10-bolt rear end problems?

[MGrice]

hey.... new here but got a question for you guys.

I have an 02 silverado, 4.8L, 2wd. it has intake, superchips, and full exhaust done to it. i bought the truck with the 20" ss wheels on it. ever since i have purchased the truck, i have had a few problems.... gee, what luck i have. When i bought it, i had to go through and have a new carrier, spider gears, ring and pinion put in.... i had a rebuilt rear end basically. now, a few months down the line, i got a rear end whine and took it in..... thinking a bearing went bad or something. comes out that i had a bent axle. they tested a new axle with new bearings and it still doesnt run straight.... something else is bent. mechanic suspects that the housing is bent, thats what he told me atleast. the mechanic wants to throw a 12-bolt under my truck because of the power and the weight of the 20's.... and so i will never have to worry about anything going wrong again. he said that the 10-bolt just cant handle abuse.... which i cant say i have never gotten on it.

so, have you guys ever had problems with 10-bolt rear ends with big wheels and with only mild power?

[RedHeartbeat]

Nope. Broke a 10 bolt Auburn HP LSD unit pushing 700+ HP to it though.

[DBRODS]

hey.... new here but got a question for you guys.

I have an 02 silverado, 4.8L, 2wd. it has intake, superchips, and full exhaust done to it. i bought the truck with the 20" ss wheels on it. ever since i have purchased the truck, i have had a few problems.... gee, what luck i have. When i bought it, i had to go through and have a new carrier, spider gears, ring and pinion put in.... i had a rebuilt rear end basically. now, a few months down the line, i got a rear end whine and took it in..... thinking a bearing went bad or something. comes out that i had a bent axle. they tested a new axle with new bearings and it still doesnt run straight.... something else is bent. mechanic suspects that the housing is bent, thats what he told me atleast. the mechanic wants to throw a 12-bolt under my truck because of the power and the weight of the 20's.... and so i will never have to worry about anything going wrong again. he said that the 10-bolt just cant handle abuse.... which i cant say i have never gotten on it.

so, have you guys ever had problems with 10-bolt rear ends with big wheels and with only mild power?

I can lend a little info on this subject. EVERY 10-bolt rear end that I have delt with has ALWAYS been bent. They are banana shaped, meaning they are bent down in the center. I have been told this is due to shipping in train carriers. They are strapped down by the rear axle which causes the axle housing to bend during transport. I really discovered this issue when I started narrowing the housings. After the housing ends are cut off and a jig is put back in to align everthing the housing ends never line back up. Sometimes they are even off as much as 1/2". If you ever get a chance to pull the axles out look at where the bearing rides and there is always abnormal wear, even with trucks with only 10K on them.

[PurpleMinivan]

All housings from GM are bent, have not seen one that isn't. You really find this out when you narrow a gm rearend. EDITED: Jon beat me to it.

[MGrice]

I can lend a little info on this subject. EVERY 10-bolt rear end that I have delt with has ALWAYS been bent. They are banana shaped, meaning they are bent down in the center. I have been told this is due to shipping in train carriers. They are strapped down by the rear axle which causes the axle housing to bend during transport. I really discovered this issue when I started narrowing the housings. After the housing ends are cut off and a jig is put back in to align everthing the housing ends never line back up. Sometimes they are even off as much as 1/2". If you ever get a chance to pull the axles out look at where the bearing rides and there is always abnormal wear, even with trucks with only 10K on them.

i did feel the origional axle that was in there and there was some good wear on it. they put in the old axle and new bearing and there was a lot of movement at the hub. put a new axle in, it got better but still movement. they didnt take apart the differential, though, so they dont know exactly what is messed up.

if i plan to put more power to it, what should i do? stronger differential like auburn or eaton.... or throw a 12 bolt under there?

[Slimsilverado]

14 bolt and never look back if your gonna upgrade...