upgrade ? 10 bolt

[3r!c84]

sorryy for the typo!!!! ^^^


im putting in a 400sbc in place of my 305.

around 400 ponys


you think i should upgrade and get a 12bolt instead of my 10bolt i have now?

10bolt=3.42 gears. i could get a posi for it.

[nbpro]

If you do swap out to the 12 bolt, send me the 10 bolt. lol I guess it would depend on what you're actually going to do with the truck. Crusing, drag strip, park it in a garage and wash it on the weekends.

[3r!c84]

Originally Posted by nbpro

10 bolt gears ?

3:42

[nbpro]

edited

[3r!c84]

driven hard and put away wet

[ont_guy_38]

Well I have had countless 10 bolts in my life and only one 12 bolt and guess which one ever broke on me

[nbpro]

get a posi for it. 3:73 gears

[Wild83C10]

Never had a problem (besides some leaks) with my 10 bolt with posi and a 5 speed, stock axles. I put down about 500 whp for now.

[SBTork]

from what i've heard, not based off personal experience. The 12 bolt is not much better or stronger than a 10 bolt, at least this body style truck 12 bolt. I think the 10 bolt axles can be made strong for not much money.

[3r!c84]

ok just checking..also would all the drum brake parts off of a 10bolt fit on a 12bolt?

[83burban]

I have been contemplating this swap as well. I plan on dropping a healthy big block in down the road, but wanted to upgrade everything else before I go that route.

SB Tork - I would have to disagree. The 12 bolt will befnitely be stronger than a 10 bolt in stock form, the ring gear is larger IIRC and the axles might even have more splines.

If you are just cruising and daily driving then the 10 bolt will be more than adequate for daily use. Putting slicks and power-adders would require a rear end swap for reliability or beefing up your current rear.

Hope this helps

[Keith Seymore]

I've had the same 8.5" ring gear 10 bolt axle in my 3900 lb race car for 32 years.

I'd stay with the 10 bolt.

K

[HOGDADDY]

The 12 bolt pinion gear is smaller than a 10 bolt pinion gear fwiw.

[3r!c84]

so the 12 bolt is weaker?

[wyattglock]

If you have your heart set on swapping rear ends, I would go with a 14 bolt that has the disc brake conversion on it. That would save the weight of the drums, but is a lot stronger than the 10 or 12 bolt. However, it is still heavier than a 10 bolt.

[3r!c84]

going to keep it till or if it breaks

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by 3r!c84

so the 12 bolt is weaker?

It could be considered if you have enough torque to create flex. The solution would be to run a rear end girdle. Look here- LINK

[3r!c84]

yea thats a good idea too ..

[78 Chevyrado]

At a bare minimum, put NEW spider gears in it. The spider gears broke in my 87's 10 bolt after i put a 400 in it, and when it broke it twisted the driveshaft a bit and took out a brand new transmission that i had and i had to just eat the cost. I put new spider gears in the replacement 10 bolt (junkyard) and never had another problem. BTW I was only giving it maybe 1/2 throttle when it broke, BUT I had been doing burnouts all over the place for a week previously...

What happened was the spiders broke and the engine revved way up real quick and then a piece of the spider gear got into the ring gear and stopped the trans instantly. BOOM no more 1st, or reverse. don't know about 2nd and 3rd, couldn't get to them...

[3r!c84]

im going to a posi

[78 Chevyrado]

Might check out powertrax. no clutches to burn out or expensive synthetic oil to buy. and you don't have to tear down the differential.

[3r!c84]

is that a locker?

[355bullet]

stay with the 10 bolt, posi and 3:73's
i have that and it does fine

But if u change it to a 12 bolt your going to need a longer drive shaft

[3r!c84]

i dont know about 3.73 gears i have 3.42s right now that was a big step from the 2.7somthing it had before

it humms at 3k going 70ish down the highway with 28in tires

[355bullet]

3.73 is still a highway gear, if u have a 700r even better.
Both my trucks have 33's. one with the 12 the other 10bolt
i stuck a nice auburn posi in the 12bolt