8 lug and HD axles on a 1500

[87carl]

i saw one on craigslist with a 3500 conversion with a dully rear end

https://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/cto/d/van-nuys-1999-suburban-ton-3500-dually/7399032457.html

I never understood why people put dually axles in burbs but there's a lot of them around

 

[swathdiver]

I never understood why people put dually axles in burbs but there's a lot of them around

Dragging condominiums around with three rows of kids and dogs up front!

 

[87carl]

to also clarify i dont think i ever had a front driveshaft made, i had my stock DS 6l80/awd/8.25...went to 9.25 and i think i just ebayed a front DS from an equipped 6l90/4x4/9.25 that was a little shorter. then went to 4l80/awd/9.25 which the 4l80 is longer so i went back to my stock driveshaft. poking around rock auto you should be able to find a longer/shorter shaft as needed.

How much shorter should the shaft be? My stock front driveshaft is 36.25 inches long the closest shafts I can find that are shorter are

34.875 inches Cardone 651016 for yukons and escalades with awd 2010-2014 $198.79

35.65 inches Dorman 938197 for 5 speed manual 2500hd $362.99

Those are rock auto prices haven't looked for cheaper yet but it might be cheaper to have a drive shaft shop shorten a stock one or find a used one and put in new u joints

 

[87carl]

MEVOTECH replied.

CTXK80669/Ctxk80670 upper control arms that I have in my suburban have a 47mm upper ball joint where it goes through the control arm.

TXK6696 which is there 2000-2010 2500hd upper ball joint is 46.2mm

So the 2500 ball joint is .8 of a mm smaller which is .032 of a inch

He also mentioned how stock upper control arms are unitized and can't change upper ball joints without replacing entire arm and said there upper control arms use a proprietary size ball joint.

 

[randeez]

Also, the new ZR2 has an electric front locker. Do we know what size it is yet? I reckon that someone will soon get their hands on one and make it fit an older generation truck.

this slipped by me at first, usually dont pay attention to the press releases but i may wait and see what gm does and if it can be set in a gmt900. i imagine with a 10sp transmission its going to be geared even lower though 3.23 range or so

 

[THarber]

Having just sold my 05 H2 I can tell you that the driveline is not that great and probably the weakest part on the trucks. No locker up front is the biggest complaint that I had and the gear ratios are not that plentiful. The rear is coil spring too, btw. You also will run into width and gear ratio issues as you mix and match, I considered it but then went another route with Moser axles and HD trailing arms in back and DMax HD axles up front. You can run upgraded axles with c-clip eliminators and they are going to hold up with anything you want to do with them, once you think they are bullet proof, your transmission will go, then something lese, etc.

Just thinking out loud....

Tim

 

[87carl]

Having just sold my 05 H2 I can tell you that the driveline is not that great and probably the weakest part on the trucks. No locker up front is the biggest complaint that I had and the gear ratios are not that plentiful. The rear is coil spring too, btw. You also will run into width and gear ratio issues as you mix and match, I considered it but then went another route with Moser axles and HD trailing arms in back and DMax HD axles up front. You can run upgraded axles with c-clip eliminators and they are going to hold up with anything you want to do with them, once you think they are bullet proof, your transmission will go, then something lese, etc.

Just thinking out loud....

Tim

What rear axle and front diff do you have? What did you not like about the hummers axle? There is a airlocker that fits pre 2010 2500 front diff. that would have fit in your h2 front diff. H2 axle and 2011+ 2500 front diff both come with 4.10 ratio which should be good for the 33-35 inch tires. But no locker for 2011+ 2500 front diff so that kinda sucks but I don't normally need a locked front diff anyway. I want the coil spring rear suspension that's why I got a 1500 not 2500. Been trying to get wms to wms measurements and ball joint to ball joint measurements from stock 2500 trucks to get an estimate of width but haven't had luck finding measurements yet the h2 axle if I remember correctly is 4 inches wider than our stock ten bolt I haven't figured wms to wms of the escalade Yukon axle yet. But yea width is a slight concern. What do you mean Moser axles? I have spohn rear control arms and panhard. Do you mean duramax cv axles or diff? C clip eliminator would be for a stock axle? New engine and upgraded trans and transfer are in my very near future plans I doubt the current engine will survive much longer it's on borrowed time. Timing chain tensioner gave out last march and got wedged behind the crank filling engine with metal flake so there's significant bearing damage. Been running heavy diesel oil to hold oil pressure to atleast 30-40 psi 5w20 won't get up to 20 psi hoping that it survives till new engine and trans are ready. What I am trying to say with that is everything will be being upgraded throughout the truck. so i shouldn't have to worry about problems moving from one weak part to next.

 

[swathdiver]

...I haven't figured wms to wms of the escalade Yukon axle yet.

What's WMS?

 

[THarber]

You can buy upgraded Moser/Strange/Currie axles that are far superior that anything you will find stock. They are stronger and built to take a ton of power. Look them up from any of those manufacturers. This is an example but not specific to your use: https://www.jegs.com/i/Moser/718/A1...nrDL0K-ooYKCHOClfXzNLvRdOjigmcoIaAvLqEALw_wcB

A C-clip eliminator basically locks the axle shafts into the rear end housing at the brake drums, thus eliminating anything that might brake and cause a catastrophe, they are used a lot in drag racing applications.

The Dmax front axles are night and day bigger/stronger than stock. This is another link, again not specific to your year but a great example: https://dmaxstore.com/products/?route=product/product&path=129_130&product_id=4741

I used all Dmax HD front end parts on my H2 and it was bullet proof.

I built a custom LS that was approx. 470 hp to the tires with a stall converter and could spin all 4 tires with no issues and never had a problem.

Tim

 

[87carl]

What's WMS?

Wheel mating surface