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14blt identification

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gerber boy

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i'm in the process of ordering gears and lockers for my axle's, and everyone that i talk to wants to know what year the 14bFF is. more importantly if it's an 88 and up or if it's a 84 or 85.
apparently in 84 and 85 they had a different sized pinion bearing?

i have no idea what year this axle is other then it's not the finned 88 and up style. So is there anyway to tell/find out?
 
Afaik, the only way to tell is the date on the original ring gear. I thought the only real differences were (basically) finned housing or not. :dunno:
 
thats what i thought too.
i have been searching here and just found lot's of conflicting information, so i'm hoping i can get something definitive
 
Going from memory the year split was 87-earlier or 88-later and this is because of the pinion bearing size difference and nothing else. The ribbed housing is 88-later BUT that's not to say that someone hasn't swapped parts around and used a pinion support from an 88-later in the 87-earlier. The safest way is to remove the pinion support and pull it apart and measure the pinion bearing.
 
gerber boy said:
thats what i thought too.
i have been searching here and just found lot's of conflicting information, so i'm hoping i can get something definitive
Click to expand...

There is a number cast on the housing, that will give you the date.
I just google it.
 
there is a code (I think it's called the BOM) stamped on the axle tube that can tell you the date of manufacture
 
I didn't think AAM axles had BOM numbers?
 
The difference is in the pinion support, which will interchange with both housings.
 
nvrenuf said:
The difference is in the pinion support, which will interchange with both housings.
Click to expand...

nvrenuf got it right. The pinion support is where the difference is and since it will work in either housing it is useless to run the BOM number since a PO might have swapped it from one year to another.
 
4X4HIGH said:
nvrenuf got it right. The pinion support is where the difference is and since it will work in either housing it is useless to run the BOM number since a PO might have swapped it from one year to another.
Click to expand...

Ah OK, one more thing learned.
:bow:
 
okay i will pull the pinion out first chance i get, now anyone know what the measurements are?

man you guys are quick :thumb:
 
These are the 2 different types of front pinion support (gm calls it a straddle bearing) that reside in the axle housing. The id is the same, so if replacement is necessary, you just need to know what type bearing you need.
The one on the left is the later style (85 era), the one on the right the early style (70's) I'm not sure where the break was though.

HPIM1367.jpg
 
And mind you this ISN'T the bearing in question that is different for the 87-earlier versus 88-newer.
 
so the question by the OP is for the middle bearing, of the 3?
 
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