s10 swap bigger rear

[Mgicm]

Hi
Doing a 51 s10 swap and everyone recommends the s10 4x4 rear. But putting in a 350 motor...is that sufficient to handle the power? What other sort of rears have been put into these swaps? Sure appreciate some info.

thanks
kevin

[jackson]

Originally Posted by Mgicm

Hi
Doing a 51 s10 swap and everyone recommends the s10 4x4 rear. But putting in a 350 motor...is that sufficient to handle the power? What other sort of rears have been put into these swaps? Sure appreciate some info.

thanks
kevin

are you going to seriously drag race it. ive run a few s10 /400sb trucks with stock rearend running low 12s street strip. as long as you don't hit the tires hard. youll be allright. if you build it to hook up hard you probably will shell out that rearend

[ghettoluxury]

The reason everyone recommends the 4x4 S10 axle is because of its width. You could just as easily use a GM 12 bolt from a full size car.

[swizzlestick]

iv'e seen info that claimed the s10 rear is good to 400hp but i don't know how true that is.

[Indian113]

I'm running a S10 rearend behind my 5.3 in my S10. 325+ hp. and my only problem is hooking up. I break loose with 275's real easy. Believe me if it wouldn't hold up I would know by now. I drive it like I stole it!!!! I've had my truck running over a year with this combo.

[1project2many]

The axle bearings are smaller diameter and can wear through the axle given enough load and time. The differential isn't as strong as the larger 8.5" or 12 bolt designs and can let go when torque is applied in a high load / high traction situation.

I ran a 7.5" behind a 455 Buick for many years in a 2800 lb car and it didn't fail until the axle bearings wore at 220k miles. I had 2.28:1 rear gears and I never did burn outs. I changed a 3.23 rear in a Blazer I'd bought that was well cared for but towed frequently. By 110k miles the bearings were junk. The same rear was used in Camaros and Firebirds and I've had to replace plenty of those over the years because they just don't hold up when abused, and many of those cars make far below 325 hp.

Some guys get away with it for a long time but my experience makes me want to run something else.

[S10Fan]

I have a 2000 S-10 (3:08) in my 50 with a stock 307, TH-350 combo, and billet spacers to get the track width need.

My 87 S-10 had a stock 3:73 rear and a 383 under the hood, no issues what so ever.

[tlorber]

I've been wondering what other options are out there as well-not so much due to torque, but width. It looks like even with the S10 4x4 axle, you need spacers. Eventually I'd like to get Torque Thrust or similar wheels, which only seem to come with a 3-4" backspace, which negates the spacer. I do not want to cut my bed sides to fit the wheels/tires so I'd like to find an axle that is +/- 2-3" wider than the 4x4 axle. Any other thoughts?

[hard3]

I used an 8.8 from a lincoln town car . with the offset of my wheels they fit just fine

[BlueJeep]

ZR2 s10 is 3" wider than the normal 4wd s10.

[dwcsr]

My ZR2 4x4 is 63" the non ZR2 4x4 is 59", The truck 2WD is 54".
If you get a ZR2 from 1999 - 2000 up its an 8.6 with disc brakes.
I don't know how well an early S10 7.5 would hold up but the 8.6 is a good rear.
My understanding is that the 8.5 is drum and 8.6 is disc. I don't know about the 7.5