8 lug to 5 lug conversion

[PowerdbyChevy79]

Whats up brothers..hoping yall can help me.. I have 82 swb..it has a 10 bolt diff.. and I came upon a 14 bolt out of a 83 3/4 ton.. I was wondering if I could I could convert it to a 5 lug.. and I'm will it bolt in to the original location or will I have to modify it.. any info is much appreciated.

[Mattchu60]

You can bolt it into place of the 10 bolt - I did it on my truck. You need a "trick" u-joint to get the driveshaft to bolt up to the 14 bolt yoke. The spring perches line right up. The parking brake cables are different - I bought new set from the 14 bolt to the main cable that comes from the cab, at that point they are the same (on mine).

What I cannot tell you is if they make 5 bolt axles for it - the first thing to know is if you have the full floater or the semi-floating axle.

[Hewfil1]

Following this, recently got myself a full-float 14 bolt.

[PowerdbyChevy79]

Originally Posted by Mattchu60

You can bolt it into place of the 10 bolt - I did it on my truck. You need a "trick" u-joint to get the driveshaft to bolt up to the 14 bolt yoke. The spring perches line right up. The parking brake cables are different - I bought new set from the 14 bolt to the main cable that comes from the cab, at that point they are the same (on mine).

What I cannot tell you is if they make 5 bolt axles for it - the first thing to know is if you have the full floater or the semi-floating axle.

is the 14 bolt track width wider?

[PowerdbyChevy79]

I'm not sure ..its coming out of a 1983 3/4 ton not sure what floater it is..how would I tell the difference?

[Mattchu60]

The full floating axle will have large hubs on the axles where the wheels mount, where the semi-float will not - it will look like the 10 bolt (but larger with 8 lugs).

Out of an 83' truck the tracking width should be the same, I believe they got wider when they went to the next gen trucks in 88'.

You'll probably be looking to spend some serious $$ if is you want to convert over to 5 lug for custom parts. I left mine as an 8 lug, fyi.