Front 10 Bolt Teardown / Rebuild PICTURES!

[x ReAcT x]

Alright so ive completely torn the truck apart, sent the body to the shop to get welded/repaired/repainted/redone, powdercoated the frame, and now im in the process to rebuild the entire truck from the ground up. First things first: AXLES. Now one of my biggest regrets of this build was not upgrading to a 14 FF in the rear and a Dana 60 in the front, oh well we live and we learn. Anyways if you all like pictures as much as me then this will be a pretty cool thread. My goal is to have at least one picture for every sentence. We will see how that goes. So this is what I started with, the original Corprate GM 10 Bolt. Started sanding it down to paint it with POR15 and then I realized why dont i just completely rebuild the axle before putting it back on the truck. I should have realized that taking a axle with 350,000 rough, muddy, destructive miles on it would have surprises once i got into the bearing and seals. I was right, that was the sad part. The grease on the bearings was a mix of grease, mud and whatever mother nature decided to throw into the concoction. The spindle had been pitted and showed signs of wear and so now it was time to do some seaching. I ended finding some surplus axles at www.colemans.com and decided to spend 395.00 for a new axle rather than buy all the parts for the original and take time to put it all back together.

[Mr. 250r]

Have you thought about converting it to the 30 spline instead of the 28?

Just a quick piece from off road design

28 vs. 30 Spline:
Most stock GM 10 bolt front axles are 28 spline. Some Blazers and Suburbans from 89-91 may have factory 30 spline front ends. The most common way to get a 30 spline front is to swap a 30 spline rear differential in the front housing. We can supply the shafts with 30 splines on the diff end, and cut with the correct pressure angles to match the GM diff. However, the 28 spline axles are enough stronger than the 297 u-joint that they will not break. Retaining the 28 spline diff leaves you with the ability to run common factory axles for spares. The only real advantage to the 30 spline axles is if you run a much stronger ujoint, the 30 spline could have a real strength advantage over the 28 spline.

I think my suburban has a 30 spline in the front and it worked great up to 38s until i was doing something that would've broke something eventually i like the 10 bolts i would go back in a heart beat but hopefully this d60 death wobble stuff pans out

[x ReAcT x]

The axle shaft u-jionts were horrible im surprised that they havent blown off yet, it seem like the only lubrication that was left had been the muddy water from the last time i went mudding. But then i realized why they had did their job so well, they were spicer U-Jionts. This certainly gained my respect.

[x ReAcT x]

Originally Posted by Mr. 250r

Have you thought about converting it to the 30 spline instead of the 28?

Just a quick piece from off road design

28 vs. 30 Spline:
Most stock GM 10 bolt front axles are 28 spline. Some Blazers and Suburbans from 89-91 may have factory 30 spline front ends. The most common way to get a 30 spline front is to swap a 30 spline rear differential in the front housing. We can supply the shafts with 30 splines on the diff end, and cut with the correct pressure angles to match the GM diff. However, the 28 spline axles are enough stronger than the 297 u-joint that they will not break. Retaining the 28 spline diff leaves you with the ability to run common factory axles for spares. The only real advantage to the 30 spline axles is if you run a much stronger ujoint, the 30 spline could have a real strength advantage over the 28 spline.

I think my suburban has a 30 spline in the front and it worked great up to 38s until i was doing something that would've broke something eventually i like the 10 bolts i would go back in a heart beat but hopefully this d60 death wobble stuff pans out

I completely agree, but since I already have 28 spline im just going to keep it, the biggest tire this truck will see is 35s. Im sorry to hear about the death wobble though, i never quite understood why those axles do that

[x ReAcT x]

So i swiped my credit card and made the purchase. UPS has definitely got the game on lock, three days later the axle had managed to go through several states and make it down to the house. It was supposed to take a week, but hell im not gonna complain, great job. Just when i thought everything was going well, on the day of delivery, i got a call from UPS and they informed me that the liftgate on the semi had broke, and it would take an additional day to have it delivered. I told them that it was not a problem i had an engine hoist and i would take it off for them, i needed this axle pronto. So they refunded me my liftgate charge and 2 hours later the truck had arrived. This ladies and gentleman is customer service at its best. So i pulled the engine hoist out and got ready for action. The driver was a wopping 54 years old yet was able to man handle this 600 pound payload like it was no problem. One of the coolest guys ive ever met. We had it out in about 5 minutes and he was off. Now i finally got to tear into my new present! Oh the suspense!

[x ReAcT x]

BAM JACKPOT! Band new axle, but wait why is there so much rust? I guess when they said slight surface rust, they meant that pretty much the entire axle had been exposed to the elements. No big deal, it looks like they did manage to spray a rust colored protective coating over the diskbrakes and hub. Looks like the axle came with the warn premium hubs too.

[x ReAcT x]

So after seeing all the rust and decay im starting to regret my purchase. At this point im going to completely tear this axle down and see how the bearing and seals are doing, im praying that everything will be good to go and i can paint it and install it right back on the truck. First things first, need to remove the tie rod link/center link/drag link (ive heard it called a million names) but its the rod that goes across the axle and connects the passenger side knuckle to the driver side knuckle keeping the wheels in sync when cornering. To remove it, there is a ball joint on each side of the rod that needs to be taken off. The ball joint has a castle nut on the top, with a cotter pin which passes through the ball joint bolt to secure it in place. You first must remove the cotter pin by straightening it, and pulling it right out. The best tool to do this would be a long nose plier. (preferably a Channel Lock brand because they are Made in USA)

[x ReAcT x]

If your reusing your ball joints make sure to save the cotter pin. In my case i was getting new ball joints so i didnt need mine

[x ReAcT x]

Then you will be lossening the castle nut on top of the ball joint. Mine was frozen in time so I hit it with some PB Blaster. Best way to do this is grab a huge breaker bar a 1 1/16'' socket. Loosen the nut to the top of the bolt without removing it then strike it from the top with a mallet to break it out of place. Your not taking the bolt off because you dont want to damage the threads in case you reuse the ball joints.

[x ReAcT x]

Same story on the other side. Spray it with some PB Blaster and get to work.

[x ReAcT x]

Here it is, disconnected from the axle assembly.

[x ReAcT x]

Since im doing a 4 inch suspension lift I will have to remove the stock steering arm and replace it with a modified verizon. Pretty simple job. The steering arm is located on top of the driver side knuckle and secured with 3 nuts and 3 cone washers. Go get your Huge @$$ breaker bar, an extension and a 7/8" socket. Start by removing all three nuts holding the steering arm down. After the nuts are removed hit it with some PB blaster and let it sit on the cone washers. As you can tell by the picture I totally missed. (Its hard to hold a camera and spray at the same time)

[x ReAcT x]

REMOVING THE STEERING ARM (CONTINUED) Depending on how rusted your cone washers are is what determines how hard this part is going to be. Thankfully on the surplus axle there was no rust and the steering arm came off without a problem. But on my original front axle it was a pain in the @$$!! If you are in the same boat as i was, heres what to do. With some persuasion it should come off without a problem. Start by tapping it with a mallet and switching between these three places. Get some good wacks in there its not gonna hurt anything. After a couple rounds of wack a mole the cone washers should give and pop goes the weisel.

[x ReAcT x]

Now that the cone washers are free, remove them and the steering arm. Make sure to back these washers, you dont want to misplace them. (In the past I lost one and it was a pain to find a replacement)

[x ReAcT x]

Next we are going to remove both of the brake calipers. The surplus axle didnt come with brake lines or fluid so its fairly easy. Start by turning the knuckle as far forward as possible too expose the 2 allen bolts securing the caliper in place. Grab your allen wrench and get to work. These bolts put up a fight but with a slight tap of the mallet they come right off.

[Mr. 250r]

The death wobble is also conveniently available for the ball joint axles as well but in my opinion the king pin is way more susceptible to it for some reason which could be good or bad depending on which axle you have as far as the surplus army axle i had a magazine that had axles in it and they looked basically the way yours is i think its probably from sitting around in different environments will eventually cause some surface rust or its got good use lol

[x ReAcT x]

Once you get the 2 allen head bolts off you can then pull of the entire caliper assembly. Since these had been concealed in a box since 1987 and havent ever had any brake lines attached I figured the brake piston inlet would be full of rust and decay. At least there was a tiny plug keeping water and debri out, and to my luck not spec of rust inside. So ill hit these with the sandblaster and spray them with hi-temp red paint and throw them back on later.

[DirtyLarry]

Hehe, my favorite part is the thorough instructions as how to remove a cotter pin. Aren’t those military surplus Blazer axles a horrible gear ratio like 3:08 or something? I guess that is not an issue if you are regearing while you are at it.





Actually, you shouldn’t beat on the joint itself but tap the knuckle it is seated into. Beating on the joint itself is just a good way to ruin it regardless if the nut is on the threads or not.

I’m going through the same motions as you this week but rebuilding a 1978 D44 and 10.5 14 bolt FF for my Suburban. Right now D44 is in bits while I am cleaning and painting everything while I wait for the new ball joints to arrive. It is a lot of work getting these axles whipped back into shape.

BTW, “death wobble” has nothing to do with the fact an axle has kingpins or ball joints. “Death wobble” is more prevalent on axles with heavy wheel-end weight. By wheel-end weight, I mean the weight of components outside of the knuckle pivots. If you think about how heavy king pin type D60 wheel ends are (big knuckles, large spindles, big hubs, heavy rotors, etc) is why it is more prevent on them vs. a smaller and lighter D44 or Corp 10 bolt. “Death wobble” is born from a stack up of tolerances. Basically, a joint here on the outer spec limit, a joint there on the outer spec limit of acceptable play, then a wheel bearing a bit loose, a spring bushing (or 4) that are worn, too much tire, etc, etc, etc exaggerated by heavy wheel-ends. …. start stacking things like that up is where the issue comes from once the front end gets excited into the wobbly resonance. Invest in a good steering stabilizer and call it a day.

[x ReAcT x]

So before we go any further we need to drain the axle housing. If your axle isnt connected to the truck the best way to drain it would be to take out the fill plug and tip it forward so it can drain out. (The drain plug is easily taken off with a 3/4" 12pt. socket) If your axle is still connected to the truck then you will have to remove all 10 bolts (hence they call it a 10 bolt) that tightly secure the differential cover. (The bolts are easily removed with a 1/2 socket) Be sure to have a drip pan underneath ready to go because as soon as you loosen that diff cover its gonna pour out and make a mess.

[x ReAcT x]

Yea the gear ratio on these things is horrible, 3.08. Im swapping them with my 3.42's which isnt much better but itll do.
Your are correct about tapping the top of the bolt, im glad i never had to reuse the ball joints that i hammered out that way. Ill make sure to edit that post
Good luck on your rebuild, front axles are such a pain. I definitely wish i had a D44 though, they have such a better aftermarket for beefing them up.

[x ReAcT x]

So removal all 10 bolts and take the cover off. I also recommend bagging these bolts also. This particular diff cover had 2 gaskets and I was able to rip most of it off but not enough. So ill have to come back with a razor and remove the rest.

[x ReAcT x]

I have this little tool with a razor edge that will work perfect to remove the gasket. It cleaned up very well that way I can put a brand new gasket on.

[x ReAcT x]

Alright so now we are getting somewhere, next will be the removal of the locking hub. (This is where things get messy and I would reccomend switching gloves and putting some mechanic latex gloves on, that way once they get greasy then just throw them away) These particular hubs are Warn Premium hubs but ill be trading them out with some Stainless Steel MileMarker hubs. I think they will compliment the aluminum Pacer Weels better. Youll need to grab a torx head screwdriver to remove the 6 torx screws holding the locking hub on the hub assembly. They should come out relatively easy and be sure not to strip them, ive done that before and its a pain to try and get out.

[x ReAcT x]

These just arrived in the mail today, really excited. They look amaing and are metal, no plastic parts. I think they will be an upgrade from the Warn Hubs.

[x ReAcT x]

Keep scrolling down...









Almost there.