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14 bolt swap, its finally time.

Kocher93

Kocher93

1/2 ton status
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Jul 5, 2011
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Location
Campbell, CA
Today I talked to a man selling a 14 bolt ff. 200 bucks...cheapest around. A couple of quick questions, he says the measurement between centerpins is aprox 43.5, I'm pretty sure mine is 42.5 (1989 GMC Jimmy). Is that a 42.5 and he might of had trouble measuring it with the pumpkin? Or is there a 43.5 version of the 14 bolt? And also how hard is it to regear a 14 bolt? Also what should I be looking for when I go and see it? Thanks for all the feed back in advanced all.
 
if you're paying 200 bucks for a 14bolt ff you're getting shafted by this old man. they go for about 50 bucks or two thirty packs around here.
 
The ones I've got for free were ones that were for sale ($150- $400), nobody bought it, and the wife wanted it gone. Since they weigh more than my ex-wife and her mother combined, they were free for anyone willing to move it.

I also looked for a 3/4 ton 2wd being parted out. Usually nobody buys the rear end, as there are millions of them, so it would be left over. Same thing- free if someone would just haul it off.

This is just my own experience, not telling anyone how to live their life.
 
ion said:
if you're paying 200 bucks for a 14bolt ff you're getting shafted by this old man. they go for about 50 bucks or two thirty packs around here.
Click to expand...

No he isn't. Sometimes great deals come up or if you know someone parting a truck you can get one for cheap/free but $200 isn't by any means a horrible deal.

I'd be happier if he was closer to $150 or so but for a clean, drop in ready 14ff it isn't bad.
 
I'm jealous . Since I see what prices for the big Axles ofer there.
Come to Germany an you have to pay 1500 Euro for a pair of Axles .
then they are not new only old &dirty
 
14bolts have either 40.5" (1-ton) or 42.5" (3/4 ton) spring pad spacing. You want 3/4 ton for a direct swap into your blazer. You might also have to move the shock perches. I would look for 4.10 gears or better. I would make sure the hub seals are not leaking, if they are, check the spindle surface. I would look for open diff or gov lock dif. If you need help, pm me...
 
I'd look around for a non running beater truck...... sometimes you can find an old non runner you can pull the 14 bolt rear out of,,,,then pull out other parts to sell,,,,

drag the rest of it across the scales....

little more work......but if you have the time.....:waytogo:
 
Kocher93 said:
Today I talked to a man selling a 14 bolt ff. 200 bucks...cheapest around. A couple of quick questions, he says the measurement between centerpins is aprox 43.5, I'm pretty sure mine is 42.5 (1989 GMC Jimmy). Is that a 42.5 and he might of had trouble measuring it with the pumpkin? Or is there a 43.5 version of the 14 bolt?
I'm sure he probably just had trouble measuring it correctly, there's no 43.5" stock application. Lay something on the ground and measure that way if you're really curious.

And also how hard is it to regear a 14 bolt?
It's probably the easiest axle out there to learn on due to the removable pinion support and the carrier bearing adjusting collars (as opposed to shims). The only real annoyance is the crush sleeve.
http://www.pirate4x4.com/articles/tech/billavista/Gear_Setup


Also what should I be looking for when I go and see it? Thanks for all the feed back in advanced all.
While $200 is a bit higher than I'd like to pay for most 100k+ mile 14 bolts, if you find one in great condition (or if they are just uncommon in your region) than $200 isn't so bad. I would pull the cover and investigate the gears, maybe even bring some Desitin or toothpaste to check the pattern if I were paying that much for it. Feel the pinion bearing/backlash at least, as that's easy to do without taking anything apart. Leaks are an obvious sign of anything, although the cover seal and the shaft flange seals are irrelevant, but the pinion seal (will require a new crush sleeve) and hub seals (may be a sign of torn up spindle/wheel bearings).
Click to expand...

This should also be very useful to you if you aren't already familiar with it. http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/14b_bible/index.html

I would also recommend figuring out if it's a G80 or an open diff. Despite what 90% of sellers think/say, a G80 locker is NOT a "posi" worth paying extra for. It's a weaker carrier and a centrifugal locker, not a posi, that barely holds up to a street driven stock vehicle. The carrier is also not supported by any locker manufacturer, and you'll need to source an open carrier if you plan to get a real locker for it. Not that sourcing a carrier is expensive or a big deal, just don't fall for the naivety of most sellers that say "Oh, it's got a posi, it's worth more."

If you pull to cover, there's lots of pictures you can find here and on Pirate showing you the difference between the two carriers. Easiest way to tell is that the open carrier has 4 spiders, and you can see the 4 pins at 90* from each other under the ring gear, sandwiched between the carrier halves. The G80 only has three pins/spiders, and you can see the clutch plates through some of the holes under the side gears. If you don't pull the cover, you can spin the drums/wheels very fast in opposing directions. The clutches will engage only when a large difference in wheel speeds flings the actuator arms out via centripetal force. It should act like a spool until pressure is released once it "clunks" its way locked.
 
There's a guy that wants to sell my his new in box ring and pinion 4:56, and an open carrier for it. He wants 50 bucks for them, so I was thinking of welding it cause I want a locked diff and throwing the new gears in there. One axle seal is leaking he said. I'll probably pull it apart I just want to know if there's any super specifics I need to know about.
 
Alright, I bought the axle for 150. It looks clean everything came off nicely. I want to do a couple of things, one is a speedi sleeve for both sides. This is completely just to be 100% sure it won't leak. And I want to use discs. The Hardline on the axle didn't come off, so I had to cut it off with a hack saw. Is there a place to order these new? or can I make them? The bearings still all look really good. The one down fall is that it has 3:73 gears. I do want to go to 5:13s with 37s, but how gutless would it feel with 3:73 in the diff? Should I buy the 4:56 gears and have those installed? Thanks in advance for all the help
 
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