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And my 14bsf adventure begins...

Chevy305 said:
To run the 88+ 6 lug shafts in the square body 8 lug housing all you need to do is space the smaller 6 lug backing plates out about 1/2". Only the smaller 6 lug drums will work with the 6 lug shafts. (Which are still bigger than the 10 or 12 bolt drums).
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Cool, never thought of spacing out the backing plate
 
campfire said:
Do you need it? No. But it's not a bad thing. I'm running 31s on one 14BFF and 33s on the other. Even on a street rig, I like the ease of maintenance.
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31s and you're not dragging the ground? Haha

Bent77 said:
I opted for the 14BSF for ground clearance and weight reasons. I do carry spare shafts

What chromos are you guys running?
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I've been battling the same thing bc I only plan on running 35s on my k5 bc of the tiny wheel openings and I don't want the extra weight. But then a disc brake 14bffis sitting next to my shop from the 2500hd I just parted so it kinda forces my hand and I do like the idea of how rugged they are.

@K5Jimmy I've researched building the sf for the obvious reasons so I'll be fallowing along
 
SpeedlabDan said:
31s and you're not dragging the ground? Haha
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I never said that. It's been on the ground a few times. ;)


20180602_152834.jpg

By the time you add the extra inch of radius and the 2" of solid cast iron, it's a couple of inches lost vs. the 10 bolt. Both axles were dragging here, but the front wasn't plowing like the back was.


20180602_152805.jpg


So I see why Mark wants the extra ground clearance. But I'm happy with the heavy beast. Not because I'm in (much) danger of breaking shafts, just because it's easier to work on. Call it laziness. :haha:
 
Richcz28 said:
A 3/4 ton or suburban full floater will save you the hassle of moving perches.

I think that’s the best way to go.
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I went that route once, and it worked swimmingly, aside from me hating the stock drum brakes. The next time I grabbed a '97 G3500 van axle, with serviceable drum brakes. If you're not doing the disc conversion, this upgrade is worth the time it takes to move perches. If you want disc brakes, this doesn't matter (and the older style is easier to adapt).
 
Richcz28 said:
Are the drum brakes very different?
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Yes. Most 14BFF axles have brake drums attached to the back side of the hubs. It's a 1930s-era design that requires you to disassemble the hub in order to service the brakes.

brawler_hub1.jpg


But vans (and some pickups) in the 90s switched to a modern hub design, with the drums sliding on from the outside.

dsc04720-jpg.164751


No extra headaches involved.

imgp3968-jpg.160968



If you want discs, this doesn't matter. But having plug-n-play brakes with a functioning stock E-brake is good, and being able to actually service them is even gooder.

Having owned 2 of each style, I have absolutely no love for the older brake setup.
 
I’ve never serviced the drums on a ff.

I bought my axle without brakes and I did the Ruffstuff disc brake brackets.

Can you swap the later brake setup onto the earlier axle?
 
A 14bff shave kit does save an inch+ but doesn't save any weight. I'm not totally sure the juice is worth the squeeze
 
Richcz28 said:
I’ve never serviced the drums on a ff.

I bought my axle without brakes and I did the Ruffstuff disc brake brackets.

Can you swap the later brake setup onto the earlier axle?
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I'm not sure. The WMS is wider on the van axles. The axle shaft lengths are different. But the bearings are the same.

The brake setups should swap unless the spindles are different, and I didn't notice a glaring difference while rebuilding mine. :dunno:

The different hub offsets is why the bolt-on disc brake kits don't fit the newer axle style. The rotor and the caliper don't line up, if I understand it.
 
Chevy305 said:
To run the 88+ 6 lug shafts in the square body 8 lug housing all you need to do is space the smaller 6 lug backing plates out about 1/2". Only the smaller 6 lug drums will work with the 6 lug shafts. (Which are still bigger than the 10 or 12 bolt drums).
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Yes, the short story is that all of the shafts will fit in all of the housings, but there are different lengths based on the different brake options and track widths. The longest shafts put you at about the same track width as the front. There is a 14Bsf tech thread.

Also, should you break a shaft on a SF axle, a disc brake puts you in a better situation than a drum brake. You might trash the brake getting off the road or getting off the trail, but the wheel will generally stay in place. You need to use 4WD or have a locker to move in RWD, of course. They tend to break up near the splines, but a break near the hat might let the wheel move around enough to keep you from moving the vehicle anyway.
 
Blue85 said:
Yes, the short story is that all of the shafts will fit in all of the housings, but there are different lengths based on the different brake options and track widths. The longest shafts put you at about the same track width as the front. There is a 14Bsf tech thread.

Also, should you break a shaft on a SF axle, a disc brake puts you in a better situation than a drum brake. You might trash the brake getting off the road or getting off the trail, but the wheel will generally stay in place. You need to use 4WD or have a locker to move in RWD, of course. They tend to break up near the splines, but a break near the hat might let the wheel move around enough to keep you from moving the vehicle anyway.
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Correct. Both the square body housing and 90's 6 lug axles both have to be for a 4x4 truck application. The shafts and housings for a 2x4 are shorter and cannot be mixed and matched with 4x4 applications. Van applications may be different as well.
 
Blue85 said:
Yes, the short story is that all of the shafts will fit in all of the housings, but there are different lengths based on the different brake options and track widths. The longest shafts put you at about the same track width as the front. There is a 14Bsf tech thread.

Also, should you break a shaft on a SF axle, a disc brake puts you in a better situation than a drum brake. You might trash the brake getting off the road or getting off the trail, but the wheel will generally stay in place. You need to use 4WD or have a locker to move in RWD, of course. They tend to break up near the splines, but a break near the hat might let the wheel move around enough to keep you from moving the vehicle anyway.
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Have you seen how thick the shaft is at the hub?
The only place that shaft can break is at the spline and yes disk brake will keep it from walking out
 
It’s really fun to pull the carrier to get all those pieces of spline out when they break.
 
Minor progress. I've got everything cleaned and prepped. Should get brake parts today or tomorrow.

I had a local machine shop make 1/2" spacers ($50). I need to go pull a 10b yoke so I don't have to change ujoint. Haven't finished looking at 1/2" studs to see what will work, maybe I can source them at the yard.

I'm slow, but at least I'm disorganized.

I'm 20 miles from Russellville, Ar, if anyone nearby might like to stop by to point and laugh.
 
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