relzbade

I have a 8.5" complete axle for a s10, that i am considering swapping into my Z28, i was curious if anybody has experience with this. The thoughts in my head are what happens with the torque arm is the s10 axle wider? Will the driveshaft fit? Any help would be great, Thanks.

incbed

Since no one will answer you

First off I am 100% sure that all S10 trucks also came with the tiny rearend that the 3rd and 4th gen Fbodies have.

Regardless of what kind of rearend your going to try to make work in a Fbody that wasn't built for the 4th gen Fbody would be considered custom. Meaning your going to have to make thousands of different measurements ,cuts,welds,brackets and so forth.Then hope that everything lines up when installed.

If your going to make your own I would suggest going with the ford 8.8. There are several threads on this site with 8.8 builds.

MENTHOLISCOLD

seriously man. if you don't know what your talking about, you don't have to reply. thanks for making me feel smarter

Nebulus

iTrader: (14)

Hey man, don't be a dick. Either correct what he said or move along.

Valkyn

iTrader: (8)

The 8.5" is a strong axle, but you are going to run into the same problems as the 8.8 guys.

You are going to need to fab a torque arm mount or go with an alternate setup to keep the axle from twisting (triangulated bar on the LCA thing). You will also have to cut the axle to make sure its the same width.

Most guys just cut the axles off and weld on the axles tubes from their stock 7.5" rear.

You are also going to need custom axles.

Search for 8.8 builds and you will find alot of information.

sixpack_2_go

iTrader: (1)

if the rearend is from an s10, then it is a 7.5 just like your stock camaro rearend minus the posi. all s10s came with 7.5 rearends.

fullsize trucks came with 8.5 rearends...however, i still wouldn't use an 8.5 because they are bad about crushing spider gears. i had to rebuild the 8.5 out of my old pickup twice in the one year i owned it...it was only putting down 280rwhp through a 5spd trans on street tires. it kept breaking spider gears.

Valkyn

iTrader: (8)

I thought the ZR1 blazer got an 8.5" rear, but maybe they just got a posi 7.5

Either way, a real 8.5 can be made pretty stout, but most guys seem to go with the 8.8

79TAKid

iTrader: (1)

Some of the S10's did come with an 8.5 rear, they are very strong.

96lt1m6

iTrader: (31)

s10 zr2 is an 8.5 rear it is also a little bit wider than the normal 4x4 s10 rear.
if you click this link you will see how the mini ladder bars are set up
https://ls1tech.com/forums/gears-axl...8-8-build.html

There are a few others that have made custom TQ arm mounts w/pics to help you along. I personally would look for a 2nd gen camaro,nova,grand national rear instead since they are thicker housings. The impala/caprice 8.5 rear is nice aswell but may have to be shortened a bit.....

Jays_SSZ28

iTrader: (2)

The standard rear for an S10 is a 55" wide 7.5/7.625.
It would be a very very rare find but there are S10's with 55" wide 8.5's. I forgot the year but they came with the 4.3 H.O. and five speed.

There are also the ZR2 S10/Blazer 8.5 but it is wider.

The '98-'02 F Body rears are 62" wide.

sixpack_2_go

iTrader: (1)

.....strong when they are behind a 4.3 auto....not a v8...spider gears are the weak link. i was a mechanic for a little over four years before my accident...i had to replace several sets of spider gears in stock 1/2ton pickups with 8.5 rears.
if you are going to run an 8.5 i suggest you get an aftermarket carrier. that should beef it up. you might want to consider some bigger axles too...depending on your power goals.

Blksnshn

I wouldn't go through all that work for an 8.5, I've broken 3 of them myself and did tons of them throughout my years as a tech. I've only ever had to rebuild one 8.8

relzbade

Thanks for the helpful info, I am considering the swap because I have a brand new 8.5 that was for a 4.3 5speed 2001 s10, if i do the swap it will most likely be to a 4-link setup. the axle has the factory locker and 3.42's. but i want to get the axle in the car before i start swapping internals.

incbed

it sounds to me that you already had your mind made up already because you automaticaly started even though my reply was 90% truth.
Along with others on this forum telling you pretty much the same info I told you.,,,but yet your still hell bent on using that s10 rearend.

Also the GM factory 8.5 gov lock is a pile of crap they are well known for the little springs falling out causing the little flapper pieces to jam.

Also the 8.5's are known for spinning the carrier bearing cups which damages the rear end housing.Along with what everyone else has said

So go ahead spend all your time and money on that rear end for it to
but according to you I don't know nothing thats why I wouldn't wast my time and money shortening the rear end you have along with everything else that is envolved with making that rearend work. Also if your going to use a 4 link it's going to be interesting because the rear floor pans get in the way. Thats why everyone keeps the torque arm.
But agian you obviously no more than I do and everyone else so why did you ask the question in the first place if your so smart and no it all.

Element

iTrader: (5)

Am I missing a deleted post? The OP replied once in this thread, to thank everyone for the information and to give a little more information on his thoughts. Did you confuse him with some of the other people who replied? Sounds like you're just pissed off because your "100% sure" statement was 100% wrong. "Thousands" of measurements, cuts, welds, and modifications is a bit off, too, and since when has building a custom axle been something to turn someone into a pariah about? 12 bolts, 8.8", and 9" axles sure as hell required a good bit of custom work and troubleshooting to make work in 4th gens, but look at the popularity they have now.

As far as everyone shitting on the 8.5", didn't GNs and T-Types come with the 8.5"? I know some of those guys are running pretty damned fast on stock rear-ends. Sure, it's not an 8.8" or a 9", but there's not much worse than the 7.625" 10-bolt, and the 8.5" isn't one of the weaker ones.

relzbade

I haven't made up my mind. I am trying to figure out the level of difficulty and price involved. I can do all the work myself but I have limited funds, so spending $3,000 plus on a weld in complete system is out of the question for now. My questions were if it effects the length of the drive shaft, and if the 4-link would be the best setup for something with non stock suspension. I believe with the amount of aftermarket parts for the 8.5 I can make one pretty strong.