Rearend Choices-70-80- GM 14 Bolt?

I am not a metallurgist, but the HO72 doesn't look to be as beefy as the D80/AAM 11.5. Is the whole axle housing/tube cast? Depending on the wall thickness, the 80 tubes maybe alot stouter. Looks like a trade off to me, load bolt/third member, advantage, and disadvantage weaker axle tubes.
 
bh10 said:
Kinda pointless to put in axles that are stronger than the ring gear. I dont know about you I wouldnt want my weak link being my ring gear.
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I never said I condoned it. All I was doing was pointing out that JFlagg's axle information was incorrect.
 
Pinion Twister said:
There are the HO 52 and HO 72 which gets its name from the # rating (5200 & 7200). They are the same (gears) but the brakes are smaller on the HO 52. Both was made with and without the ring gear snubber. Choices on gears was 4.10, 4.56, 5.13. Have been told there was a HO 110 which was a 11,000# axle but i think it only came with 6.17 gears.
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FWIW the gears in the HO52 and HO72 are NOT the same, the pinions are a little bit different. The pinion is 1/2" shorter in the HO52 and the pinion bearing is a dual ball roller. The HO72 has a dual tapered roller pinon bearing with extremely long rollers.

The HO110 is a beast, It simply dwarfs the D80 or 14FF. It is physically massive, I think they're 18" or so at the banjo. They were a rare option in 1 ton pickups from 60-68, so they are legal most places if you have 8 lug hubs on them. The ring is 12.25" the axle shafts are about 1.75". All of them I have seen have 6.17's but supposedly in 63 you could order one in a pickup with 5.63's. The HO110's were standard in C40 trucks if my thinking is right.
 
zstroken said:
I am not a metallurgist, but the HO72 doesn't look to be as beefy as the D80/AAM 11.5. Is the whole axle housing/tube cast? Depending on the wall thickness, the 80 tubes maybe alot stouter. Looks like a trade off to me, load bolt/third member, advantage, and disadvantage weaker axle tubes.
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No, they are not cast housing. They are press formed 3/8 to 5/8 steel plate sections that are then jigged and welded.

I saw an D80 bend an axle tube on my buddys 2000 cummins... when a kid fell asleep at the wheel on the highway after post prom and caught him right behind the drivers door and proceeded to tear the extended cab door,drivers rear cab section, drivers box side, rear leaf springs, and rear axle completely off of the truck.... at 60MPH. He said he got out of the truck and "It was raining leaf springs". Needless to say, It takes alot of force to bend the tubes on any axle.
 
SO the question remains, pay some money for the upgraded parts for the d80, or risk getting an axle that has limited availability of parts.
 
zstroken said:
SO the question remains, pay some money for the upgraded parts for the d80, or risk getting an axle that has limited availability of parts.
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The only thing an HO72 could use is axle shaft...witch the HO72 has 1.5" axles stock...same as an 80!
 
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brushpuller said:
The only thing an HO72 could use is axle shaft...witch the HO72 has 1.5" axles stock...same as an 80!
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According to what I read on pirate4x4 the 14bolt shafts will work in a HO72, but the pinion shaft is still 10 spline I think, though its still beefy... Seems 4.10 is the highest gear for it also, but they are real hard to find. The ring gear anti-flex(or whatever its called) bolt is a nice touch though.
 
brushpuller said:
The only thing an HO72 could use is axle shaft...witch the HO72 has 1.5" axles stock...same as an 80!
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I was referring to gearsets and bearings. If you wipe one out it seems your axle may be better serving as a boat anchor.
 
JFlagg said:
According to what I read on pirate4x4 the 14bolt shafts will work in a HO72, but the pinion shaft is still 10 spline I think, though its still beefy... Seems 4.10 is the highest gear for it also, but they are real hard to find. The ring gear anti-flex(or whatever its called) bolt is a nice touch though.
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Yes, that is correct... but 14 bolt axles are still 1.5"...just finer spline(30 verses 17). As far as the pinion goes, that is HUGE...dont matter if its 5 spline:hehe:...no breakn that i wouldn't think! The 4:10's aren't that hard to find...
 
zstroken said:
I was referring to gearsets and bearings. If you wipe one out it seems your axle may be better serving as a boat anchor.
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You can pick up gearsets for around 100$(as long as you use the common 4:10, 4:56, 5:13)also the stock gearsets are better quality than the aftermarket overseas gears you get now days!!!...and bearings can be had at a bearing supplier easily
 
Where are you picking up the gear sets? NOS or just used from the salvage yard?
 
brushpuller said:
You can pick up gearsets for around 100$(as long as you use the common 4:10, 4:56, 5:13)also the stock gearsets are better quality than the aftermarket overseas gears you get now days!!!...and bearings can be had at a bearing supplier easily
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I was just going by what I read on Pirate... seems like those guys have a hard time finding parts and the bearings seem to be pretty expensive? Though, once you rebuild it, not like you'll have to replace bearings often.
 
zstroken said:
Where are you picking up the gear sets? NOS or just used from the salvage yard?
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Salvage yards, people's back yards....their is a lot of them setting around in old trucks and box van's! Heck i used to drive around in the country on a sat. or sunday and find old trucks with one in it, buy the hole truck for a little of nothing, take the rear end out and take the rest to the scrap yard and have a rear end for almost free. Do that 3 or 4 times and you'll have all the parts you will ever need! At one time i had 6 HO72's and had less that 300$ in all of them...2 of them had factory detroits in them!!!
 
"Stolzfuss Buggy" Drag truck pics, Wilwood disks were added custom yo.



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I have been looking into rear axles lately since I am tossing the IRS and going solid axle with 4 link. I have been looking at the 9", dana 60, GM 9.5" 14bolt and the GM 10.5" 14 bolt.

Out of those 4 rear axles, the 9" in my opinion will never handle comfy street cruising and a decent amount of diesel tq at the strip with slicks, reaons being for anything over 31 splin in a 9" you have to go with a locker, ARB makes a 35 spline air locker but they already have a bad reputation from everyone I have talked to, their 31 spline is supposed to be great but will twist a shaft at the track with slicks.

The Dana 60 will probably work best in my 4000 truck shooting for low 11's or high 10's with a true track and 35 spline shafts along with an aftermarket housing from strange engineering, but in a 7500 pound truck I would look for something with more beef.

The 10.5" 14 bolt would probably never go anywhere since the 4x4 guys done even tear them up bone stock (with an aftermarket locker and gears only). I saw one guy with a 400hp big block, sm465 and 10:1 transfer case (yes 10: LOL) go over crazy rocks all day and the 14 bolt just laughed at him, still hasnt broken it after 2 years. The main problem is the 10.5 is heavy at around 500-550 from what I understand but I have never weighed one.

The 9.5" 14 bolt is too light duty and I have seen alot of stock 6.0L gassers stock tear them up.



If it were me I would go with an AAM 11.5" with some shafts and a locker if your going to pull, they seem to be holding up well.

If you do decide to go with a 14 bolt, done worry about spring perches, if you can weld half decent they are easy to setup, just take a few measurements, set your pinion angle, tack weld in place bolt up check it all out in the truck then remove and weld perches fully, should take 30 minutes to get it right your first time.

Thats just my take on rear ends. People always just to the 9" axle first off but these trucks arent 2500 pound race cars running 40 spline shafts and lockers. Heck my 3860 pound truck with me in it is considered heavy by those standards imagine how most racers would look at you when you talk about one of our 7500-8000 pound trucks LOL
 
Carcraft-

I know you brought up a thread about that, but Id have a hard time believing a 9" wouldnt live under your truck. IMO for rear ends the 9" would even out last the Dana60.
 
I agree, I think the 9" would last a long life under my light 3860 pound truck, but I think it will take at least a 35 spline axle to do it and there just anything I would call a street friendly diff available for the 9" over 31 splines available. I can get a 35 spline ARB but I keep hearing about how unreliable they are and that the 31 spline is actually more reliable. I know of a few guys drag racing cummins powered trucks in the 10's and 1 guy in the high 9's running 9" axles but they are about the same weight I am at and running 40 spline axles with spools.

I am just too picky and wanting nice street manners while still being able to go to the track once or twice a year and shoot for the 10's. ;)
 
BigDctd said:
i just swapped in a 14bolt in my chevy/cummins swap! ive owned alot of trucks with the 14bolt and beat the hell out of them and never one problem
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Ditto. My work truck is an old Chevy with a 14 bolt 4:10's, and I have had 2 others just like it. Don't know much about these kinda applications but for general abuse old Chevy parts are the way to go IMO.
 
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