47-55.1 Another rear end question

[mobileortho]

I've seen several posts on the S10 "Blazer" rear end being a good swap but what about the S-10 "Truck" rear? Found one that is out of an 82-93 that had a factory 700r4 , factory 2.5L 4 cylinder and factory 10-bolt posi 3.73 rear end. The price is great as well, just wondering about using one from the truck.

I currently have an early 70's Camaro 10 bolt, 2.73 gears that I was planing on installing 3.73's but since this one already has them + the posi it might be easier & less costly to swap out the axle. I wont be racing, just cruising. My truck has a 350 with a mild cam with vortec heads.

[dsraven]

If its a deal,and the driveshaft doesnt need to be modded, and the brakes dont need to be modded,and the track width is good, and the wheel bolt pattern is the same, then you dont have much to lose. Go for it. Keep yourold diff and redo that if you want to while driving with thw otner one.

[mr48chev]

On the truck rear the S-10 two wheel drive is too narrow for tires to clear the bedsides of an AD truck. Guys who run them usually use wheel spacers or run mini tubs.

The S=10 Blazer and 4x4 still are right on the borderline width wise and you have to watch back spacing.
I snagged this off the net. That is wheel mount surface to wheel mount surface.

Widths:

S10 2WD: 54.5" Mounting Surface to Mounting Surface

S10 Blazer: 59.5" Mounting Surface to Mounting Surface

S10 4WD: 59.5" Mounting Surface to Mounting Surface

I'd measure the Camaro wheel mount surface to wheel mount surface distance on the rear you have under it along with the tire sidewall to bed clearances. Then you will know how much space you have to play with.

[mr48chev]

According to this link 70/81 Camaro is 62.5 inches wms to wms.

https://m.roadkillcustoms.com/rear-e...american-cars/

That means you would be giving up an inch between the tire and the beside on each side by switching to an S-10 4x4

[youngrodder]

Here is another option depending on your wheels and backspacing.

A 10 bolt out of a ZR2 S-10 is wider 63" from WMS to WMS then the other models of S-10's. It has a larger 8.6 ring gear (apposed to 7.5), is posi (G-80 Gov Locker) and comes with 3.73 gears and disc brakes. I used one of these for my suburban but I had to narrow it for my application (long story)….A year near me had a bunch of them.

Marc

[mobileortho]

Originally Posted by mr48chev

According to this link 70/81 Camaro is 62.5 inches wms to wms.

https://m.roadkillcustoms.com/rear-e...american-cars/

That means you would be giving up an inch between the tire and the beside on each side by switching to an S-10 4x4

Man! This link was a big help! I think the S-10 would be a bit too narrow for me. BUT, I just stumbled across a 10 bolt posi from a 68 Camaro for the same price that will work! I'm in the middle of flipping the axle and my 10" rim were not going to have the clearance on the fenders (about 1/2" on each side) It's 2" shorter than the one I have now and should work out perfectly!

Thanks!

[dsraven]

do yourself a favor and draw up a sketch of what you have. like a cross section.

draw the box main part as a square u shape. be sure to include anything that protrudes into the wheel/tire space

draw the fenders attached to the u shape. include the rolled under part and anything that protrudes into the tire space

draw an axle under it all with a flange for the wheels on each end

now get under the truck and get some ACTUAL dimensions and transfer them to the drawing. a magnet can be your friend here if working alone

get the main box width, then get a dimension from the box main part to the narrowest part of the fender in the wheel opening area. this will be the tell for the max width of tire you can use without tubbing the box. check both sides to ensure they are the same. it would be best to get a dimension from the overall width, inside the fenders, side to side. that can be difficult if the truck is complete. now transfer the dimensions to your drawing.

now figure out a normal backspacing for the wheels you want to run. try to go with something off the shelf so you can save a few bucks when it comes time to buy wheels. maybe you want to run the wheels you already have. in that case, again, get some ACTUAL dimensions and put those on your drawing. don't forget to leave space for the bulge in the tires past the rim width
you will soon see what you NEED to have for an axle width. don't forget to include the thickness of the brake drum or disc flanges.

if swapping to another axle remember that if your brake system is already done, and you don't want to get into a new master cylinder and brake lines and bleeding etc, you should stay with what you have for brakes.if you have drum back there then stick with looking for something that has drum brakes or will swap your old axle brake set up. remember if swapping, that you will need to pull axles for that which may incur some new expense for seals, cover gasket, fluid etc as a minimum. some would redo axle bearings etc. the old can of worms opening because you have no idea what the guts on the new axle look like.
don't forget to include costs for the spring pads or shock mount brackets etc. if cutting off the old brackets from the "new" axle and welding new stuff on, remember to be careful not to overheat the axle because the axle tubes can warp and all that work/expense will be for nothing.

so, to recap, check/compare
-axle width from flange to flange with drums or discs in place
-wheel bolt pattern on axles, wheel center hole dimension, wheel stud size and thread (metric/standard)
-pinion yoke flange type and size of ujoint
-dimension of pinion yoke, forward of the axle center line, compared to old axle. if different the driveshaft will be affected for length
-offset center section (to one side, so one axle will be longer than the other and may interfere with exhaust etc)
-gear ratio
-equipped with posi
-brake type, if thinking of swapping your old brakes onto the new axle ensure the bolt pattern etc will be the same
-it would be best to at least pull the cover and inspect the gear ratio and that way also check the condition of the fluid inside, gear face wear (they should have some very small marks on the face of the gear to hold lube, a completely smooth gear face, in the contact area, with some small marks out on the peripheral ends of the gear faces would indicate hard use or age) etc. silvery metallic swirls in the fluid would indicate wear somewhere inside. once it's got the cover off you could pull the diff pin and "C" clips to check for axle bearing wear on the surface of the axles, cracking on the ends of the axles where they butt against the diff pin, wear in the "C" clip grooves and on the "C" clips. also look to see if there are marks on the bearing caps and bolts that would indicate the carrier has been removed at some point. the bearing caps are machined in place and if they have been removed at some point they should have marks to indicate top and left/right. if no marks, and you think they have been removed previously, then you take the chance they have been installed upside down or on the wrong side. that would mean possible headaches down the road. some guys simply use a center punch and mark a divet for the left top and 2 divets for the right top, or whatever.