Front axle questions gears and six to eoght lug swap

[84 400]

Alright working on a 77 k10. Gonna be going 3/4 ton. I have 3 front 10 bolts. 2 0f the axles are 3:08's and 6 lug. The 8 lug axle is 3:73 but real rusty and has a leaking pinon seal.

are the caliper brackets bigger on the 3 / 4 ton?

Since the pinion seal is leaking am I going to have to set up my gears again? If so I will just swap them in the better housing.

Is gear setup really that hard on a ten bolt. It is something I want to learn and for the 200 plus it would cost to have it done I can pick up a decent mix.

Thanks for any input.

[b454rat]

No need to have the gears reset for changing an oil seal. Just need to retorque it, usually less than if a new crush sleeve is used. The caliper brackets are a wee bit bigger that 1/2, but everything is interchangeable. I took a 1/2 front with killer 2.73s and swapped to 8 lug with the external hubs from a mid 70s truck...

[84 400]

So I need to source caliper brackets for an 8 lug?? The ones I have are rotted! So if I can change the pinion seal with out resetting the gears I guess o could keep the housing.

Also how is the vent tube installed?? Mine is rotted off!

[martindc1]

You won't have to remove the pinion gear, remove the pinion nut, pull off the yoke, replace the seal, replace the yoke, and tighten the nut down to the proper specification. You'll have to consult a shop manual or ask somebody on here what that specification is because if you don't get it tight enough you won't have enough bearing preload and if you tighten it too much then you will over-crush the crush sleeve and have to tear it apart to replace it.

Also you may want to check shop manual as to whether you need to change the pinion nut or use some locking compound. All of the gears I've setup used a pinion nut that was one-time use, but for full disclosure those were Ford 8.8" axles.