3/4 ton axles in a j10?

[thej10guy]

I know it’s been done with different axles and stuff. I’m not sure if I want to do this yet but it’s just a theory for my truck. I know some people use like 97 f250 axles but is there any other axles people have used? If so what are they and what do they entail to swap them? I know the Dana 44 and AMC 20 is fairly strong but it’s just an idea.


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[Stuka]

I assume this is for your 83 J10?

Your front axle only needs the 8 lug outers and brakes swapped on to nearly equal a 3/4 ton D44 front. There were technically some front D44's with even thicker tube walls. But the internals were all the same.

For the rear, you can pretty much use whatever axle you want, provided it is wide enough to clear the springs. A J20 axle will of course bolt in, but 80+ J20 axles aren't very common. But, a D60 out of the back for a Ford F250 works. A GM 14FF will work IF you switch to disc brakes, and use the caliper mounts that have the caliper mounted low. Otherwise they hit the springs.

J-Trucks have super wide rear spring mounts. Moving the springs under the frame fixes all that, but then you end up with about 7" of lift. Good if you are doing a spring over lift up front. Bad if you dont want a bunch of lift.

[thej10guy]

Wow that was a lot if very helpful info. Yeah this is for my 83. The reason I intend to do this is because I also need to swap gears and with having to buy a carrier for the front I was wondering if it would be cheaper (or close to similar) to just put different axles in. I’m looking to get 4.10 gears and for a set of 97 ish ford f250 axles it’s about 600 for the pair and I could probably get them for cheaper from a local salvage yard. I’m just wondering how much more work it would be (if any) to swap axles.


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[Stuka]

Pretty sure you can just get thick gears from Yukon to fit your current carrier. If you have 2.73 gears, you will need a rear carrier. If you have 3.31’s you will not.

But, even if you bought those axles for $600, you are still going to want to replace all the bearings, put all the work into cleaning them, and you have to fab new spring perches for the rear axle. And the front axle actually requires outboarding your front springs. The only Ford front axle that bolts in is 79 and older. Plus later Ford axles will require new wheels as their lug pattern changed to metric. And we can’t forget all new steering components. Plus the Ford axle is spring over only, so you end up with seven inches of lift.

In short, it’s way cheaper to regear that axle swap unless you find J20 axles.

[thej10guy]

Okay sounds good. Thank you for that info. That definitely makes sense and I’m sure I wouldn’t have thought about a lot of that stuff.


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[Stuka]

I was in your boat many years ago with my '81 J10. The stock 2.73 gears sucked. I ended up regearing to 4.56's as I had a manual with a 258 with 33" tires. Is was perfect for what I wanted.

With your LS swap and an OD trans, 4.10's should be great.

[rocklaurence]

I put J20 axles under my J10 years ago but then decided I wanted rear Disc and a Posi/LS. It was going to cost me $1200 to buy/install the LS and Disc brakes. So, I installed a AAM 11.5" rear from a Dodge [$300]. It has the LS and Disc brakes, only required that I add new spring pads and driveshaft yoke. A Chevy AAM will also work. Only negative is that the AAMs are 4" wider than the OEM Jeep axles.

[The PIG Smith]

I have a set of 80's J20 axles I paid $400 several years ago.
I had plans to convert my '82 J10 to a J20.
I own a J20 now and my long term J10 is going to move in different direction.
These axles are currently stored in West Virginia, but unless I do something with them, they probably will be scrapped with all the other stuff there.
They are very heavy and thought I was going to kill myself to lift them from the ground to the deck of a cargo van.
I do not know how to get over the shipping or any other details, but if you were interested, I will work with you.
First thing I could do, is at least go to WVa and haul them back to Indiana.

[devildog80]

Sounds like a reasonable deal, if thej10guy swings by and picks up The PIG Smith in IN, road trip to WV to pick up the axles, then drop The PIG Smith back off in IN, and axles continue home with thej10guy?

Cost of the trip and you have axles?

And now somewhere to road trip and visit each other in IN or WI

That is if you both can come to a reasonable agreement for their worth.

[thej10guy]

Thank you guys for all of that information! I’ll take all of this into consideration if/when it comes time to do the swap.


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