Do we have 1/4 ton or 1/2 ton axles?

by **The_Convoy_** » Tue Mar 01, 2016 12:44 pm

What rating are our axles?

by **HawkeyeC25** » Tue Mar 01, 2016 3:37 pm

Our rear axles are GM 8.6" 10-Bolt. This is a typical 1/2 Ton axle setup you would see in the 1500 series pickups/SUV's. I believe the Gross Weight Rating of the axle is 3200 lbs.

by **Jrgunn5150** » Tue Mar 01, 2016 8:09 pm

But the front is the same as the S10 was

MY Youtube Channel · by **TBYODA** » Wed Mar 02, 2016 1:10 am

HawkeyeC25 wrote:Our rear axles are GM 8.6" 10-Bolt. This is a typical 1/2 Ton axle setup you would see in the 1500 series pickups/SUV's. I believe the Gross Weight Rating of the axle is 3200 lbs.

That is not totally correct. The EXT and the swb with a 5.3l have the 8.6" axle. However any swb with 17" wheels and smaller have a weaker 8.0" axle. SS have a 9.5" 14 bolt.

MY Youtube Channel · by **TBYODA** » Wed Mar 02, 2016 1:12 am

Jrgunn5150 wrote:But the front is the same as the S10 was

I wish our front diffs were same as the S10 nice steel case. The intervals are the same, the case design however is totally different. Guys get your facts straight.

by **v7guy** » Wed Mar 02, 2016 1:59 am

Actually the S10 front diff varied a bit over the years, there were some cast iron ones, but they are getting a good bit more difficult to find these days and iirc they were mostly in the manual trans trucks. The most common front diff for the S10 was an aluminum case. It's not integrated into the oil pan like ours, but is actually setup like the full size trucks. It is still a clam shell design like ours, but with substantially less webbing than our diff. They also varied with a flange mount CV, and then later a stub CV setup like the Trailblazers
The S10 diff was largely considered relatively weak, with that said it seems to hold up pretty well in those monstrous Sy/Ty builds

by **HawkeyeC25** » Wed Mar 02, 2016 10:35 am

Sorry for any misinformation... I was indeed basing it off of the 5.3L version. I forgot about the 8.0" in the I6 application :facepalm:

by **HARDTRAILZ** » Wed Mar 02, 2016 2:33 pm

9.5 3/4 ton in some of ours

by **Jrgunn5150** » Wed Mar 02, 2016 7:09 pm

TBYODA wrote:
Jrgunn5150 wrote:But the front is the same as the S10 was

I wish our front diffs were same as the S10 nice steel case. The intervals are the same, the case design however is totally different. Guys get your facts straight.

The internals are the part's that are going to fail lol. I'm still calling it an S10 diff :zombie:

by **v7guy** » Thu Mar 03, 2016 12:49 am

Actually our AWD sleeve apparently fails before the ring and pinion or case... In fishsticks case it was the ATP AWD replacement for the disconnect... I think the description was "nothing bigger than the size of a nickel". LOL

MY Youtube Channel · by **TBYODA** » Thu Mar 03, 2016 9:55 pm

v7guy wrote:Actually our AWD sleeve apparently fails before the ring and pinion or case... In fishsticks case it was the ATP AWD replacement for the disconnect... I think the description was "nothing bigger than the size of a nickel". LOL

Well he had a locker in the front diff when that happened, which he felt was strength upgrade beside gains it gives you.

by **Jrgunn5150** » Thu Mar 03, 2016 10:56 pm

It is interesting that he didn't break any of the part's you'd expect him to break with that locker lol.

by **v7guy** » Fri Mar 04, 2016 1:47 am

It's just a wild ass guess, but I recall reading that one of the ways ring and pinion gears break is by the case flexing, allowing the pinion and ring to move around a bit and then they pop teeth... This obviously isn't to say this is the only way they break, just one. I would suspect the webbing in our case keep the gears situated better so we aren't seeing the failure of them like the S10 guys.

I also recall that the old ATP AWD disconnect pieces were actually just like the selectable 4WD units but with the fork permanently engaged. So it also may very well be the case that those of us with the actual sleeve will have something else break.

Offroad Trailblazers and Envoys