axle swap on a suburban 4X4

[jonzcustomshop]

my dads 1990 1/2 ton suburban has a shot front axle... our cheapest fix is going to be to just change it out.
since it is a 4X4 I will just swap front and rear to make sure we get matching gear sets...
we have 2 parts 4X4 suburbans that we can use..
an 86 1/2 ton, and a 90 3/4 ton.

I just want to just switch both axles onto the 90, so I am wondering if the 86 will be a bolt up deal, and if not would the 3/4 ton 90 be a better choice?

[ghettoluxury]

both options are bolt in swaps. In my opinion the 3/4 ton is the better swap, but I play alot.

[Walts_restoration]

The 88ish-91 solid axles were 30 spline not 28 like the earlier 10 bolts. Everything should be a direct swap other than that. Its a pain ton get down to the axles on these, I just swapped one to 4.10s.

If it were me id do the 3/4 swap, probably a better gear ratio, stronger rear, the fronts gonna be the same strength, and will bolt into your current setup excluding the rear u joint, in that case napa makes a conversion u joint for that application, front will be the same.

[jonzcustomshop]

thanks guys, we'll have to check out both axles and see what the better pair is...
this is basically just winter transportation, nothing special.

[jonzcustomshop]

Originally Posted by Walts_restoration

The 88ish-91 solid axles were 30 spline not 28 like the earlier 10 bolts. Everything should be a direct swap other than that. Its a pain ton get down to the axles on these, I just swapped one to 4.10s.

If it were me id do the 3/4 swap, probably a better gear ratio, stronger rear, the fronts gonna be the same strength, and will bolt into your current setup excluding the rear u joint, in that case napa makes a conversion u joint for that application, front will be the same.

are you talking removing the axles and gear sets from the housings?

what I want to do is change the entire thing, just undo the brakes,ubolts,shocks, and driveshafts, and swap 'em out...

thanks.

[67_SS396]

It's a direct bolt in. He's talking about when it comes time to replace front inner axle shafts. The later has 30 spline shafts and are hard to come by due to a limited production time. It's a 10 bolt and if used off road much with larger tires, they will break at some point. If it's a winter driver to get around in during rough weather, it'll last just fine. There is no real strength difference between a 1/2 ton and 3/4 ton ten bolt. The rear will be stronger since it's probably a semi-float 14 bolt.
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[jonzcustomshop]

thank you, that makes sense now.. no it will probably never be off road... just a winter driver..

[Walts_restoration]

yup if swapping the axles whole (like im doing) they will bolt in. The 3/4 ton should have bigger rear u bolts too, but im thinking brake lines are the same. Just rear u-joints your only enemy.

I just tore one apart down to the internals, and was simply expressing what a pain it was compared to a rear axle.