MG #45 - One Ton Axles for your K5 Blazer

[@928bige]

Nice to know! I bought my k5 with a bunch of upgrades including these axles, for only 2400!

[@t.l.robinson2162]

I bought a rusty K-30 for $500.00. I got both axles ( Dana 60/ 14 bolt), transfer case and both driveshafts. After having a stronger rear shaft made I was on the road in 4 days. I go just about anywhere with my '90 K-5.

[@MerricksGarage]

That is an amazing deal!

[@ethanstrauch9232]

Great channel. Really appreciate how much you explain things in all of videos. Awesome rig too!

[@2009statechamps1]

I'm glad I found this channel! Lots of helpful information, especially for those of us who own a K5

[@2009statechamps1]

Merricks Garage I was looking through KZbin on K5 lifts and watched that video and then I started watching your other videos

[@waceymitchell6786]

I picked up my 1008 curved for 250 bucks. Now it's getting the DIY4X treatment bumper to bumper. Gotta love the rocks and trails in New Mexico

[@kenstockman8494]

Great video. Yes you couldn't talk alot more about lockers, and other stuff, but you covered the basic really well. Ken

[@DayinthelifeJrPNW]

Just seen this, I blew my newly geared rear end and now looking at upgrading my 91 Suburban to 1 ton axles instead of paying the shop to repair the 1/2 tons. Found a set 14 bolt 410s at the wreaking yard.

[@MerricksGarage]

Heck yea. Just keep in mind you need a front axle too. Those are the expensive ones!

[@DayinthelifeJrPNW]

@@MerricksGarage the truck has the original front and rear axles on it. I’ll Check them out this week. The interior of the truck looked like it was used lightly not abused. So I’m hoping the axles are in good condition, I’ll do inspection before buying them. I think $300 is a good deal for both.

[@darrynflores5481]

Very helpful! I just got a 73 K5. I really need to get this done ASAP

[@75blazer38]

Just want to say thank you for your videos , you have inspired me to work on my blazer again .

[@75blazer38]

8.1 I wish . Right now it has the old 5.7 350 with a 465 tranny 205 14 bolt rear 3/4 front . 39' . I just got a 2004 lm7 5.3 a old 4l80e 203 205 doubler and a Dana 60 like you said just need to get out there and do the transplant .

[@t.l.robinson2162]

I love your channel. I have learned a lot of knowledge.

[@Ken19700]

GM put a high pinion Dana 70 under the front of the Kodiak from 2005 to 2009. There's not much aftermarket support but they come with a 1550 u-joint and a 5.13 to 1 ring & pinion which is perfect for 40+ inch tires. It has open knuckles ball joints.

[@nicolasmbo09]

Great video Got My k5 al reach already with Dana 60 here in spain which is unique and turbo diesel

[@MerricksGarage]

Yea serious. Bet they don’t see those much out there!

[@TakkaFlakkaFlame]

Great video, I love your channel and I've done a lot of the same mods you have besides a ls swap. Btw one tons leaf spring perches center to center are 40" vs 1/2 and 3/4 ton 42" I pulled mine and had to eel on new rear perches.

[@tonyvickers8659]

AAM 10.5 is the new 14 Bolt and has stock Disc brakes and stock e-brake. Mine is out of a 01 2500HD. Standard 14bolt with drum brake come with a 1350 yoke which will bolt right up. The AAM has a 1410. So you might need to change driveline. The up side is that the parts are interchangeable including the yoke. :-)

[@tonyvickers8659]

Two weeks ago I changed out the open Diff in the Dana 60 and put in a ARB. Also upgraded the out stubs to 35 spline. Not sure If I like them. In some cases, bigger may not be better. Had to shorten my turning radius due to the larger yoke. Stock 30 spline outer stubs have a better turning radius. Food for thought if you have not done this yet. Great videos! Keep em coming!

[@AMPDABB]

How's it going Merricks Garage... I just did this swap on my 87 k10 Dana 60 w/corporate 14 bolt full floating axles super super happy with this set up came with stock 4:56 so double score... k10 has a 06 5.3 dbw set up with a 4l60e and np208 couldn't ask for a better set up oh and it rolls the 37" wheels like nothing super smooth on the highway and trails... took it up to comp hill in dumont this past weekend handled sweet... thanks for your past input when I started building this truck... keep up the good work

[@AMPDABB]

Merricks Garage i have my auto dealers license so I picked up the whole truck for 1000 bucks from a auction it's a 84 M1008 1 1/14 ton 4x4 cucv truck which came with a 6.2 Detroit diesel and 400 turbo and np208 all in working conditions... truck fires right up no problem still have it to lol... but I've seen those axles go for 1500-2000 on craigslist with leaf springs

[@AMPDABB]

Merricks Garage will do sir i usually go to the one I got that one from once a month so I'll for sure let u know...

[@joer1158]

Did the off-centered pinion of the 14 bolt give you any trouble?? Does it give your driveline any issues or did you just angle the driveline from the case to the pinion? Love your vids. Thanks .

[@MerricksGarage]

not at all. The axle I put in my suburban has even more offset and I was worried about it, but it has been fine too!

[@bradruiz9461]

Dude... great video professional grade no doubt.... keep it up sir these videos help out a lot.

[@MerricksGarage]

Thanks man. Just trying to share the knowledge people shared with me!!

[@Gravex20111]

Doing my axel swap to my Bronco now Merrick 2011 F350 Dana 60 & 10.5

[@867diesel]

dude badass upgrade you chose good axles . check out the 14 bolt semi float front axle conversion . I'm planing on doing the 14 bolt full float rear with the semi float front on my 85 k20 with a big block 4 speed on 35-40s I have both sets lol

[@867diesel]

Merricks Garage not personally I have a good friend that a welding / fabricating and mechanical genius lol I'm not mechanically inclined enough for that and it will take a few years before I do it that's more like for bragging rights for me lol

[@milesgerschefske6231]

Probably should have mentioned that the there's two different styles of ff 14 bolt bother are common but not entirely interchangeable internally. And adding comments about the dana60 70 and 80 rear ends compared to the 14 bolts as they're all ff too Spoilers 60 are a little lacking and 70s/80s are on par performance wise but more expensive to repair or upgrade.

[@84400]

to help with some of the info.... K30 rear 14ff is not a direct bolt on. the shock mkounts are on the wrong side and the spring perches are closer together. a K20 14ff is a direct bolt in. all you would need is a conversion rear joint. looking at the perches in your pics it looks like you have a 3/4 ton 14ff axle houseing which is the same as the k30 except for shock mount and spring perch local. all M1008 and m1028's have the rear detroit lockers. the military k5 (m1009) has 10 bolt axles with 3:08's and a rear gov lock. the m1028's did have the option for the limitedd slip front but not all had them. alo these limited slips are not as good as a true locker espescially with big tires. like the vids man kesp it up. Not knocking just trying to put the info out there. i know this stuff cause i have personally done this swap. feel free . to check out my vids.

[@bradywilliams2666]

Also 10 bolts didn't come out until 79. Blazers before had a D44 front and 12 bolt rear.Which are stronger then the 10 bolt junk.

[@84400]

Actually 1977 was the change over year for the GM Coperate 10 bolt. My 77 had a 10 bolt front and 12bolt rear when I bought it from the original owner. GM put the Dana 44 in trucks thru 1979 as they used up supply. The 10 bolt front is a GM designed version of a Dana44. Really they are about the same as far as streangth and will work with up to 35's if you know how to pick lines and don't beak your truck. The 10 bolt rears are pretty weak tho. The12 bolt or 14sf from a 90's Gmt 400 is the way to go if you want to stay 6 lug

[@ScoobyDigites]

Ian could I buy a 4x4 k20 and swap the axles out onto my 88 jimmy full size

[@bradywilliams2666]

Yes. Pretty much bolt up. Will need a conversion U-joint for the rear axle. Depending on yr K20 you use you may need to move the shock brackets on the rear axle. If your doing this swap, be sure to get a full float 14bolt rear.

[@ScoobyDigites]

Brady Williams sweet thanks dude

[@misterpolytech]

Dana 60 front, 14 bolt rear, that's how we do out here.

[@jrbarriga8357]

Guess I'm lucky my brother has been building jeeps for years I text him about those axles on this video & with much luck he said I have some sitting at pops house

[@MerricksGarage]

yea, thats about $2k sitting there!!!

[@mimixownzall]

My 77 K5 came with 12 bolt rear and dana 44 front. They call it the "heavy half."

[@MTBlazer89]

Heavy Halfs were 2 wd trucks. All 73-80ish K10s had 12 bolt and 44 combos. The 44 started getting phased out in 79 and the 12 bolt in 80.

[@ellooney2065]

Great information i have military blazer where did you get your rear bumper for your rig and do you know if the cucv truck diffs are a direct bolt in swap with my blazer

[@MerricksGarage]

I believe there is some variety in the spring perches, but I cant remember for sure... The bumper is a DIY4X product. Great company!

[@BennySnelling]

Building a 1974 k5 and adding 14 bolt rear and d44 front off a 79 3/4 ton. Any help you can give would be amazing. Please reach out to me. Thanks-Benny

[@thomasbolitho917]

what is the reason why you need to have the passenger side front diff? Is it because of the transmission and transfer case or something else?

[@michaelmorales6001]

I'm a owner to a k5 its a 79 blazer, I have the 10 bolt with a 12 bolt rear, I seen a 88 chevy dually 1 ton would it bolt on to my 700r4 trans or would I need to upgrade it all ? Thank you! For explaining the difference of the differential

[@MerricksGarage]

Glad you found it helpful. Dually axle will need the hub swapping and I think perches moved but as far as trans it doesn’t matter as your rear axle connect to your transfer case.

[@michaelmorales6001]

Merricks Garage Oh okay thank you! I'm new to all of this so it's great to get some type of in side information.

[@willyrisco6457]

Have you addressed the E brake issue in the rear when switching to disc? Awesome channel BTW

[@867diesel]

Merricks Garage why didn't you want to do the el Dorado e brake ? just wondering if there's a flaw or something wrong or personal choice

[@True_Knight]

The e-brake can be a pain when switching to rear disks. One option is to run a '76-'78 Cadillac Eldorado caliper, however these calipers are not designed well. They are supposed to automatically adjust each time the e-brake is used, but they don't adjust properly in most cases. I had one that actually adjusted too tight and it started to overheat the rotor. After that I went back to a non e-brake caliper. I considered a e-brake caliper from a newer GM truck, but when researching it many people said they had problems with the e-brake holding their stock truck, so a truck with 37s would definitely make it worse. With a slip yoke transfer case as in most of these square body trucks, you cant use a transfer case yoke mounted e-brake. If you upgrade to a NP205 transfer case then a transfer case yoke e-brake would be a good option. Another option would be to buy a separate e-brake caliper and a 2 caliper backing plate, such as the MB 7 caliper from tsmmfg.net. Your normal brake caliper mounts in its standard position and the e-brake caliper mounts in another position on the backing plate. I think this is a good option because you have a large rotor and pad that should have no issues holding the truck.

[@True_Knight]

Yeah that's a great option for you then because you'll have the help of the gear reduction to hold the truck. What transfer case do you have?

[@CraftwerksMC]

Why not just swap in parts off one of the late model disc setups? Should offer ebrake setup and what not? I think the newer AAM 10.5 setups will bolt on the older one ton's like you have there. Not sure if your state requires e-brake check or not for an inspection but it might be something you can source at a pick and pull or LKQ and then sell the shell of the AAM 10.5 to someone with your old disc setup on it. Just a thought. I'm going to have to fight this fight further down the road my own K5 axle swap, since TX requires a e-brake check for inspection.

[@True_Knight]

If i remember correctly, you would need to buy a special conversion plate because the newer parts aren't a direct bolt on. They are available, but that's added cost and work. Also, I read that many people had complaints about the drum-in-hat e-brake design's ability to hold the truck. I am also in CA so I don't have to worry about the inspection. In your case I suggest either the driveline brake if you don't have a slip yoke T/C (it has gear reduction working in it's favor to help hold the truck), a stand alone e-brake caliper, or even swapping in the whole newer AAM axle. A friend of mine lives in an inspection state. He purchased a stand alone e-brake caliper, however his truck is a '96 so the spring perches are much closer to the end of the axle. He was having trouble with fitting the caliper because of the spring being so close to the outside of the axle. So in his case the best bet is to swap the entire axle to a newer AAM.

[@HappyLife-fb8gk]

Do you think this build will be good to pull a camper . Cross country ?

[@MerricksGarage]

LS and one tons? Heck yea!

[@wowsplat]

just got a 1988 k5 blazer, im not handy at all. its my first project ever so we'll see how this turns out.

[@wowsplat]

it has leaks, transmission and engine oil pan. anyone know a good book that can walk me through fixing it up? the engine cranks but wont stay on, my uncle says its missing a lot of vacuum lines.

[@wowsplat]

kinghtin2darkness so, she doesnt want to stay on. i got 4 gallons of gas and octane booster. she will stay on as long as i pump the gas, but she dies on idle. i just got some acdelco platinum plugs. she still wont stay on. i did know what gauges work, didnt know how much gas she had if any or how old the gas was.

[@ScoobyDigites]

wowsplat got an 88 jimmy full size myself and want to do this

[@tonyvickers8659]

How is your body roll without anti-sway bars?

[@CarolinaReef]

Hi Merrick, thanks for your videos, I know this is an older video but I have a question..I just completed my 1 ton swap on a 1984 K10 (Dana 60 front, 14bff rear). Now my brakes are mushy, bled twice with no air in the lines. I was wondering if you had any brake issues after your swap or any ideas? thanks

[@MerricksGarage]

What did you change? Disc rear etc? The new brakes require more fluid than your master can provide.

[@CarolinaReef]

@@MerricksGarage Yes, Both axles have disc brakes...so I need to replace the master cylinder with a larger unit?

[@dannav1635]

Bitchin vid...your trac bar was it totally necessary and does it make a big difference, asking cuz Iam a new owner of a 89 k5 and Iam looking to modify it

[@TyWayne69]

What is your rear spring, shackle, shackle hanger setup? In the works of swapping a 14 bolt into my K5 right now! Thanks

[@TyWayne69]

Merricks Garage I will watch it, I appreciate the reply! Love the channel, keep it up bud!!

[@kaleblawrence8854]

How much did you pay for them? If there is a Dana 60 and 14 bolt full float for 1,800 is that a good deal?

[@rite2beararms]

Yes. I've seen dana 60s alone for 1800

[@75blazer38]

So what gears do you have to turn your 40'

[@randomguy93984]

75 Blazer probably 410s at least

[@greym6436]

Good info.

[@Apoc_Bone_Daddy]

What about portals?

[@MerricksGarage]

meh, too much unsprung weight

[@Manicagent]

I have two sets of GM 1 tons. Who wants them?

[@thehappybuilder7034]

i cant tell if you have an accent? do you? where are you from? lol

[@thehappybuilder7034]

Merricks Garage haha, everything makes sense now :) CHEERS MATE

[@offcambergarage9045]

first for comments

[@MarkJones-sk6vk]

..

[@chalolovesalic]

I'm second