10 bolt fronts?

[Farm boy]

Ok sorry to bring this up again but i just can't keep the stuff in my head long enough to get out there and check.

 So i have a 86 Chevy k10 that i'm fairly sure has a 10 bold front axle. I also have a 80 k10 truck that i'm using as a parts truck as i part it out, and i'm wonding what the front axle is. so here are the specs: 350, th350, np205, and i think everything but the engine is original but it did have a 350 to begin with too. it just doesn't seem to look quite the same as the one in the 86 but i'm sure they changed the housing slightly though the years to. so was there other axle available in that year? bc i'm fairly sure that it's the original axle. if you guys need pics let me know and i will get some. If it is a better axle i think i'[ll swap them since i have it, but if not oh well a 10 bolt shoud be good enough for a good while.

[Sartobuilt]

Its probably a Dana 44 in the '80.

[Farm boy]

Cool, so how can i tell for sure? If the info is in one place it will be a lot easier to keep track of it so i can check. btw the numbers and letters are REALLY crudy and somewhat worn so it's really hard to read them. other wise i would just look up the numbers and have my answer.

[Farm boy]

well i was just outside and took another look and got some pics. They are defiantly different. The first one is the 86 the second is the 80.

[Sartobuilt]

Yep, the first one is a Corporate the second is a Dana 44. The Dana has flatter sides on the cover, ie: it's not as round as the Corporate.

[Farm boy]

After looking from the front (i had looked from the back before) i kind of figured it out but i wanted to know for sure Thanks

ok one more question: the dana 44 is a direct replacement for corporate right?

[Captkaos]

There is not much different between a D44 and 10B, short of the center section.  They are basically the same axle.

[Sartobuilt]

Some Dana 44's have thicker tube walls than the Corporate.

[Farm boy]

So does that mean smaller inner diameter or larger outer diameter? But as long as it's a bolt in replacement i'm happy

[Captkaos]

You can switch axles between 10bolt, D44 and D60 short of the u-joints.

[Sartobuilt]

Smaller inner diameter= thicker walls.

[Irish_Alley]

You can't swap the inner axle shafts. But you can swap the outer shafts

[Farm boy]

ok i was planning on swapping the whole thing.

 So since the 86's font axle is still good, do i redo seels and that kind of thing in the dana before i swap it under the 86? Now take into consideration that i'm 16 don't have a job, and i still need to do my th350 to sm465 swap. I do pick up on stuff like this pretty quick, so i think i can do it myself, so there won't be labor cost.

[Irish_Alley]

why swap it if its still good

[roboticjunky]

There is not much different between a D44 and 10B, short of the center section.  They are basically the same axle.

Just like Captkaos said. They are the same strength. You are just wasting time and money if you are wanting to swap a good 10B for a good D44.

Also do you know what gears you have now in the rear end and the 10B? What gears does the D44 have? The front and rear gears have to be the same. If the D44 doesn't have the same gears as the others, then you have to decide to swap the gears in the D44 to match the rear axle or change the gears in the rear axle to match the D44. Gears alone is probably around $200.