Here's what I did. I took it off with a porta-band.
Gained an easy 1" with some additional grinding.
Gained an easy 1" with some additional grinding.
CK5
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How much ground clearance will I lose with a 14 Bolt?
- Thread starter jonrpick
- Start date
54inches
1/2 ton status
That looks more like a 1/2".
BrianDamage
1/2 ton status
kind of a related question: How much height can you expect to gain (all other things remaining the same (i.e. tires, lift) from adding the 14 bolt axle? Reason I'm asking is that I'm fixing to do m,y swap and as it is, my K5 barely fits under the garage door now. Want to make sure it will make it back out. 
It's a little thing called perspective, learned about it in art class. Things that are further away will appear smaller than they really are.54inches said:
MattK
1/2 ton status
mrk5 said:
i thought the same thing, but then i was like hmmm i bet that chunk is on the floor
I wondered the same thing about height... I figured the axle tubes would be larger, thus placing the spring perches a little further up and away from the centerline of the axle. And is the perch itself taller than the perch on a 10 bolt??
~jp
~jp
54inches
1/2 ton status
Normally I would be pissed, but that is funny.
I get perspective you Neolithic Traglodict, but I went and looked at my 14bolt and it looks like 1/2".
JP, that is a good point, let me go take some more measurements.
I get perspective you Neolithic Traglodict, but I went and looked at my 14bolt and it looks like 1/2".
JP, that is a good point, let me go take some more measurements.
A 12 bolt axle is about 11 inches tall at the pumkin. The 14 bolt is around 14 inches tall after grinding. You would lose around 3 inches of clearance at the pumpkin when compared to a 12 bolt. 6" taller tires would bring you even at the lowest point of the truck.
Some call that 6 inches...
Hey Jon - Welcome to CK5. I gotta ask, how have you broke 2 - 10 bolts with 31's? What kind of wheeling?
AZ79K5: Thanks for the welcome!
Sadly, I've gotten to do very little wheeling in my K5. Most of it was *mild* trail stuff. But 'wheeling wasn't what broke the rear 10 bolts. They both died on the street! The first had 3.08's and the G80 locker and from what I've learned about the weakness of the G80, it could've been severely weakened after I had the truck out in the snow and ice. I've been told the constant locking and unlocking on the slippery pavement probably did it in. It started grinding and popping not long after.
The second was a rebuilt unit, from a fairly reputable (from what I could tell) shop. The guy pretty much only does axle work from what I could tell. His shop was filled with axles. Anyway, I told him to build me a 3.73 axle with an open diff. He did, and it was fine, but other problems kept the K5 off the road for several months. By the time I started driving it again, it was well out of "rebuilt" warranty. It seems it had a defective pinion seal. Dumped all the juice out over a 250 mile trip, and when I went up a long, steep incline, the pinion bearing ran dry.
So...technically, neither failure can be blamed on the 10 Bolt design, or the weakness that comes with it. My main reasoning for going to a 14-bolt is that I do plan on doing more wheeling and running bigger tires, and maybe a good lift someday. I figure if I must replace the axle, I might as well use the strongest thing I can get :-)
I will probably end up going with a 14B-SF... I found a SF locally for $300 from a 3/4 ton. Should bolt right in, although I'll need to convert the rear to 6 lugs (it's an 8 lug).
~jp
Sadly, I've gotten to do very little wheeling in my K5. Most of it was *mild* trail stuff. But 'wheeling wasn't what broke the rear 10 bolts. They both died on the street! The first had 3.08's and the G80 locker and from what I've learned about the weakness of the G80, it could've been severely weakened after I had the truck out in the snow and ice. I've been told the constant locking and unlocking on the slippery pavement probably did it in. It started grinding and popping not long after.
The second was a rebuilt unit, from a fairly reputable (from what I could tell) shop. The guy pretty much only does axle work from what I could tell. His shop was filled with axles. Anyway, I told him to build me a 3.73 axle with an open diff. He did, and it was fine, but other problems kept the K5 off the road for several months. By the time I started driving it again, it was well out of "rebuilt" warranty. It seems it had a defective pinion seal. Dumped all the juice out over a 250 mile trip, and when I went up a long, steep incline, the pinion bearing ran dry.
So...technically, neither failure can be blamed on the 10 Bolt design, or the weakness that comes with it. My main reasoning for going to a 14-bolt is that I do plan on doing more wheeling and running bigger tires, and maybe a good lift someday. I figure if I must replace the axle, I might as well use the strongest thing I can get :-)
I will probably end up going with a 14B-SF... I found a SF locally for $300 from a 3/4 ton. Should bolt right in, although I'll need to convert the rear to 6 lugs (it's an 8 lug).
~jp
Tough way to lose axles.
One piece of advice - buy it once and build it once. I have no plans for anything bigger than 35's or 37's so my 10 front and 12 rear should handle that with the crome moly shafts. I am throwing money into my axles to add strength, but they won't handle any larger tires.
If you plan on running anything bigger than 37's, you'll need a new front axle - the magnificent and elusive d60 - 8 bolt. You can convert a D60 to 6 lug, but its $$$. The 14sf will give you some added strength over your stock axle, but you lose the safety and security of holding an axle on after a broken shaft when comparing a sf to a ff axle.
If you are going to build the truck out, go for the 14ff and get 8 lug outers for the front axle until you put larger tires on. It will be cheaper in the long haul.
just my $0.02
One piece of advice - buy it once and build it once. I have no plans for anything bigger than 35's or 37's so my 10 front and 12 rear should handle that with the crome moly shafts. I am throwing money into my axles to add strength, but they won't handle any larger tires.
If you plan on running anything bigger than 37's, you'll need a new front axle - the magnificent and elusive d60 - 8 bolt. You can convert a D60 to 6 lug, but its $$$. The 14sf will give you some added strength over your stock axle, but you lose the safety and security of holding an axle on after a broken shaft when comparing a sf to a ff axle.
If you are going to build the truck out, go for the 14ff and get 8 lug outers for the front axle until you put larger tires on. It will be cheaper in the long haul.
just my $0.02
