Full Floater vs Semi Floater - What's the diff?

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

Jaymez

Full Access Member
Joined
Jul 30, 2010
Posts
719
Reaction score
15
Location
Connecitcut
First Name
Jim
Truck Year
1987
Truck Model
V10
Engine Size
350
I've heard of semi floater rear ends. I've heard of full floater rear ends. WTF is the difference between the two?
 

crazy4offroad

Equal Opportunity Destroyer
Joined
Jul 30, 2010
Posts
8,468
Reaction score
1,068
Location
West BY-GOD Virginia
First Name
Curt
Truck Year
1979
Truck Model
K-10
Engine Size
350/SM465/NP205
Semi-floaters are heavy duty axles found in newer model trucks, but the bearings and axleshafts are made like a Corp 10 bolt or 12 bolt, the weight of the truck rests on the axleshaft bearings. A full floater, the weight of the truck sits on the wheel bearings in a seperate hub, and the axleshaft can actually be removed without jacking up the truck, removing the wheel or rear end cover, because there is no load on it.
 

nvrenuf

Full Access Member
Joined
Jul 30, 2010
Posts
1,688
Reaction score
1,873
Location
Mobile, Al.
First Name
John
Truck Year
1991
Truck Model
K5
Engine Size
454
Just to clarify, any axle that is designed to carry the weight on the axleshaft itself is a semi floater. This is not specific to newer model trucks.
 

Jaymez

Full Access Member
Joined
Jul 30, 2010
Posts
719
Reaction score
15
Location
Connecitcut
First Name
Jim
Truck Year
1987
Truck Model
V10
Engine Size
350
So a full floater is like what's typically found in the back of a 3500 series dually where you have to pull the axle off before you can remove the rear drums and a semi floater is what I've got in my S10 and V10?
 

nvrenuf

Full Access Member
Joined
Jul 30, 2010
Posts
1,688
Reaction score
1,873
Location
Mobile, Al.
First Name
John
Truck Year
1991
Truck Model
K5
Engine Size
454
Exactly. Just look for the tell tale hub poking out for full floater id.
 

crazy4offroad

Equal Opportunity Destroyer
Joined
Jul 30, 2010
Posts
8,468
Reaction score
1,068
Location
West BY-GOD Virginia
First Name
Curt
Truck Year
1979
Truck Model
K-10
Engine Size
350/SM465/NP205
Just to clarify, any axle that is designed to carry the weight on the axleshaft itself is a semi floater. This is not specific to newer model trucks.

Yeah I had "semi-floater 14 bolt" stuck in my head.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
41,854
Posts
903,574
Members
33,368
Latest member
TheDuke
Top