bent 14bff axle tube... repair?

[QBuff02]

So, be-bopping around the garage fulfilling my honey-do list I glance out to admire my ol' Square sitting proud in the driveway like I have numerous times before.. Only this time, something catches my eye, you know that moment when something just seems "off"..? So I'm pretty sure my driver rear axle tube is bent, or the backing plate for the outer hub assembly. If I face down the passenger side and line up the front right and rear right tires and wheels, from both the front and rear, they are dead in line with each other and everything looks "square", however if I get down and line up the left front and left rear, I can see that the left rear tire/wheel assembly is tweaked, and the tire/wheel is angled in to the center of the truck. and if I stand behind it, yup, it's definitely got something going on there. Soooo.. my question is, before I bust out the square, level, and start digging into the whats and hows. If it is a bent axle tube like I suspect, is it repairable? The truck runs and drives and goes straight down the road, and actually quite smooth for a 35 year old truck! I even rolled it ahead and back (just in case that old mag wheel was messed up in some way) and nope, it's twisted inward no matter where it rolls to a stop. It's not like the wheel is severely twisted inward, but it's enough that you can either "see" part of the wheel lip from the front, or NOT part of the wheel lip from the back. Anyone have experience with this? There's no noise, binding, heat, issues that I've seen or heard.. For the 1,000 miles it will accumulate all year long this year, is it something to even worry about at this point? It just caught my attention and had me like "maaaaan, shoot!" LOL But does anyone on here have experience with repairing bent tubes or is it really worth it? Thoughts? Opinions? places to look? Things to try?

 

[crazy4offroad]

I would show it to an alignment shop and see what they say, eliminate the possibility of an optical illusion, although you seem pretty sure. Even if it is bent it's easy to fix. Buy a new 14 bolt lol. When shopping walk away from the idiots who say one is "rare". But the shop may spot something else, maybe a spring or something.

 

[theblindchicken]

I'd definitely get someone with the accurate tools to give it a look see. May not be the tube itself, but the rim or the drum isn't sitting flat.

 

[WFO]

Or a bent axle. I'd rotate the wheel 180 degrees, and see if it's angled the other way.

 

[CSFJ]

If it is bent, having them retubed isn't a big deal. back when I was into jeeps, I got a quote for $200 on having a front axle tube replaced that was tweaked. You may need to check with a good custom 4x4 shop in your area to see if they do it, or know of a shop that can. I should also mention that my quoted price was for bringing them just the axle as a bench unit.

 

[crazy4offroad]

Average price of a 14b ff around here is about $150. Unless you have a specific gearset/locker or disk brake setup already installed I wouldn't get sentimental with it.

 

[CSFJ]

Average price of a 14b ff around here is about $150. Unless you have a specific gearset/locker or disk brake setup already installed I wouldn't get sentimental with it.

Yeah, depending on price and availability of gear ratio. You'd need to put it all out on paper to get the best idea. Like you said, $150 if you can get one with the same ratio. If you need to have someone swap gears, then the price goes up. Hell, you'd need to get a current quote for having the tube replaced anyway, my price was from 6 or 8 years ago, when I was building a jeep. I guess to make a long story longer, op needs to start getting estimates repair and looking for another 14 bolt.

 

[QBuff02]

So, for a little update.. I recently spoke with previous owner out of the blue, and we got to talking.. As some of you know from other posts this truck was used in its former life for fun in "cheater stock" truck pulling.. welllll.. apparently, at some point they decided they didn't like the driveline angles so they cut the diff loose and rotated it upwards to get a flatter geometry on the driveshaft and u-joints. and apparently from what I know now they obviously did not get the axle tubes welded back true to the differential.. So it got me thinking.. And reading some of the comments from you guys above, I think this winter I'm leaning to scrap the 14bolt ff it currently has for another, or.. replace it with a newer more modern axle.. something that still has the 8x6.5 wheel flanges, but maybe beefier, and with disc brakes already on it. Like off of an early 2000's 3/4-1 ton truck. I know there would probably be some modifying to make it work, but I think that would be an easier route to go- especially since this one has outer wheel seals leaking, a pinion seal leaking, and since its mostly a one tire frier, either has a worn out limited slip or none at all which would need addressed, and the crooked tube that got me here in the first place. so now my question is, which axle should I be on the lookout for that already has a limited slip with a 4.10 gear, the right bolt pattern, disc brakes, etc. And any of you done a swap like this before? I'm thinking this might just be the way to go, unless someone tells me otherwise..

 

[CSFJ]

The newer 14b ff axles were available with disc brakes. They are however, the same width as the front axle, which I've beard makes the truck push through the turns. Don't know first hamd if it's true or not. But otherwise all you'd need to chang3 would be the spring mounts, and possibly the shock mounts to get it under the truck. Not sure what you may need to address for the brake system on changing the rear to disc.