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I have a friend with an S10 rear end that he will GIVE to me if I want it. Are they strong enough to mess with getting under my truck? I never find things like this, sure would be nice if it would work. What do S10's have, an 8.5?

S-10 will bolt right up. that is what is under my truck right now.
if it is the gear ratio you want....go for it.
you will have to change the yolk on the driveshaft.

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03Cobra

Im thinkin theres an article or info contained in an article on this site where tech stuff is. I found a site for s-10 upgrades that had different carriers,gears and axles. It was a while ago and I did it on a yahoo search.

But are they strong enough to handle a torque monster V8? I know I will have to change the gears, I want 3.73's. I have 3.73 now in the stock rear and they are fine for a 1/4 mile track. I'm just worried about the strength of the rear end.

you may want to contact ratnluv about this....

Normal MILD V8 and STREET driving it wold be O.K. BUT for the STRIP you are asking for trouble and you may not be as lucky as I was. If you are going to go to the strip use something that will not let the axle come out. C clip eliminaters or a rear end that holds the axle in without using
C clips(like a 9").
I broke mine on the FIRST pass (before the blower or Nitrous) Axle came out (WHEEL,brake drum and most of the axle still atached!) Went past the 60 foot mark backwards, looking at the tree in the WRONG lane but was on a solo pass.

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stripped and just a memory!

Ok S10 rear doesn't sound like the way to go, guess I'll just have to wait on a maverick rear end. Looking at the back of the tree didn't sound like a ride I want to take.

Ok, you probably don't need another opinion on this, but I'll throw mine out there anyway. It really depends on power and what your plans are for the truck. I personally know LOTS of guys who have run these rears and did so with no probs. One guy I know ran a 6.90 on gas with a welded up S-10 rear. Was he lucky? Probably. I actually got that rearend and was gonna run it, but sold it. For driving and racing with a mild or not-so-radical smallblock, it would hold up for a while. Eventually it would go. I think a stronger rear is still the way to go if you can do it, but let's face it, not everyone can afford a narrowed 9".

Well since noone will answer my other post maybe someone can enlighten me here! I found a Website that has a Ford 9" shortened to any width for like 670$ that includes axles and discs with it! Is this a good deal or is that a bit high? just wondering.
Later
Husker

dosent sound to high.I narrowed my housing myself,moser cut and resplined my axles for 180.disc brakes are close to 500 from jegs or summit.plus gears.

about the s-10 thing,,,,

if you were to consider the s-10 rear axle just know that two diffrent axles are in circulation on them. The most common is the 7-5/8" rear which has a squarish/ovalish look to the pumpkin. This rear is found in 4 cyl auto/stick and v6 auto configurations. GM has used this rear in many application including the F-body. This is the same rear end that you'll find in a ls1 equiped f-body. So they are strong to a certain extent....but if you plan on beating the heck out of the rear you might think twice.

The more rarer rear option in the s-series trucks is the 8.5" rear which is only put intot he v6 5spds. It's pumpkin is round and therefore looks completly diffrent including beeefier than the 7-5/8".

Some compare the 8.5" to the ford 9" in terms of strength. I cannot comment on that however as I have not used a 8.5 before. If your planning on using the luv as a strip terror I would deffinatly look into a ford 9" if you got the scratch (a freind just dropped 2K on his new 9" in his camaro) if you are budget minded you might try and find a gm 8.5"

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I TOOK UR MOM DRAGGIN LAST NIGHT
Bagged 84 Pup
Bagged 53 F100
stock 72 Citroen DS19

Unfortunatly, now at the moment I have no choice but to be budget minded. I'm not planning on beating the hell out of it, but is will make 3 or 4 passes a weekend at the track. If this job works out for my wife in the next couple of weeks, I won't have to be so budget minded. I'll probably wait and see what's going to happen with her, then I will have a better idea of what I can spend. Everyone cross their fingers, I'm ready for this project to get started.

A 8" Ford is designed like the 9" and if a Axle was to snap, it stay in. My concern is that if strip use will happen make sure the axle will stay in. No one can say how long it will last and yes there is 2 sizes of axles one has a few more splines and is a little bigger. I think they are 26 and 28 spline but can't remember. At any rate mine was the bigger of the two and it was fine until the strip. Where will you be IF it lets go and how fast will you be going.If I was using one ,C-clip eliminaters would be high on my Christmas list. Something I wouldn't have worried about before,but I look at it from a different angle now. I chose to go with the 9" instead of spending money for C-clip eleminaters and going to a different rear end later.
A Jeep Dana 44 is a little narrow but could be made work with the correct offset on the wheels and moving the mounting pads. The bearings also keep the axle in if one was to break.

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stripped and just a memory!

I have heard good things about a ford 8". That's why I think I will wait and try to find a maverick. A couple of guys have said they run maverick rears, they just have 5 1/2" backspacing. I am just wondering what all is involved with getting it under my truck. Oh, and thanks for all the info you all have given me.