3/4 ton axles

[dougbert]

well I stumbled on this thread today - good stuff

Last year I built up a 14bff with disc brakes and got it install on my K1500 last month and now carry 2 spares, 1 for 6 lug fronts and 1 for 8 lug rear.

The same donor I got the 14bff from is a 1977 3/4 suburban.. My plan is to pull the wheels, the hubs, the spindles from that donor and work things to put onto my K1500. New rotors and calipers/pads of course, along with new bearings, etc. Oh and new Warn hubs.

I will document what I do on my thread and post a link here to that

thanks for the info

dougbert

 

[rpcraft]

It's kind of off point but I do happen to have a swap in my future as well. I have the 14 bolt out of a 06 GM 2500 HD. I have for it a kit from barnes 4wd that includes the new spring perches, shock tabs, ubolts, nuts and top spring plates for the 14 bolt. I also happen to be in posession of a cnc/plasma cut and welded front mounting bracket. The hard part people come across is getting the front backing plates (at least without having to buy a whole axle). I'm not sure who made these brackets I have. I asked the seller and he was unsure... I hate to admit I've been on the move to the new house so I've had other projects, as you can all imagine, so I have not even taken these out of the box to look at. I literally just cleaned the Jimmy out Sunday afternoon to start working on it again and set the box on the garage floor off to the side of stuff I do not want to hunt down or find again. I figure if needed I could maybe take some measurements off them to list on here in case someone needs them, because when i was looking months ago I had zero results on ebay and other places for used parts, and I've found nothing but half ton 4wd drive setups in most any salvage yard as of late.

 

[73c20jim]

I finally have to ask. What does FF mean on a 14 bolt axle????

 

[Blue Ox]

Full Floating. As opposed to the "other" 14 bolt corporate Semi-Floating rear axle.

 

[73c20jim]

I feel stupid.

 

[Blue Ox]

Don't! No one is born knowing this. We all had to learn it somewhere.

 

[dvdswan]

14 bolt SF is a 9.5" ring gear and looks like this...

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notice there is no hub that sticks out.

14 bolt FF has a 10.5" ring gear and looks like this...

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These have the hub on them. This means the bearings of the hub/drum ride on a spindle whereas the SF the axle rides on bearings.

 

[Craig 85]

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[rpcraft]

When given the chance a 14 bolt semi floater is a better alternative if you just want a pretty strong axle and then do not want to fiddle with the 8 lug conversion. It's usually found under a HD half ton chevy or work van and they usually do come with a mix between 3.73 and 4.10 with open or G80 style "locker". That G80 is still a bomb but not as bad of one as the 10 bolt variant. Chances are you will still need to swap axle perches and shock tabs, but I am thinking in Blazer terms so on trucks maybe not so much...

 

[fussfeld]

Can i simply take a 14 semi-float AND springs out of a 3/4 truck or suburban and bolt it directly into a 1/2 truck?

 

[Craig 85]

Can i simply take a 14 semi-float AND springs out of a 3/4 truck or suburban and bolt it directly into a 1/2 truck?

Yes and no. 1/2 tons mostly have 52" long rear springs. 3/4 ton can have 52 or 56" long springs. The width of the springs are the same and the spring perches are the same width. I had a '79 GMC K15 that I installed the axles out of an '82 Suburban since it was cheaper than doing a gear swap and adding a posi. I kept the 1/2 springs in the rear. I needed the the U-bolt plates for a 3/4 ton as the U-bolts have a larger diameter.

 

[rpcraft]

It will depend on the years but in some cases I believe so.

 

[Rusty Nail]

I feel stupid.

Don't worry brah! They started by talking about AXLES and now they are arguing about BRAKES.

Axles are not the same thing as Brakes, mmmkay?

How bout that sticky yo?

Whattup on that sticky cuzz?
Hook it up on that sticky home!