K5 Blazer or stick with XJ, any advise on K5 setup,44front, 60 rear

88jeepster

88jeepster

Jesus, Jannette & Jeeps for Life!
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Feb 16, 2012
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Boone, NC
hey guys. I have someone wanting to trade my jeep for his 85 K5 Blazer with D44(10bolt) front and D60 (14bolt) I believe rear, 305 automatic. Is this a worthy trail rig for running something like 38s or 40s down the road with mild off roading maybe some possible hard trails here and there. Are there enough mods for T-Cases, Doublers, and such to beef one up. Any advise would be great. he wants even trade for my XJ with stock setup but would I be better off with my XJ and doubler on 35s or the K5 stock setup on 38s or so? thanks for any advise.
 
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If they are stock axles then it should have 10 bolts front and rear. Similar to Dana 44 strength. The amount of upgrades are endless for the k5's and can be very capable for a full size rig.


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no seriously, not trying to start anything but really want to know. I don't know crap about K5s so i'm really just looking for advise on something i'm not familiar with.
 
Redneck92 said:
If they are stock axles then it should have 10 bolts front and rear. Similar to Dana 44 strength. The amount of upgrades are endless for the k5's and can be very capable for a full size rig.


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ok so I guess my question is can those d44s equivalent handle 38s or so without having to really upgrade them and spend money on other upgrades or do they still need to upgrade to go that big a tire.
 
88jeepster said:
ok so I guess my question is can those d44s equivalent handle 38s or so without having to really upgrade them and spend money on other upgrades or do they still need to upgrade to go that big a tire.
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Upgrade with replacement, just through a set of CUCV one tons(Dana 60 front and 14 bolt rear with 4.56 gear and a Detroit locker in the rear). In stock form one tons should handle the abuse you can give them on 38's.


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88jeepster said:
so does your answear Redneck92 mean do the trade?
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No, the 305 is a gutless engine and the autos leave a lot to be desired in stock form. The ultimate drivetrain is 350 engine, sm465 4spd manual, 203/205 doubler. If you don't know what these are google them.


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well I was hoping to avoid having to change diffs and just use what comes with it otherwise I would put tons on the XJ. the guy is giving me 2 days to decide or he'll move on to other jeep so I gotta decide but I was hoping a stock K5 could do 38s a lot easier than XJ stock. Any major things that those K5s I should be on the lookout for as far as Auto Trans, T-case weaknesses, other known major quirks. Driveline angles would be ok with 5-6" lift without major changes in Driveshafts
 
Redneck92 said:
No, the 305 is a gutless engine and the autos leave a lot to be desired in stock form. The ultimate drivetrain is 350 engine, sm465 4spd manual, 203/205 doubler. If you don't know what these are google them.


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I pretty much know them except the sm465 but you have pretty much answeared my question then. Thank you.
 
The factory rear case is the shitty np208. It is ok for a stock rig but being slip yoke style it doesn't like extreme angles. It does not have a true sye kit for it. Best bet is swap in a np241c and do a sye on it.


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thank you for your input dude, helped me a lot. I think you answeared to just keep the XJ I have, play around and save up to upgrade with some tons on it and really benefit from the doubler and rest of my setup. thanks. I guess I always thought in stock form they were really really rugged and could handle anything but shows how much I've gone outside the box (the XJ box..LOL).
 
I would prefer the k5 for many reasons as a trail rig.the list is like this it has a frame that in its self is a huge upgrade,chevies have some of the most universal combinations of parts out there if you don't like the half tons fine one tons pretty much bolt up,the 305 sucks but hey no problem a 350 bolts right up,the great part about any older fullsize chevy is its like lego's for grown ups most everything is a simple swap simple leaf springs simple almost everything the only place I know it gets kinda tricky is trans to tcase matching but there are ways to get a transfer case output on either side. Is it carbed or tbi. Basically my endstate is this even someone with limited fabrication or swap experience (ahem) can find a good solid fsc build to copy for there needs and end up with a SAFE reliable performing rig if built within the limitations of the available parts/budget.

P.s. I am not bashing xj's or unibody rigs I have owned a couple xj's and when upgraded appropriately a unitbodied rig can perform on par or better than a frame on cab construction vehicle but the upgrade almost immediately needs to be plate as much of the uni rail as possible basically building a frame so instead of building a frame I bought some old junk that came with one
 
88jeepster said:
hey guys. I have someone wanting to trade my jeep for his 85 K5 Blazer with D44(10bolt) front and D60 (14bolt) I believe rear, 305 automatic. Is this a worthy trail rig for running something like 38s or 40s down the road with mild off roading maybe some possible hard trails here and there. Are there enough mods for T-Cases, Doublers, and such to beef one up. Any advise would be great. he wants even trade for my XJ with stock setup but would I be better off with my XJ and doubler on 35s or the K5 stock setup on 38s or so? thanks for any advise.
Click to expand...
Redneck92 said:
If they are stock axles then it should have 10 bolts front and rear. Similar to Dana 44 strength. The amount of upgrades are endless for the k5's and can be very capable for a full size rig.


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Click to expand...
You need to know for sure what kind of axles it has.38's on a 44/60 will be alright but on a set of 10 bolts u will be pushing it.esp on the c-clip rear.One of,if not the 1st doubler ever mass produced was built off of GM cases.Biggest thing to look for is cracked frame around the steering box.Unless its a total dog Id trade.
 
Redneck92 said:
The factory rear case is the shitty np208. It is ok for a stock rig but being slip yoke style it doesn't like extreme angles. It does not have a true sye kit for it. Best bet is swap in a np241c and do a sye on it.


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Tom woods makes one now but its $$$$.The main downfall of the 208's is the mode fork,its alum and wears out early.
 
I wouldn't do the trade. If it was an 87 or newer model with 350 and EFI, then it would be a different story.
 
OK it is 10 bolt front and rear, frame is cracked and kinda rusted around gearbox, body has good amt of rust but frame is workable, locking hubs are kinda worn, leaks like a freight train everywhere, and the auto trans kinda jerks into D and R after a good look at it so more yesterday so, from your advise, the 10 bolts aren't worth it along with other work. sounds like sticking with my XJ and save up to upgrade the diffs are better option. thank you to all for your advise on the K5, ohh and is Carb 305
 
I'm gonna hold out. at least my XJ is all new in motor and drivetrain and just needs diffs swapped compared to the K5, would need everything gone through before hitting the woods the way it is.lol. thanks guys have a great week, got more metal this weekend to keep working on the unibody xj for stiffening the body to better handle torque loads. plenty of work to keep me busy, lots of grinding and grinding and welding.
 
Just my opinion but the K5 is my fav rig. I'ved had 3. Regretted selling 2 of them. Picked up a 75 on 40s with a 12bolt rear & 44 front & new HP 350 a coupl eof weeks ago & feel like a kid at Christmas.
 
thanks for the input. K5 on 40s would be what I would want but a rig that big I would definitely want to beat the hell out of....for that matter of speaking the next toy I build (or keep this xj to keep beffing up), I want to be able to really beat on it and not worry so much. not crazy rock crawlin but beat on pretty much all other stuff. awesome to hear you love them so much. someday I might get one that's HD with the 60s on it already and build it but for now the one this guy has needs too much stuff just to be stock trail worthy. and i'm impatient when it comes to a new ride to take in the woods.
 
Yeah mine is not road friendly at all & yeah its huge. I didn't even bother tagging it when I bought it. The width is more a problem for me than anything but you can beat the crap out of them & they keep going.
 
yeah I admit the width bothers me some since i'm used to XJs those are quite bit wider stance and I like hitting the 4wheeler trails around cause a Cherokee will fit down most 4wheeler trails with a little scratch here and there.
 
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