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14 bolt / 6 lug conversion kit...

H

High O' Silver

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I have a '79 K10, 454, th400, 203 p/t, 38.5"... I have successfully broken the 12 bolt (which has a nice 4.88 / det. locker setup) for what I have found out is the 3rd time that the truck has eaten up a 12 bolt rear. Time to go 1 ton,.. and my homework has led me to a 14 bolt FF, rebuilt with the 6 lug conversion kit from geartechhd is the way to go. My question is, has anyone here run that setup and what kind of thoughts, feedback, etc. can you share with me? Thanks
 
Any 14FF conversion to 6 lug is not going to be strong at all in the wheel hub. There isn't enough material left after you open the hub up to fit over the 14's hub. Unless it is a 14bSF, which you can get in 6 lug in later 3/4 ton trucks. If you are dead set on doing one tons, you are going to need to stick with 8 lug, at least for safety and longevity.
 
Grady's offroad used to build a replacement 14 bolt FF hub out of 6061-T6 billet that was 6 lug for the 14 bolt. I don't think they're around anymore though.

Got a link for the geartechhd stuff?

Rene
 
The site is geartechhd. I came across them in several tech articles where they were highly regarded. The conversion kit is custom made by them and consists of all the hardware, bearings, seals, disk brake conversion and the replacement hubs (not an altered or secondary cover to the 14B's stock hub as I believe lectric80 was suggesting) so seems that durability wouldn't be an issue. I just wanted to see if anyone had some specific experience with this conversion and whether there was any crucial info, tips, etc. I should be aware of... Thanks
 
14%20bolt.jpg


Looks a lot like the Grady stuff from a few years ago. I don't see a problem, but it depends on price IMO. 8 lug rims aren't exactly spendy...

Rene
 
X3 6 lug is not desireable. If you put in a 6 lug conversion on a FF14 bolt, then you'll start breaking the front axle. You'll want a Dana 60. Are you then going to convert the D60 to 6 lug?
 
i did the 14 bolt 3/4 ton front swap.you just have to swap everything from the spindle out.then you got a slightly stronger hub bearing and 8 lugs to go with the 14 bolt.i also broke 3 12 bolts and decided it was time for the 14 bolt conversion.i got rims from keystone for 50 bucks appiece.tires are your choice.it can be done for under 500 bucks and is much stronger.with the 6 lug i was also breaking studs because they were also smaller than the 3/4 ton.ihavent had a problem since i did the swap.i dont know if anyone makes a wheel spacer that goes 8 to 6 lug.but if you could do that it would work.it is illegal to do in PA i was told to have wheel spacers.upon inspection it would fail.
 
Maybe you have read this thread but here is the link anyways. Some ggod info here. I checked into this conversion becasue I wanted to keep my Bling MT wheels but after speaking with the owner of Geratechhd I came to the conclusion they wouldn;t work with my Mt wheels no matter how much I had them machiined. Check this thread for yourself.

http://coloradok5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=242483

Hoby
 
Semi-floater rear isn't it?


You know...for less money you could have a stronger, shaved 14FF with a set of custom made 8 lug rally rims...
 
You can actually turn down your factory 14B hub and re-drill it for 6 lug. There will be one or two of the original lug holes that will need to be plugged or welded up, prior to changing to the new pattern. This was done way back in the day by Blazer72 - Ken Brown here on the boards. Not sure if there are still pics and info on it from back in the day.

He just turned the outer hub diameter down to what an aftermarket wheel would fit. He used a brake lathe to turn it down, so most any brake shop could do this on the cheap. I would not buy hubs for this application, its much too expensive - turn them down yourself to save money.

EDIT: Here's the old thread. There are no photos anymore, but the info is there - check out page 2 where Ken talks about the procedure to make it all work. Man! That post has some old school K5'ers in there - Donovan and even Depdog!

http://coloradok5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26672&highlight=blazer72&page=2

In fact, Ken did upgrade to a D60 front and bought the Dynacrack 6 lug hubs for it - just to be different.
 
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