Just blew the rear in my '86 m1009

[Wolfie]

Whatever you do, don't spend money to fix that 10 bolt if you plan to keep the truck!
Unless you really want it original, change the rear axle to a 12 bolt or 9.5" 14 bolt.

The 12 bolt came in 1/2 ton trucks up to about 1980 or 81. It has an 8.875" ring gear compared to the 10 bolt's 8.5, but the carrier, housing, and shafts are heavier. An axle from any 4wd 1/2 ton truck, blazer, or suburban from 1973 to 1981 will bolt right in, same spring pads, axle width, 6-bolt pattern, U-joint, etc. Just need 3.07 gears, which are pretty common. You get slightly bigger brakes too, which is nice!

A 6-lug 9.5" ring gear 14 bolt came in the rear of 88 and up light 3/4 ton trucks (7200lb GVW) as well as some 1/2 tons with the HD rear axle option. It's much much heavier, and from those vintage trucks will widen the rear track to better match the front on your blazer. You will have to weld on new spring perches though, and probably shock mounts. You'll need a conversion U-joint too, but they're cheap. I think about the same size brakes as the 12 bolt.

Stop by a nice mom and pop dirty auto repair joint and ask about junkyards or recyclers that deal in older cars... They usually don't advertise much, but the price is right if you can find them, particularly true of recyclers. Most times they'll even torch the U-bolts and shocks for you so you can just drag it home and bolt it in. I'd pull the cover and have a look as soon as you get home. If it's bad, take it back and exchange for a different one!

Good luck!
Chris

I need it to get to work and back, so it sees mostly highway, the plan right now is to fix the 10 bolt, (if possible) and put smaller tires/wheels on it. I'd upgrade the rear if it wouldn't cost any more to do so, but I have a feeling it will.

 

[Wolfie]

just curious, how big were your tires? I was gonna put 35s on mine soon but may not. I don't wheel it too hard, so I might be ok?

I'm not sure how big they are, at least 33"...they came with the truck, looks like whoever had it before me did a half-assed job of putting bigger tires/wheels on and a 4" lift, but no upgrade to the front or rear...eek.

 

[jj]

Coleman's in Millersburg,Pa had NOS axle assemblies in the crate for the M-1009. Both fronts and rears. They are complete, hub to hub, and were $395 each, on the website a few weeks ago. The freight to RI might be a deal breaker though. My inspection guy said i couldn't buy the bearings and carrier for that price, never mind the cost of the ring and pinion, if in fact they too need to be replaced. Coleman's is worth a least one visit, just to take in the sights. A big pick-up would carry both crates comfortably. Go in a dry spell, though, it was muddy as the dickens last time i visited.

 

[Recovry4x4]

Kenny, I'll have to pull the cover and check. I can't remember if they are 3.73 or 4.10 gears.

Chris, if it were full of 4.10s and we could get it to the GA rally, I'd be interested if you are selling.

 

[Recovry4x4]

Here's another thought, the experts can correct me. I think you could even get a 10 bolt out of a 2wd with the 5 lug stuff and just re-use your axle shafts and brakes. 2wd woujld be even easier and less costly to source.

 

[Wolfie]

Ok, I've been without a truck for a week and 1/2, and now the mechanic says the kit to fix my 10 bolt rear will cost $700, before labor to install it...which is retarded. I'm not a happy camper right now. What would you guys do if you had no car and were at the mercy of a mechanic? I could get parts out of a junkyard, but I have no tools, no garage, and what about labor costs to repair or upgrade to a 12 bolt?

 

[AJMBLAZER]

Find another mechanic as that's an ass raping of the first order.


You could buy a 10 bolt from the junkyard, buy the parts and tools, and rent a place to do the work and then have the truck towed there for $700. I was given a 3.08 geared 12 bolt once!

 

[Wolfie]

It is indeed a butt raping as I've found what he's talking about for $300 on ebay. I'm thinking of grabbing an entire new axle from Coleman's for $395 + $130 shipping and asking how much it'll be to throw that in.

 

[AJMBLAZER]

Sounds like a decent enough idea.

Don't have any mechanical friends? This isn't a terribly hard thing to do.

 

[Wolfie]

No mechanical friends with access to a garage and tools, my life would be much easier if I could find such a wondrous thing. Right now I don't even have a place to do oil changes...without getting in trouble. Here's a question I need to know to avoid a 2nd butt raping, how many hours do you guys think it would take a mechanic to take out the rear axle and install the new one? I can't wait to hear their labor charge quote.

 

[DanMartin]

Swapping an axle with another identical one is about 2-3 hours work, assuming the new one is proper and ready to go, and all tools and whatnot are handy. This is assuming the brakes will need to be bled after the swap of course, and maybe re-set up.

Making sure you have new u-bolts and fasteners and other hardware handy would help speed things up, that way you can just torch off the old axle (makes it faster to get the bad one out as the u-bolts on the axle perches are always rusted frozen). Good time to do the rear brakes since it'll be all apart IMO, and if you have the time a new set of u-joints in the drive-shaft is always a good idea.

 

[Elwenil]

Buy new U-bolts. They stretch when torqued and you cannot reuse them. NAPA should be able to get you new ones for a good price, just take the measurements of the old ones. The biggest pain about swapping a rear axle for another one is the E-brake cables, everything else is cake.

 

[Wolfie]

Swapping an axle with another identical one is about 2-3 hours work, assuming the new one is proper and ready to go, and all tools and whatnot are handy. This is assuming the brakes will need to be bled after the swap of course, and maybe re-set up.

Making sure you have new u-bolts and fasteners and other hardware handy would help speed things up, that way you can just torch off the old axle (makes it faster to get the bad one out as the u-bolts on the axle perches are always rusted frozen). Good time to do the rear brakes since it'll be all apart IMO, and if you have the time a new set of u-joints in the drive-shaft is always a good idea.

I think I need new brake calipers all around, those like like they are about to rust right off. U-bolts and U-joints, got it.

 

[jj]

Keep in mind, if you go the Coleman's route, you get a complete axle assembly. Mine had brake drums on the rear axle and rotors and calipers on the front. Understand though, i am the laziest human being breathing, i didn't take them out of the crates to really look at them and make sure all of the little parts were inside the drums. Even with the $130. for shipping you are still ahead.

 

[jimm1009]

About 4 months ago I purchased a N.O.S. axle from our Late Friend "Builder 77" Ethan.
I think that he still had two or three left when he passed away this summer.
I would imagine that if there is a way to contact his dad who does monitor this list, you could pick one up from him.
The shipping was not too bad and you would have a brand new, old stock, genuine GM part that should lst for 150,000 miles or more and help out the family of our recently departed "Brother in arms".
Perhaps someone has a way to get in touch with his Fiancee or his dad in Richmond, Virginia area.
Jim

 

[Wolfie]

About to order the axle...will I need new hydrolic brake lines or any other expensive surprises I should buy first so the mechanic can't hit me with it? Where do I find the right u joints and u bolts and how many do I need?

 

[AJMBLAZER]

You need one standard U-bolt for the rear of a 1984 Chevrolet K5 Blazer and four U-bolts (with washers and nuts) for the same truck's rear axle. Any good NAPA or other parts store should have this stuff in stock.

If your brake lines are old and rotted then this might be a good time to get new ones in there. They'd be for the same application.

You might check the u-bolt on the transfer case end of the driveshaft as this would also be a good time to replace it.

 

[Wolfie]

Axle ordered...brake lines are probably bad...lots of things are probably bad...this is getting expensive.

 

[AJMBLAZER]

Welcome to owning a 20+ year old vehicle.

If it isn't bad and/or worn out there's probably an upgraded replacement part for something else that was deemed a hazard a decade ago.

 

[Wolfie]

Truck is done, they are saying it took 8 hours, bill is over $600...how is this possible? How does axle replacement+e-brake and brake lines = 8 hours of labor and $600?