front end upgrade

[evan396]

my dad and i want to upgrade the front end of our 66 k20 to disk brakes. we got a newer front end from his cousin, and we are going to reuse the eaton rear. we want to know if we can switch out the gears from the the old one to the newer one,to keep the same gear ratio. ( if the gears are ok). and if we can do it. if not, can we get a gear set to match the rear. also would this be a good front end to use? thanks evan396

[ryanroo]

the older is a D44 and the newer is a corporate 10 bolt. the gears are not going to swap. the 10 bolt is a perfectly good axle. it is the same in strength as the d44. stronger in a few areas than a 44 of that age. the parts are easy to get and cheap. i would not have any issue running it. a person familiar with old chevy trucks would know it was not period correct, but that does not matter to me.

[61K10]

evan--is that a 3/4 ton front axle? the eaton probably has 4.57/4.56? gears. i don't think they are available (ring&pinion) anymore.

[evan396]

Yes 61k10 it is a 3/4 ton front axle, and the rear is the eaton.you are right about the gear ratio, will double check to see which one we have. So ryanroo, we can use this front axle as long as we get a set of gears to match the rear? Thanks evan396

[jeffahart]

what gears you looking for. A have a eaton ho52 I'm about to scrap. It has 4.10. I can gut if you want. What's in the front you are swapping in.

[evan396]

Jeffahart, we are looking to up grade the front to disk brakes. The rear end is a Eaton Ho52, we are going to keep this one in the truck.we had the drums cut and put in new bearings and seals. Along with new brakes. The gears we are going to need would be for the front end to match the rear end. Thanks evan396

[argonaut]

Evan, jeffahart is offering you the 4.11 gears for the HO52 because it may be more friendly for driving the truck than what you have now. You may still have to swap out the ring and pinion gears in the corporate 10 bolt either way.

Do you know what gear ratio your rear axle has now?

[farmallboy15]

If you bought a later d44 71+ you could just swap the axle shafts, knuckles, hubs and brakes over to the housing on your truck (as long as your 44 is open knuckled). That's what I did on my '70. That way you don't have to mess with gear install.

[evan396]

OK so we went out and took off the differential cover on the newer Axel. It is marked Gm 3988515 10-4110-85. So we think it is a 4.10 made in 1985. So if jeffahart has a rear with a 4.10 for the Eaton, We should be able to just swap out the Eaton rear end.what would your opinion on these gears be argonaut or anyone else. we think this might be the easier way to go farmallboy15. Thanks for your help Guy's. Evan396

[andrewmp6]

Gear ratio depends what tire size and trans your gonna run.

[jeffahart]

I was the second and fifth owner of the this particular truck; and I have ran many miles with the 4.10s and 31s and 33s empty and hauling loaded and in tow. I love the 4.10, I think it's a good compromise for hauling and empty. In fact, I now have 4.56 in the axles I just swapped in and I plan to change them 4.10 when I can get a good price, as the 4.10 and 4.56 are on opposites sides of the carrier breaks for my d60 and corp14.

[jeffahart]

Evan, I dissembled the axles this afternoon. Here's pics of the 4.10s and the Eaton they came out of; and I was running both of those axles up to a couple months ago and they were fine. I could not get the nut off the yoke so the bearing is stuck on there. I could not find right socket in my tool box.

[jeffahart]

I located a 1-5/8" socket and got the nut off. Here's pics of the parts.