Author Topic: K20 Conversion to manual hubs  (Read 5912 times)

Offline MuddiGGEr25

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K20 Conversion to manual hubs
« on: March 17, 2016, 01:07:52 PM »
Hey everyone, I got the axle swap in from a 1984 K20 with the HD option and the 6.2L N/A. I have the auto locking hubs and they usually work but yesterday when I went to pull a buddy out that was stuck when i got in a little past the top of the axle the left front unlocked on its own, and i had to slow down to an almost stop before it grabbed again.  I have a premium napa manual hub that came with a 1984 K10 with the 10 bolt, the napa and oreilly part # come up as the same for the 1/2 and 3/4 ton gm 10 bolt 19 spline, etc, etc.

I have searched and searched and have already read about 30 threads but no one specifically has info on a K20 with the gm 10 bolt that i found, I found info for the Dana but not the GM.

I need to know if anyone else has replaced the hubs with manuals on a 3/4ton 8lug GM10 bolt, if so was it just a simple pull and replace or am i going to run into the C-clip problem i keep reading about?

If my premium hub will work then i just have to decide whether to grab a pair and keep that one as a spare or just order one more. I really dont like the idea of it unlocking on its own especially since we will be going to trucks gone wild in june.

The axles are now under my V10 Suburban "Cliffy" and my autos have 5 allen wrench heads just like the  5 that are shown on this thread i already looked at,and the manual is 6 im pretty sure but i think the allens just go into the locker so that should be irrelevant.

http://www.chevyk5blazer.com/forums/showthread.php?11618-How-to-convert-your-Auto-locking-hubs-over-to-Manual-hubs
1988 V10 Suburban 5.7L TBI/TH350 39K on rebuild 4.10AR GM14FF/GM10SF 235/85R16 & 18.4-16.1

1988 V20 Suburban 6.2L-J/TH400 CA truck, 125K G80 14FF/ GM10 4.10AR GVWR 8,600

1977 Ford Granada ~450HP 302 2bbl/C4 27K original 2.47 215/70R14

Offline MuddiGGEr25

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Re: K20 Conversion to manual hubs
« Reply #1 on: March 17, 2016, 01:10:56 PM »
pic of the axle/hub before installation
1988 V10 Suburban 5.7L TBI/TH350 39K on rebuild 4.10AR GM14FF/GM10SF 235/85R16 & 18.4-16.1

1988 V20 Suburban 6.2L-J/TH400 CA truck, 125K G80 14FF/ GM10 4.10AR GVWR 8,600

1977 Ford Granada ~450HP 302 2bbl/C4 27K original 2.47 215/70R14

Offline Irish_Alley

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Re: K20 Conversion to manual hubs
« Reply #2 on: March 17, 2016, 04:34:34 PM »
take a look at these
http://forum.73-87chevytrucks.com/smforum/index.php?topic=31505.msg277501#msg277501
http://forum.73-87chevytrucks.com/smforum/index.php?topic=20739.0

ive never hear of someone having a problem with the washer, and im not even sure if i have one on any of mine
If you can’t tell yourself the truth, who can you tell it to?~Irish_Alley

When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth ~Sherlock Holmes

Offline MuddiGGEr25

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Re: K20 Conversion to manual hubs
« Reply #3 on: March 17, 2016, 05:28:02 PM »
I am assuming that those will apply to me even though mine is the 3/4ton 8 lug variant of that axle. It looks like the auto locker is the exact same design on my 1992 and 1993 ford F150's, even the logo looks the same. hopefully it will be a simple pull out and swap in. I have seen a few kits for the auto to manual hub conversion kits/instructions that needed alot more work than just simply switching them, I sold the trucks before i ended up having to deal with it though.
1988 V10 Suburban 5.7L TBI/TH350 39K on rebuild 4.10AR GM14FF/GM10SF 235/85R16 & 18.4-16.1

1988 V20 Suburban 6.2L-J/TH400 CA truck, 125K G80 14FF/ GM10 4.10AR GVWR 8,600

1977 Ford Granada ~450HP 302 2bbl/C4 27K original 2.47 215/70R14

Offline AZ87V10

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Re: K20 Conversion to manual hubs
« Reply #4 on: March 17, 2016, 11:31:49 PM »
I remember that my dad had his auto hubs swapped out on his 82 K20 with the 8 lug GM 10 bolt front axle. From what I can remember, it was a direct swap from auto to manual. I was a kid at the time and don't really remember too much, so don't quote me on that being totally accurate. On my current 87 V10, the previous owner swapped my hubs from auto to Warn manuals. I wouldn't think it would be terribly difficult to do. They work flawlessly BTW! And yes, the hubs are the same for the 1/2 and 3/4 ton trucks.
1987 Chevy V-10 Silverado short bed, 350TBI, 700R4, NP208, 3.73's, 31's
2001 Dodge Ram 1500 Laramie Quad Cab 4x4 short bed, 5.9L V8, Auto, 5 inch lift, 35's, 4.56's