Kinda what I was thinking. Now I just need to make the time to start working on this truck again.

Thanks Atomic.

 

After years old looking off and on, I finally happened to come across a 9.5" AXN axle.



I haven't had time to do anything but take the cover off.







Everything seems to check out. Hopefully this weekend I'll have time to take it all the way apart. I need to pull the axles and swap the disc brake stuff off of my 10 bolt. During that process I'll measure stuff and verify everything.

I've read that the G80 in this rear is stronger than the 10 bolt's G80. Right now I'm planning on running it. Hopefully it'll hold considering I'm AWD.

 

Nice! 3.73 or 4.10?

 

My truck is 3.73. 4.10 seems a bit too low for highway cruising, plus I don't want to regear both ends.

I'm stoked! I can't wait start on everything so I can drive my truck again.

 

I finally got to wrench on my truck! I have a few weeks off before I head into fall term.

I tore into the 9.5" 14 bolt today. I removed the drum brakes and backing plates to swap my disc brake setup off of my truck.

I used the clamp to hold the axle shaft in so I could remove the C clips.



This is the trickiest part. I pushed the C clip around and used a magnet to pull it out.



Success!



I pulled the axle out and was shocked my how beefy it is. I know it's not full floater strength, but holy crap.





This is a comparison between a Dana 60 axle and my 9.5" 14 bolt axle shaft. The Dana 60 on top is destroyed at the splines. (It's out of a 700ftlb 489 BB 1972 Blazer)



Here you can see how the Dana 60 necks down whereas mine doesn't until the splines.

 

Don't worry, They're still prone to bend or break if you get wheel hop.

 

Im hoping I can minimize that since I'm AWD and have tiny tires. We'll see I guess.

 

Do those C clips have a groove worn in them?

Hard to tell if its just wear or a groove. If it is a grove, Swing by the dealership and order another set. There only a few dollars unlike alot of vendors trying to sell them for like $25 each. Last time I paid just under $5 each. I am sure they have gone up some but can imagine them being more than $10 each

This should be the part number and I believe they are sold over the counter as singles. 14012746 -Axle C-clip
14012746 GM 9.5 14 Bolt C Clip - DriveTrain America

 

It's rare. One of the Silverado SS guys did a few years back, as well as the TBSS guys were breaking them. But the TBSS is a narrower set up so there's less room for flex.

 

Was your shaft that hard to push in that you needed a clamp? On mine I just removed that center pin then reached up with my hand on the flange and pushed in slightly and the c clip just fell out.