Found a mud truck for my brother

[rumblebox]

I was going to buy this truck for parts, but my brother wants to go full-redneck and make a mud truck out of it.

Are you guys mudding half-tons with small blocks without destroying axles frequently, or does it need an upgrade for sure?

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[Skweegle89]

He can run the 10 bolt, but he better have a spare handy.


Sent from an old rotary telephone.

 

[rumblebox]

Thats pretty much what i told him.

 

[donmateo]

Best bet is to swap it out so you're not up the creek without a paddle. haha

 

[Don5]

Rumble, that is a pre 79 truck that probably has the same front end your truck has. It should have a Dana 44 under it. The front end from the backing plate out can be changed out to 8 lug. Then just find a 14 bolt rear with same gear ratio. Since it has full time front end it has the chain driven 203 transfer case. Unless it is a 1974 model it should be an automatic transmission as well.

It really depends lift, tire size, gear ratio and driving style as to how long the truck lasts without breaking. As far as a mud truck goes, they are only as good as their weakest link. You upgrade the engine, then move to transmission, then to axles and gearing and so on.. I am sure that you already know this though.

 

[MadOgre]

I have broken the axles in my 10 bolt rear end 3 times! Never had any issues with the front end.

 

[kleedus]

a 1/2 ton front axle 10 bolt or dana 44 is just as strong as a 3/4 ton.

pretty much they are the same axles only 8 lug or six lug.

the rotors and the brake caliper mounting bracket are the only differences between 1/2 ton and 3/4 ton axles.

and in my opinion a 10 bolt and a dana 44 front are equal in strength.

as for 1/2 ton rears a 10 bolt is junk and a 12 bolt is not a lot better but can hold up to 33'' tires with a light right foot for awhile.

run them till they blow then upgrade

 

[Don5]

a 1/2 ton front axle 10 bolt or dana 44 is just as strong as a 3/4 ton.

pretty much they are the same axles only 8 lug or six lug.

the rotors and the brake caliper mounting bracket are the only differences between 1/2 ton and 3/4 ton axles.

and in my opinion a 10 bolt and a dana 44 front are equal in strength.

as for 1/2 ton rears a 10 bolt is junk and a 12 bolt is not a lot better but can hold up to 33'' tires with a light right foot for awhile.

run them till they blow then upgrade

Those 12 bolts can take a lot more abuse than what you realize. I know mine did.
I was launching my lifted truck on the street pretty regularly. I was running a 6 inch lift with Q radial Buckshot tires which are 35 1/2 inches tall. I drag raced All the time on the street here locally years ago. The rear end finally gave out after about three years of hard use. The 406 finally killed it. I just replaced it with another one that was geared better. This was what I experienced YMMV. Seriously though I was impressed with how long it did last. I admit it, I was hard on the truck. It looked good, sounded good and ran even better back in the day.

Now I did go through a lot of U joints though. A Lot. Like 20+/-. But I backed away from no one. I won some races. I lost some races. I surprised a hell of a lot of guys with the truck though. I was never afraid of a 460 Ford for what its worth. I ran and beat a couple of those guys. I run right with a 440 Dodge truck one night. That was the last time I drag raced IIRC. I also thought I was going to lose my license that night too. Too many memories guys..

 

[Georgeb]

Those 12 bolts can take a lot more abuse than what you realize. I know mine did.
I was launching my lifted truck on the street pretty regularly. I was running a 6 inch lift with Q radial Buckshot tires which are 35 1/2 inches tall. I drag raced All the time on the street here locally years ago. The rear end finally gave out after about three years of hard use. The 406 finally killed it. I just replaced it with another one that was geared better. This was what I experienced YMMV. Seriously though I was impressed with how long it did last. I admit it, I was hard on the truck. It looked good, sounded good and ran even better back in the day.

Now I did go through a lot of U joints though. A Lot. Like 20+/-. But I backed away from no one. I won some races. I lost some races. I surprised a hell of a lot of guys with the truck though. I was never afraid of a 460 Ford for what its worth. I ran and beat a couple of those guys. I run right with a 440 Dodge truck one night. That was the last time I drag raced IIRC. I also thought I was going to lose my license that night too. Too many memories guys..

Yeah when the cop takes your license you know your in trouble. Don't ask how I know......

 

[Don5]

Yeah when the cop takes your license you know your in trouble. Don't ask how I know......

I am giving you a rec point for this one post brother!
I never was blessed with that experience yet. And I hope I don't.

 

[rumblebox]

I knew the 10 bolt is useless for the rear. I just wasnt aure how well it does on the front.

 

[HotRodPC]

I'd say this one is a 12 bolt Rear, Dana 44 front. People use half ton axles all the time and go mudding all the time. How long they last just depends on how aggressive he gets. Rock Crawling, I'd say not so much, but alot of trail riding and mudding can be done on 1/2 ton axles.

Here's the biggest deal in keeping the risk of axle damage low. Spinning in the mud is all fine up until the tires grab some dry solid ground then hook up. That's usually where the mudders snap axles and/or break carriers.

 

[crazy4offroad]

He can run 1/2 ton stuff but what really suffers are u-joints, brakes and bearings. If he upgrades to 1350 joints, avoids sudden braking and doubles up wheel bearing maintenance he will probably get good use out of them. But the stock 3R joints, don't expect them to last. I used to replace u-joints at least every 4th or 5th ride. And one time I crammed the brakes because someone pulled out in front of me and blew out both rear wheel cylinders. And mud is always hard on wheel bearings, especially if you get stuck or the truck quits and it has to sit in the muck while you're waiting to get pulled out or get it running again.