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Maybe a dumb question about 14BFF's

blowedupmotor87

blowedupmotor87

1/2 ton status
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Okay, here goes: I see a lot of threads mentioning 14BFF disc brake swaps, eldo calipers, 3/4 ton 10bolts calipers, whatever and what-not... even my 14BFF I plan to swap in has 3/4 10 bolt calipers (AFAIK) so, I'm not knocking them or anything!;) But, there is the problem of figuring out an e-brake setup, why not swap to the 14BFF out of a newer truck? My Dmax has a 14BFF with e-brake (drum in hat style, I think, haven't had it long enough to worry about the brakes yet!). Is it just the fact that they are newer axles so they don't show up in junk yards much?:confused: Thanks!:D
 
probably a newer aam axle with different hubs and rotors?
 
Thats all I assume , not readily available yet to the poor guys . When enough of the yards fill up with with post 2000 rigs , it will be more common to adapt them . ( the whole axles )
 
I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that they are harder to find, and prolly more expensive cause they are newer. also would have to modify spring perches and shock mounts I think. dont know about the 10.5s but I know that the 11.5 aam axles are harder to find upgrades, like lockers, for.
 
big dan said:
I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that they are harder to find, and prolly more expensive cause they are newer. also would have to modify spring perches and shock mounts I think. dont know about the 10.5s but I know that the 11.5 aam axles are harder to find upgrades, like lockers, for.
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I could be wrong in thinking this but, don't 14BFF's (such as one from a M1008 CUCV which is what I have in the garage waiting to go under the Jimmy) require the spring perches and shock mounts to be moved to go under a K5 anyway? :confused: 3/4 tons (I've heard) bolt right up but, I've got what I've got so...:rolleyes:
 
the eldo calipers have ebrake, from what i understand.....wouldn't a line loc work as ebrake....push pedal, then close valve to hold pressure on rear calipers? newer axels are wider also i believe...making track about square as rearend is as wide as front, which would effect turning radius
 
blazin_blazer said:
the eldo calipers have ebrake, from what i understand.....wouldn't a line loc work as ebrake....push pedal, then close valve to hold pressure on rear calipers?
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Eldo calipers have e-brakes but, some say they are hard to keep adjusted right. Some states don't approve of the line lock idea since it is a hydraulic rather than mechanical e-brake. I think also I've read that line locks are a bad idea for prolonged holding usage, just designed to be used many times for short periods of time?:confused: Basically just brainstorming about another option, just idle speculation since I have an axle already but, have wondered for quite a while!:D
 
Upon looking a bit further, I think big dan hit the nail on the head!-NO LOCKERS! Dang, I woulda thought somebody would make one by now!:rolleyes: That's actually kinda weird considering a heck of a lot of trucks have the axles!:(
 
I don't plan on breaking my 10.5" 14 bolt any time soon, I sure as hell am not giving up any ground clearance for an 11.5" AAM. Has anyone ever broken a 10.5" 14 bolt ring gear (that wasn't low on fluid or had bad bearings)?

I had a friend who tried the caddy calipers and said they sucked really bad. He went to a HAD t-case e-brake.

I use a line lock as an e-brake. It works great, I've accidentally left it on for several days and it was still holding strong. An electric line lock will eventually bleed pressure off and drain the battery. They drain very little power and take a very long time to drain off IME.

IMO, you should never trust any e-brake. If you are leaving your truck on a steep incline, turn the wheels so it will steer away from people/danger or park it in a better place.
 
There were some disc brake old school 14bff ( with extra ribs on the housing ) in some trucks prior to the "new" AAM 14 bolt IIRC .
 
38377k5 said:
I don't plan on breaking my 10.5" 14 bolt any time soon, I sure as hell am not giving up any ground clearance for an 11.5" AAM. Has anyone ever broken a 10.5" 14 bolt ring gear (that wasn't low on fluid or had bad bearings)?

I had a friend who tried the caddy calipers and said they sucked really bad. He went to a HAD t-case e-brake.

I use a line lock as an e-brake. It works great, I've accidentally left it on for several days and it was still holding strong. An electric line lock will eventually bleed pressure off and drain the battery. They drain very little power and take a very long time to drain off IME.

IMO, you should never trust any e-brake. If you are leaving your truck on a steep incline, turn the wheels so it will steer away from people/danger or park it in a better place.
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Good point on e-brake usage and trust! Yeah, I'm gonna be going the HAD route too, I think. I've just been wondering, thinking about different ideas.:rolleyes:

Okay, two more questions, am I wrong thinking the newer GM's run 3 different 14 bolts: 14SF, 10.5" 14BFF (6.0L), and lastly 11.5" 14BFF (8.1L and Dmax)?

Assuming that is correct (a big assumption considering I said it!:D), what about running a complete (newer model) 10.5" 14BFF?

Seems like the new e-brakes work pretty well, and they don't require a driveshaft (it's be a real SHTF situation to be missing front and rear driveshafts but...) or constant adjusting.:confused:
 
14bsf=9.5'' ring gear....14bff=10.5''......the 11.5'' ring gear is a sterling rear or an AAM(not sure what aam is) but have had to buy parts for the 11.5'' sterling rear, its the 10 lug axel you see under fords....come to think of it....do they make a 10 lug 4x4 front end, if so what is it, sorry 4 hijack
 
blazin_blazer said:
(not sure what aam is)
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From their website :

AAM can trace its history to the beginning of the 20th century and the infancy of the automotive industry. The foundation for what is now AAM was laid in 1917 when General Motors Corporation built an aircraft parts manufacturing facility in Detroit, on the land where AAM’s World Headquarters and flagship North American facility now stands. Later, automotive parts were added to the product mix. By 1920, two additional plants had been built in Detroit to meet the increased demands of the burgeoning automotive industry. Two additional plants were constructed in Detroit in the ‘40s and ‘50s.

The facilities remained under the General Motors umbrella until late 1992, when General Motors publicly announced that 18 of its manufacturing plants were for sale – five of which encompassed the Final Drive and Forge Business Unit of GM.

In response to the GM announcement, Richard E. Dauch, who had recently retired from the Chrysler Corporation as executive vice president Worldwide Manufacturing, formed a small investment team to purchase five driveline and forging assets that GM had up for sale. On March 1, 1994, AAM became a stand-alone, independent, multi-billion-dollar Tier One automotive supplier.
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So its not owned by GM anymore , but was the axle division that made "our" axles at one time .
 
While "drum-in-hat" style emergency brake works good under normal conditions, it is prone to the same issues that any other drum brakes have on an off-road rig that sees any mud and water (I did not replace the 1-ton drum brakes on my Blazer because they didn't work well on the road, just that everytime you got into mud and water on the trail, which is pretty much the norm around here, they worked like crap). They pack with mud and simply don't work very well until you clean them out and maybe readjust them.

I have electric line-locks on my truck and they work good, of course assuming you use them for their intended purpose which is short term parking....works great when you have to stop on a hill on the trail, or winching, etc... With an auto trans I always have the park pawl as a backup, but it's nice not putting that much pressure on the park pawl. I have experimented with mine a little by leaving both on (have them on front and rear) for several hours with the truck off, and they had no signs of bleeding off or drawing too much from the batteries.
 
If you check Pauly's PDF, there is a listing for a 10.5" 14BFF with drum in hat parking brakes. It looks like the hub changed part numbers at the same time the e-brake did. I'd love to hear if it bolts up to an older 14BFF.


AAM = American Axle Manufacturing IIRC. As mentioned above it used to be part of the ever shrinking GM (hence "corporate" 10/12/14 Bolt axles).
 
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