So I went to buy a truck with 3/4 ton axles and turns out its a 14sf. How much worse are the Semi Floaters? I plan on running a worked 350 th400 np205 and 39x18s on the trail.. Should I be worried about the rear end going? They have 4.10 gears in them so I think I'm just gonna weld up the spiders in the rear and put them in the truck (better then my 1/2 ton setup right now). The truck is only $300 and has many other parts I need such as steering column diamond plate step bars and more.. Also the front end looks like my dana 44 but has 8 lug and locking hubs is it def a dana 60?
CK5
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How much worse are 14SFs?
- Thread starter viperrgh2
- Start date
you mean semi-floater, its better then any 1/2 ton axle. 300 bucks for the truck is cheap, just hunt up a 14FF, you still wont have a ton of money into your rig. With 39's I would run a 14FF but a semi will do fine. you will know you need one IF you ever break the semi.
dana 44s came with 8 lugs, it can be identified by a 44 on the lower right corner of the pumpkin i believe. for 300 bucks i say just wheel the crap out of it till you need the full float.
Cowboy_80
1/2 ton status
sf stands for semi floating. It's still strong, but if you happen to break an axle shaft the wheel will fall off. It should handle 39's just fine. If it doesn't, get some chromaly shafts. If the front looks like a 44 it probably is. 8 lug conversions are fairly common on them. Someone else can correct me if I'm mistaken, but I think the only difference from 44 to 60 is r&p size. Axle shafts are the same... *Please correct if wrong.
I don't recall anyone on here saying they've broken one. IIRC there seemed to be some issues awhile back about bearings or something, but haven't heard anything lately.
Based solely on ring gear size, the 14SF is in between the 14FF and 10 bolt, but comparing everything else, the 14SF is going to be MUCH stronger than the 10 bolt. Dare I say even close to 14FF strength? Similar size axleshafts, same size axle tubes, large axleshaft bearings, all are vast improvements over a 10B.
The two major differences from the 14FF (aside from the obvious gear differences and weight/clearance) are the semi-floating axles, and the axle retention method. IMO the C-clip design is not a real problem, in all the years I've been here, I've seen one post showing an axle failure in that area and I believe it was a 10 bolt. I've seen one post with a broken 14FF axleshaft as well.
Based solely on ring gear size, the 14SF is in between the 14FF and 10 bolt, but comparing everything else, the 14SF is going to be MUCH stronger than the 10 bolt. Dare I say even close to 14FF strength? Similar size axleshafts, same size axle tubes, large axleshaft bearings, all are vast improvements over a 10B.
The two major differences from the 14FF (aside from the obvious gear differences and weight/clearance) are the semi-floating axles, and the axle retention method. IMO the C-clip design is not a real problem, in all the years I've been here, I've seen one post showing an axle failure in that area and I believe it was a 10 bolt. I've seen one post with a broken 14FF axleshaft as well.
14SF aren't bad, as long as you're not doing anything extreme it should hold up. And if it's a 3/4 ton truck it's a D44, they came in both 6 and 8 lug.
pauly383
Daddy383
The axles are 33 spline , where a full floater has 30 spline . I think the semi floater is plenty strong .
Col_Sanders
3/4 ton status
If I can get my hands on another one, thats what I'm going to be running. Already have the Yukon 4.56s sitting here.
You'll probably be just fine.
Don't buy into the "if it ain't one-tons it ain't worth driving" mindset.
Don't buy into the "if it ain't one-tons it ain't worth driving" mindset.
If the axles are original, than most likely the front would be the 8-lug 10-bolt. I believe that by the time they started offering the 14SF in trucks the 10-bolt had already replaced the D44 as the front axle.
Dana 44's came from the factory in both 6-lug and 8-lug form, just like front 10-bolts, and are very, very common. 1/2 tons had 6-lug, 3/4 tons had 8-lug...D44's in the front up to the late 70's and then 10-bolts. In the rear I don't believe the 14SF was available until the early 80's ('81 maybe).
If the front axle is an 8-lug D44, I guess it could have been converted from a 6-lug...but again 8-lug D44's were very common in stock applications. Either the front or rear axles could of also been swapped out also, so there is that possibility that the truck has a D44 front and 14SF rear...but I don't believe it was original.
Dana 44's came from the factory in both 6-lug and 8-lug form, just like front 10-bolts, and are very, very common. 1/2 tons had 6-lug, 3/4 tons had 8-lug...D44's in the front up to the late 70's and then 10-bolts. In the rear I don't believe the 14SF was available until the early 80's ('81 maybe).
If the front axle is an 8-lug D44, I guess it could have been converted from a 6-lug...but again 8-lug D44's were very common in stock applications. Either the front or rear axles could of also been swapped out also, so there is that possibility that the truck has a D44 front and 14SF rear...but I don't believe it was original.
EVERYTHING about a 60 is bigger except the pinion yoke
Masiony
1/2 ton status
however, the 30 spline 14ff has 1.5" axles, while the 33 spline had 1.37" axles. the ff is cut different.
also, as said above, 60's are bigger and stronger in everyway other than the pinion yoke. larger u-joints, larger axle shaft, larger bearings, larger brakes, larger R&P, etc.
Cowboy_80
1/2 ton status
thanks for the correction guys. That's what I used to think, but I read somewhere they were mostly identical.
i think that is on a NBS dodge
Masiony
1/2 ton status
they are similar in design, as are all most dana axles. but they are on two completely different scales.
pauly383
Daddy383
id run that! but the ff is still cheaper then a sf if you dont have one already.
are there c clip emilinator kits out there?
Col_Sanders
3/4 ton status
I dont think there are any for the 14sf. I have seen them for 10 and 12 bolts though.
As for a 14ff being cheaper, they are until you factor buying wheels and switching the front to 8 lug if you are currently 6 lug.
As for a 14ff being cheaper, they are until you factor buying wheels and switching the front to 8 lug if you are currently 6 lug.
Not that I've heard of. The ones that exist for the smaller axles apparently tend to leak, and since the c-clips aren't really a problem, they are a solution for something that doesn't exist. 
