14 bolt

[AUK5]

Well i finished my lift and when i went to get the tires put on they said my ball joints need to be replaced and the rear brake cylinder needs to be replaced as well. if i let them do it is going to be an ass ton of money. so i figured well time to upgrade the axles. i found a guy selling axles in birmingham which is not to far from me. hes got the 14 bolt ff and dana 44 for $450. i know i will need to get new wheels in order to fit the new 8 lug pattern. i did a search and couldn't really find the answer i was looking for. do i get the 8 lug by 6.5 or the 8 lug by 170. then 4.25 inch back spacing or 2.75. i really am not sure which one is right. any advice would be much appreciated. doing this axle swap and new wheels will be cheaper than doing just one of the fixings i need to do. also since the tires are 12.50 should i get the 10 inch rim or 8. i think i have a 8 on there now.

thanks
Ryan
Pic of the truck for fun

 

[stoney126]

8on 6.5 and I believe you need 4inchs depending on rim diameter.

 

[AUK5]

thanks after doing the math this option seems to be the best option. it will be a 15 inch rim. since i just bought tires for those

 

[m-4x4-chevy]

I second the 8 on 6.5 and 4.25 backspacing will be good. On a 12.50 wide tire, I like to use an 8" wide wheel for mostly trail use. Use a 10" wide wheel for mostly road use.

 

[dremu]

Umm, a wheel cylinder is like ten bucks, plus a coupla quarts of brake fluid, and the getting messy and swearing is free.

The balljoints are a bit more $$, but a helluva lot cheaper to DIY than it is to pay someone.

Now, swapping axles involves much of the same work -- bleeding the brakes, for instance -- and unless the axles are actually NEW new, you'd want to check them out, see what they need for shoes, cylinders, ball-joints, etc.

I mean, I'm all for swapping, but your current ones needing a bit of work isn't the right reason. The "new" ones will prolly need something too.

And while the 14bff is DEFINITELY an upgrade (you have 10-bolts now, I presume?) the Dana 44 is essentially the same thing. The one thing you'd get would be the 8-lug outers, plus maybe matching gears ... hell, I'd tell you to keep your current 10b if the gears matched, but if the balljoints are shot you gotta do them anyway.



Either way, you're in for some work. Fun, though

-- A