It is way too hard to find a zr2 axle around here. I haven't seen one at all. Not at the yards and definitely not on Craigslist. I'm looking for a cheaper way to get a good amount of lift and it seems like the sfa swap is better than a 5 or 6 inch ifs lift. Suppose I went with the d30 to get some cheap lift. What do you think I could get out for...realistically?

 

Some non-Z's came with the larger rear end as well, might be easier to find than a ZR2 rear?

???

 

eh, price might be a hair high. but if they are complete and dont look like they have been sitting outside in mud for 3 years then they might be worth it.

im running 10 bolt front and rear which are basically the same dang thing as a dana 44 (im running a bunch of dana44 parts on my front axle) and 10 bolts are dirt cheap. since everyone is upgrading to 14bolts and dana 60s they give them away, ive never paid over 100 for a set but times have changed it seems.

the best axles i would think you could find, width wise would be dana44s out of a old scout or bronco but good luck with that

 

This is my what the d30 looks like under my blazer so far , I'm told the springs are not stock though .

Its going to be at least 12 inches taller maybe more with the 35s on there , I can't get over how much lift this added . At least the axles are easy to change in the dana 30 , I will get a couple spares for now until I can get some rockwells . We're installing rockwells on my buddies 79 chevy step side truck , and man these are some axles , all the guys running in trucks gone wild has them . I think I can make the cut even with these little axles but the truck may not fair so well .

 

whole lot of chaos going down in this thread...lol.
Sfa in a street queen....thats a whole lotta work when ifs lift is plenty.

10 bolts from a half ton truck is a whole different animal then the skimpy stock axles in a blazer. u really cant justify calling them 10 bolts.

blazer weight and power, a d30 with 4.11 gears, it will be ok under very minimum wheeling. jeeps beat the **** out of em and they survive cuz theyre lighter and less horespower. if you get a 30, go with an explorer 8.8 rear to match wheel lug pattern, should also be able to find it with 4.10 gears and trac-loc. 8.8 is just as strong as a d44. if you get waggy 44, easiest one to find, get a rear d44 out of a rodeo. These will keep u close to width of blazer. probably will need flares to cover tires.

All in all, your going to spend the same amount doing either ifs or sas.

 

Did you rotate your axle atvwarrior? Looks like you went way too far, and castor looks terrible. that could be very very unpredictable on the road!

 

Ha Ha right , no thats not bolted or welded or nothing just sitting there on blocks taking measurements , the perches are not even welded to the axle yet . Um so you don't think I should leave it that way , o yea check out the build thread I take and post new pictures every day . This blazer has a v-8 302 ford engine in it now , its kinda neat . And it does have 4.10 gears and I rebuilt the front end the rear was fine. I'm building this truck for off road mostly the only road time it will see is driving to the next mud spot . So maybe I should remove as much weight from the blazer as I possibly can , in a effort to match the jeeps weight .

 

a helluva lot weight reduction, and u just added the weight of a v8...lol. mud is even worse, you start spining the weight of your tires caked with mud, could get ugly. stock up on axle shafts

with high pinion 30, you shouldnt have to turn it at all. if it sees street at all, keep the castor stock. im in no way a professional in the science in all that though...lol.

i left mine stock on the waggy axle 5 deg of castor, its great, i tried to run a 2deg shim to take pinion up and went to 3 deg castor and it was a mess and almost undriveable.

 

I know you guys wouldn't go this route, but I think this might be the best way to go for me. What do y'all think about a dana 30 up front with a ford 8.8 with trac-lok in the rear? These axles shouldn't be too pricey right? I want something to add lift but also be durable for the weekend offroading trip. I don't do any rock crawling, mostly muddin'. So with that in mind, would y'all go this route?

The only thing I'll miss is my G80 factory locker in the blaze now. I don't really care for lsd's, but I guess they shouldn't be too bad.

 

why is that the best way for you?

44s arent pricey either. i got mine for $175 front, $125 for the rear. found another rodeo rear pulled the 4.30 gears from it $50, installed em in the waggy 44, the trac-loc in rodeo is way better then g80, and trac-loc is rebuildable.

i see this alot too, youll break in mud, and slippery conditions, just as quick as when your in rocks. theres a reason mud trucks are tall as hell running huge tires, and have rockwell axles.