14bff detroit locker question

[K5dreamer]

i was reading through the tech articles, and saw something that confused me.

according to the article if you planned on installing a detroit locker, you need to find an open carrier, as the detroit wont fit in a 14bff that came with a limited slip carrier....... is that right?

and if that is the case, where might one find said open rear diff 14bff? to my knowledge all the heavy duty applications for the 14bff were lockers..... i may very well be mistaken though.

 

[cegusman]

There where 3 options a 14 bolt came in.

Open
Gov-Lock -- You can not install a Detroit into this one.
Detroit -- Mostly military

If you have the factory GOV lock you will need to find an open carrier.

 

[mr.smartass]

Check the for sale section here or post up in the wanted section.

 

[6.2Blazer]

I don't know the exact numbers, but only a certain percentage of civilian market 14FF came with the Gov-lock limited slip. I've seen a lot of open diff ones and in my experience the open diff equipped ones are possibly even more common.

 

[BGKYK5]

Both my 3/4 ton 14BFFs have been open.

 

[K5dreamer]

interesting...... guess i had my facts sideways... thanks all.

 

[sweetk30]

read this and look at the pics. http://www.coloradok5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=151608

 

[K5dreamer]

read this and look at the pics. http://www.coloradok5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=151608

sweeeet thanks so much.

so to clarify, even if i get an axle with the gov locker, if i want to go detroit, i just need to get an open carrier to replace the gov bomb. I think thats what confused me, is that it sounded like there were two different 14 bolt axles, one that only the gov lock fit in, and one that fit an open carrier.

 

[BGKYK5]

You are correct. The axles are the same, but the carrier is different from gov-bomb to open. You need the open carrier for the Detroit.

 

[jnj]

sweetk30
Do you need to reset up the gears if you install a detroit? Thanks

 

[sweetk30]

just count the urns on the colors and set back when done. and best to double check the pattern if you want peace of mind.

 

[6.2Blazer]

Just to clarify, if you have a 14-bolt full-floater that already has an open carrier, then you don't have to setup the gears again when installing a Detroit Locker. You do, however, need to keep track of the side collar adjustments (how many turns to loosen them) and make sure you tighten both back up the same amount.

If you start with a 14-bolt full-floater with a Gov-lock and swap in a open carrier with a Detroit, then you DO need to setup the gears but only the ring gear assuming you are reusing the gears, i.e. swapping the ring gear from the Gov-lock to open carrier (backlash and carrier preload.....you are not messing with the pinion).

The mistake about thinking there was two different 14-bolt axles probably comes from the 14-bolt full-floater vs. 14-bolt semi-floater. Despite both being called 14-bolts they are completely different axles