I was doing quite a bit of searching on this site for a rear axle that will work on my 53 chevy. All the posts I've read say I can use an axle from a 4X4 S10/Blazer. So, I found one online and had the seller drop it off my house. He said it was from a 2000 Blazer 4X4. When I took a tape measure to the axle it measured 63" from both sides of the wheel mounting surface. I was stumped because I thought that these should be around 60" in length. Did I buy the wrong axle? Will this one fit?
just measure your old one, if there the same then your good. If its to long then your wheels are going to stick out and look funny.
I did the measurements and my axle is 60" from WMS to WMS (wheel mount surface). The Blazer one is 63" from WMS to WMS. This is very frustrating since almost everyone on this forum has said this axle will fit. Unless I'm misunderstanding and this one needs to be modified somehow or used with wheels with a different offset??
I was told the axle is from a 4X4 Blazer by the seller. Someone had posted on here a way to distinguish the 2WD from a 4WD. Based on that info this one appears to be a 4X4 however it seems as though it might be a 2WD if they measure 62.5". Now, I'm totally confused. Looks like the info guys post on this site needs to be triple checked before relied upon.
i have a 54 chevy im putting a 4x4 blazer rear in and mine measure59.5 as well i think the dude sold u a 2wd rear end
After doing more research it appears that I may have the ZR2 rear axle. Iv'e read that it is a lot stronger then the stock 4X4 axle but it's 3" too long. I'm clueless when it comes to wheels so I wonder if I can use a wheel with a custom backspacing to soak up the 3" difference?? It's going to be a PITA selling this rear axle and locating another but I will do it if I can't get this one to work. =(
I was going to comment that also - its a ZR2. I have a 99 s10 blazer disc rear in my 53 and it is correct - sorry for your misfortune - keep searching, you'll find one! it took me 3 months to find one.
It is enclosed driveline, he wants to go open and have better gear options and transmission options as well
FYI: They put the 8.5" (10 bolt) rear axle in some of those S10's (kinda rare). The 2wd S10 Xtreme with 4.3 5sp and some ZR2 4X4 Blazers. I put a drum brake 8.5" S10 (10 bolt) in my 33 Chevy Master coupe from a 2001 2WD Xtreme truck. The wheel mounting surfaces to surface is 54.5". Have 8X15 wheels with 3.25" backspace...fit my stock width fenders perfect. Liked it so much...bought another Xteme rear axle with disc brakes..one just sold on eBay for $1200...grab them if you can.
Yup, I guess I'm back on the hunt again. Hopefully I can sell the one I have to recoop my expense. Anyone need a 2000 ZR2 rear axle with only 70k miles on it?? =)
There was a wrecking yard in North Dakota or Montana that sold parts on eBay. I got my ZR2 rear end from there. The first one they sent me was for the standard 4x4 S-10. I wanted the 8.5" ZR2, so they shipped me the correct one & picked up the other one. I'll see if I can find the sellers name. They list the mileage and vin# and gear ratio in their listings. They also post a pic of the vehicle the part came out of. Posted from the TJJ App for iPhone & iPad
I think the problem lies in you have a newer rear axle. I have an early 80's blazer axle in mine. If I remember its 52.5 inside backing plate to inside backing plate. Buts its been awhile since I put it in. What I know for sure is the 2wd truck is to narrow and the 4x4 truck is correct length. the 2wd blazer (what I have) will work, I also think the axles changed in 2000. I found the space between the backing plate to be more of an issue. Godspeed MrC.
Thanks for the info everyone. I found a nice site that someone else posted on here to find parts. www.car-part.com Ya'll should check it out. Maybe I should have done so first instead of trying to get a deal on craigslist. As they say in spanish "lo barrato sale caro"
Nothing about the axles changed in 2000. Still the same 7 ⅝" rear end that was always in them. Yes, I know this post is old but if I found it while searching for info, someone else will, too. IMHO, there's no reason to let incorrect info go uncorrected. Why give more people the wrong info? The 2nd gen axles never changed. They were the same all the way until the end of production. The only thing that did change was axle spline count in the 1st gens and ring gear size during 1st gen run, also. I believe it was changed to a from 26 spline 7.5" to 26 spline 7.625" in 1986 and in 1988 they changed to the 7.625" 28 spline axles. There may have been small, external changes to the axle assembly from 1st to 2nd gen, but AFAIK the axles will swap back and forth as an almost bolt-in process, IIRC. As far as 2nd gen go, the axle ass'y from a 98 will bolt right in to a 2003 with 0 issues. It's been a long time since I've had to recall this info. I was a moderator at S-Series.org, the original S10/Blazer forum for many years until it closed down and have owned some form of S10/Blazer for the last 19.
How did you fit the calipers at the rear? I tried one on the weekend and they hit the frame. 59" WMS to wms
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