4th to 5th Gen Axle Swap

[Trey Higgins]

So I am thinking about swapping from the 4th gen 5 lug to 5th gen 6 lug. The adapters are sketchy so I would rather do a full conversion.

From my research, It appears that all I need is a 5th Gen rear axle (with the same gear ratio obviously), 5th gen hubs, and 5th gen rotors. I believe that the 4th gen calipers should work with the 5th gen rotors as well as the rear axle. The CV axles should also work with the 5th gen hubs. The 5th gen rear axle should also have the same mounting points for control arms etc.

Does anyone have more info about this? Anything I have wrong? Suggestions?

 

[crazykid1994]

Not sure how it would work. The 5th gen uses an electronic parking brake. You’ll need to look into how to swap over your parts if possible. I’m not sure if it would be easier to just swap the axle shafts in. I’ve thought about this since the front is just a matter of swapping the hubs for a Chevy 6 lug from 16-18 and using the brake setup from the 5th gen.

 

[Trey Higgins]

I didn't think about the parking brake. I do know that the splines are different for the rear axle shafts of the two trucks so swapping the shafts alone would not be an option. My dad has a 5th gen so Ill have to look tomorrow at the parking brake and see if I can figure anything out without taking the wheels off.

 

[crazykid1994]

What year is your 4th gen? The zf rear axle under my 17 uses the same LSD carrier as the zf under a 5th gen with the 6 lug as far as any research I’ve done showed. That would mean it should be a straight swap as long as the axle lengths are the same. Then just finding brake discs to accommodate the new setup. Or brackets for the caliper. Where did you read they are a different spline