the bigger axles under it along with 8 lug wheels and getting the stuff to swap the brakes and steering. Back to the transmission I will obviously build it to a similar level to what's in my TBSS
Obviously, if budget is no issue then why post a question about what axle to use and even mention 6 lug 1/2 axles to begin with??? :rolleyes:

14b ff/ Dana 60 and 4.56 gears.
 
#6 ·
When I said budget isn't an issue I didn't mean I had the budget to gold plate the bolts, blow my nose with $50s while working on it and wipe my ass with $100s. But what i did mean is when it comes to building it I want to build it right once. Before you go offering your opinion about the 4L60E you should do a little research to what they are capable of once built. The transmission in my TBSS is good for around 600whp, I have a friend of mine with a Silverado with a remote mounted turbo on a 5.3 and he is making 600ish wheel and it works fine. On the other hand I have a friend with a Tahoe with an 80 swapped in. He was running it as stock with a shift kit and at 511whp it tossed it's cookies. Having 425hp at the flywheel in this Tahoe if built properly (which it will be and i am going to try a rollerized build) it will hold up. With the correct gearing and stall it will take less strain off the transmission causing increasing it's already stellar chances of survival.

Back on topic......I would like to know which axle will best suit my needs, what gears are best 35" tires, and what swap kit works best? I was looking at the ORU kit
 
#7 ·
Before you go offering your opinion about the 4L60E you should do a little research to what they are capable of once built.
Did I fucking say anything about a built 60 fuck no everything I stated was about a stock trans not a $4500 rpm trans. I know what a fucking built one will take and won't take. I simple stated an option. I figured your using a regular 60 for your mall cruiser as you never stated what trans you were going to use. As you were vague in your original post. :shaking: Everything breaks 60 or 80. I really don't give a fuck.

So good luck with your build.
 
#8 · (Edited)
Someone put on their big boy underwear today......seriously though you need to take a step back and understand the internet isn't as serious as you apparently think it is. If someone asks for help and you have nothing to offer to move on to the next thread, if someone says something that punctures your skin that is obviously thinner than a lamb skin condom take a step back and ask yourself one if you maybe misread or misunderstood or two if you will ever see this person in real life. Then once having answered those questions then click reply. If someone makes an attempt to insult you IE, "take your mall crawler" disregard because they are obviously not worth the time, I am replying to this as kind of a PSA because you really need the inspiration for direction in your internet responses. Also when you are thinking of responding to someone's thread ask yourself if your reply will answer the OP's question and advance his quest for knowledge. If not then you probably shouldn't post your reply. Because I honestly don't see anything productive coming from any of your post other than increasing your post count. I really hope you really need to step back from the keyboard and stay calm.

Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming
 
#9 ·
I also have a Trailblazer SS. The stock trans went out at around 75k and the vehicle was all stock. It now has a 80 with a shift kit and stall because I wanted a transmission I could trust. Sure I could've probably dumped money tryin to get the 4l70e to hold up but still I see many people having problems with them. Sure your not racing the thing but I think your gonna want a transmission that's gonna hold up. If your gonna buy another trans just go ahead and get the 80, you'll be glad you did later!
 
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