GM 14 Bolt front and rear swap

RageKage

RageKage

Member
What’s up everyone?

So I’m on deployment currently and we have this old 1985 Chevy CUCV (basically military terms of a 3/4 or 1 ton long bed Silverado) Axles look to be in pretty good shape, so I decided I was going to bring them home. Currently have the rear axle out and beginning tear down and prepping. I’ve seen most writes use 14 bolts from a ‘99-‘06 Silverado but I decided what the hell? They’re “free” and it wills till cost way less to have them fabbed up and built than buying a brand new or even used set of dynatrac 60/60s. If it doesn’t work out I would’ve only waisted time and not money. End goal is 5.38s and ARB air lockers front a rear. So here we go! Pics of axles and donor truck.

IMG_0644.jpgIMG_0654.jpgIMG_0655.jpgIMG_0457.jpg


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And before anyone points it out yes I realize the front axle is a passenger side drop where as my JKU is a driver side drop. Pretty sure I can make it work. It will take some extra fab work but should be aright in the end.


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If putting something like this under a JKU isn’t a thing of beauty then idk what is IMG_0457.jpg


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This should be an interesting project. I’ll be following along. What’s the width on that rear axle? The reason behind the later model being used is because it’s wide enough to make room for the lower control arm mounts. Even on the wider axle it’s a squeeze to get them in there. As for the front, what do you mean about taking some fab work due to the passenger drop? Assuming you’re planning to re-tube it? My guess is you’ll have clearance issues with that massive center section up there. Planning to keep suspension type the same? Any idea what your plans are for tone rings yet?


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Speedy_RCW said:
This should be an interesting project. I’ll be following along. What’s the width on that rear axle? The reason behind the later model being used is because it’s wide enough to make room for the lower control arm mounts. Even on the wider axle it’s a squeeze to get them in there. As for the front, what do you mean about taking some fab work due to the passenger drop? Assuming you’re planning to re-tube it? My guess is you’ll have clearance issues with that massive center section up there. Planning to keep suspension type the same? Any idea what your plans are for tone rings yet?


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Hub end to hub end is around 71” off a quick tape measure check. Suspension I plan to keep what I have right now, which is a 6.5” BDS long arm kit. All suspension lift, no body lift. I seen a couple of build kits where you shave all the brackets off and then weld on a truss that has all brackets and mounts attached already but I think those are for the later year axles. Artec industries has a tone ring kit I’ve looked at. 60 tooth ring and brackets for ABS sensors as emergency brake cables. I would like to keep all the stock electronics intact if I can. Yea was planning on retubing or rather “flipping” the tubes on the front and then shortening or lengthening from there. If I have to make the axles wider for brackets to fit I’m not too worried about that. I plan on moving back to Alaska after the military and they don’t have fender laws. They only care about mud flaps to stop rocks from being flung into windshields. Don’t have a measurement for the front as it’s still under the donor truck but I’ll post that once I get it out. In all honesty the only reason behind even attempting this is because these axles are essentially free. I plan to keep my Jeep as my daily driver and don’t necessarily need 1 tons under it. But if I can get them why not? Also this is going to be a huge learning process for me as this will be the first axle build I’ve ever done. I’m a mechanic in the army but we aren’t allowed to disassemble things like this, we’re basically glorified parts changers and diagnosers.


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nice project. look into Crane Axle. they do a ton of 14 bolt stuff. you'll definitely want to shave the diffs for clearance. so you'll have to decide if you want to do something like a Crane 13 bolt which gives you an inch extra or do something like TMR 15 bolt shave which requires machining down the ring gear. that will give you more clearance but at the cost of custom ring gears. if you were to ever blow one up, it will take longer to get back on the road.
 
Yeah should be a lot of fun. With a lot of head scratching I’m sure too. It will not be free though even though the axles were free. Still gonna end up costing you a pretty penny. The tone rings on the rear are easy with the Artec brackets. Curious about the front though. With your year JK, you’ll need to have all 4 wheel speed sensors working. Be curious to see what you end up doing there and what brackets end up going on the front.


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TheGrendel said:
nice project. look into Crane Axle. they do a ton of 14 bolt stuff. you'll definitely want to shave the diffs for clearance. so you'll have to decide if you want to do something like a Crane 13 bolt which gives you an inch extra or do something like TMR 15 bolt shave which requires machining down the ring gear. that will give you more clearance but at the cost of custom ring gears. if you were to ever blow one up, it will take longer to get back on the road.
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Ballistic fab also makes a good kit. And the shaved gears are readily available from many places and only slightly more costly than original.


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Speedy_RCW said:
Ballistic fab also makes a good kit. And the shaved gears are readily available from many places and only slightly more costly than original.


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yea, i'm just thinking about it more from the stand point of if you were out in Moab or something. it's a bit harder to get replacement shaved gears quickly.
 
TheGrendel said:
yea, i'm just thinking about it more from the stand point of if you were out in Moab or something. it's a bit harder to get replacement shaved gears quickly.
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I watched a guy on youtube shave a 14 bolt ring gear with an angle grinder... Made a big mess & took a while but he got it done.
 
CalSgt said:
I watched a guy on youtube shave a 14 bolt ring gear with an angle grinder... Made a big mess & took a while but he got it done.
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saw a video like that as well. pretty amazing spinning that ring gear with the grinder. i wouldn't have the cojones to do it. but more power to the DIYers. :beer:
 
I shaved one using a sawzall and angle grinder. It’s a total pain in the ass but definitely can be done with good results. There’s just a shit ton of material to go through and you definitely don’t want to take too much off.


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For now I was gunna leave the diffs alone. Might shave them later, but being as it’s all a learning experience and I will keep the Jeep road worthy until the axles are ready to be bolted in who knows. Not sure what some count yet. I believe what’s in the rear are 30 spline. Appreciate all the info about different companies and what to look into. I’ve got a few months left here so I’m trying to do as much prep work as I can here before sending them home; I.e. cutting off all the brackets, removing the drum brakes, and cleaning the crap out of everything. I got hung up today trying to take the carrier out. Not sure what’s holding it in place as the shafts and pinion are out. YouTube and google were no help either. It’s going to be a head scratching cuss word filled bloody knuckles hell of a time and I’m excited for every second!


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The carrier is hard to remove due to the shims that keep the bearing preload. You need the right shape pry bar to get under and behind it to coax it out. Be sure to keep track of the shims on each side so you can put it back the way it was.
 
RageKage said:
For now I was gunna leave the diffs alone. Might shave them later, but being as it’s all a learning experience and I will keep the Jeep road worthy until the axles are ready to be bolted in who knows. Not sure what some count yet. I believe what’s in the rear are 30 spline. Appreciate all the info about different companies and what to look into. I’ve got a few months left here so I’m trying to do as much prep work as I can here before sending them home; I.e. cutting off all the brackets, removing the drum brakes, and cleaning the crap out of everything. I got hung up today trying to take the carrier out. Not sure what’s holding it in place as the shafts and pinion are out. YouTube and google were no help either. It’s going to be a head scratching cuss word filled bloody knuckles hell of a time and I’m excited for every second!


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Click to expand...

jdofmemi said:
The carrier is hard to remove due to the shims that keep the bearing preload. You need the right shape pry bar to get under and behind it to coax it out. Be sure to keep track of the shims on each side so you can put it back the way it was.
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There’s no shims on a 14b carrier. On each side of the carrier bearings are adjuster nuts (those things with lots of holes in them). They are standard thread direction. Use a screwdriver or bar to thread them in (towards the tubes) and the carrier should come right out.


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Speedy_RCW said:
There’s no shims on a 14b carrier. On each side of the carrier bearings are adjuster nuts (those things with lots of holes in them). They are standard thread direction. Use a screwdriver or bar to thread them in (towards the tubes) and the carrier should come right out.


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Oops, sorry for the bad info. I was having a brain fade moment.
 
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