Replace rear axle with a half ton unit?

[rascole]

Has anyone looked into replacing the complete rear axle with a Silverado 1500 unit? When looking for a new spare axle shaft I am finding the GM half tons are 99% the same (if I read correctly).
WMS H3 is 65.5" and 1500 is 67.5"
R&P are same part numbers per Yukon.
Tone rings are both 55 tooth.
Axle shaft is 30 spline 33.6" vs 34.1" per AAM website. Some websites state a .5" longer but may because they measure from the front of the flange AAM uses rear side.
So, with H3 shafts getting harder to find and more expensive if you can find a chromo. 1500 axles are plentyful and chromo axles are cheaper than H3 when you could find them. I can get my hands on a free unit out of a totaled 2006 Silverado and would have to weld on new spring perches and shock mounts, but everything from my unit should move right over. Yukon R&P 5.38 and ARB locker.
Now everyone first response is get a 14b dummy. Yeah, I know, I was just playing in the rabbit hole, and my ADD got me diving into this. 14b will cost a minimum of $3500 to match what I have and still have 8-bolt hubs with a 6-lug adapter/spacer. Half ton would be $800, including chromo axles, master rebuild kit, ABS "should" work and retain 6 lug.
What do you think????

 

[speedy]

I’m on the 14bolt fence. Easy and common to redrill the lug pattern so you won’t need spacers. Tone rings can be added to the hubs similar to your front hubs .
With a LS swap in your near future it may be money well spent
I don’t see any reason why you couldn’t use any axle you wanted. We have a H2 rear in Bebe’s H3

We do have a complete sprung over rear from her H3 with a Arb and 513 gears that we would sell

 

[rascole]

I’m on the 14bolt fence. Easy and common to redrill the lug pattern so you won’t need spacers. Tone rings can be added to the hubs similar to your front hubs .
With a LS swap in your near future it may be money well spent
I don’t see any reason why you couldn’t use any axle you wanted. We have a H2 rear in Bebe’s H3

We do have a complete sprung over rear from her H3 with a Arb and 513 gears that we would sell

How did they redrill the flange, from what I see they have ribs that look difficult to convert, send me a picture if you can. I am 90% sure I'll go 14b soon, It seems that the Silverado axle is a good cheap alternative for others not looking to go tons and fourty's.

 

[cgalpha08]

Im sure you know my vote, 14b haha.
That being said, you can put 6 lug hubs on a 14b. Solid axle industries makes them, they do narrow the track width from a regular 14b but I think its real close to the factory h3 width. Speedy brings up a good point, with more power in the future, full float might not be a bad idea.


On the contrary though, figuring out something else thats more of a "stock" replacement woukd be cool, especially as h3 parts dry up.
Some 1500s came with a "12b" that might not be a bad option either.

 

[rascole]

My end game is a 14b, but, if $500 can buy me a year or so it's worth it. But for anyone not looking to follow Squeaky, the 1500 axle may be a key to keeping the H3 on the trail a bit longer at minimal cost. More to come, I ordered a 1500 axle to take measurements and compare to the H3.

 

[Mr_Rich]

Pretty sure the lugs on a 1500 are M14 vs M12 for the H3 flange on the end of the axles. Diff wheels...

 

[rascole]

Pretty sure the lugs on a 1500 are M14 vs M12 for the H3 flange on the end of the axles. Diff wheels...

Correct, would only need to use new lug nuts if the flange holes are different. Could not find those dimensions.

 

[speedy]

They weld the holes up and redrill. If i recall 1-2 holes line up or are close.
The other option is new hubs like the ones solid sells or you could use 8 lug hubs on the front axle to match a 14bolt rear. Downside is you"ll need new rims.

 

[rascole]

They weld the holes up and redrill. If i recall 1-2 holes line up or are close.
The other option is new hubs like the ones solid sells or you could use 8 lug hubs on the front axle to match a 14bolt rear. Downside is you"ll need new rims.

One of the guys I know has 8 lug rear 6 lug front and 6 lug spare. He carries a 8 to 6 lug adapter if he gets a flat to get him off the trail. An option until I do the D60 front.

 

[atvspeed4]

An escalade 14 bolt semi float would be an easy option its already 6 lug and narrower than a h2 axle. Has wheel speed sensors as well.

 

[rascole]

An escalade 14 bolt semi float would be an easy option its already 6 lug and narrower than a h2 axle. Has wheel speed sensors as well.

Kind of easy but it still requires a complete rebuild with new parts. The benefit of the half-ton unit is that the R&P and locker will drop right in. That'll cost $1800+ for any other axle.

 

[06 H3]

If you only need to buy yourself a year, I have an H3 10 bolt axle laying in the garage, I can pull a shaft, drop it off at Dutchman axle and they can make the shaft the same material as the nitro ones. Their shop is 5 minutes from my house.

They make custom axles all day long.

 

[rascole]

That's good news. I did reach out to Yukon, but no answer yet on a run of H3 axles. They are soooo close to a half-ton unit that I would think the cost would be minimal.

 

[rascole]

Lessons learned. After a couple of hours degreasing and cleaning up the axle housing, I came to he realization the the GMT-800 axles don't have ABS sensors in the rear. SMH, the one little thing I didn't research. I have 3 GMT-800's in the driveway and a simple crawl on my back would have figured it out. But the GMT-900 do have rear ABS sensors in the same location as the H3. But, these units being slightly newer generation command a little bit more money for a used one, @ $500 for a used unit. Good idea for a cheap replacement but will be a few more bucks than I want to pursue right now. Still going to keep my eyes open for a unit if one comes up cheap, was looking forward to doing my own fab work on this.

 

[06 H3]

Is Yukon making shafts?

 

[rascole]

They never got back to me, but no big deal. too much work for a temporary project to pursue it.