Most desirable 14 bolt center for front build

the_white_shadow · Jun 21, 2016

I picked up my 14Bolt out of a '90s squarebody G30 van. That bitch is huge. 4" tubes that are 1/2" thick. Plan on using a d60 housing to turn in into a rear steer axle one day. I dont bounce or race, just a trail rig, but I do beat on it and its held up great with an artec truss over the top.

Beerj · Jun 21, 2016

redneckengineered said:
What's the average going rate for one of these "late model with the ribs" 14 bolt axles?

I think I gave 200 for mine. I abandoned that idea and it's just sitting in the corner with the tubes cut off. Come get it if you want

redneckengineered · Jun 21, 2016

Beerj said:
I think I gave 200 for mine. I abandoned that idea and it's just sitting in the corner with the tubes cut off. Come get it if you want

What year and where are you, got a pic? I may take you up on that.

smbroady82 · Jun 21, 2016

redneckengineered said:
This just dropped. Not a lot of info yet.

https://craneaxle.com/magnum-knuckle.html

bbone said:
I think the price is very good...add up what the WOD/EOR cost and this a great deal

That just shot down any dreams I have of a 14b front for a while.. whew that's a lot of coin

redneckengineered · Jun 21, 2016

smbroady82 said:
That just shot down any dreams I have of a 14b front for a while.. whew that's a lot of coin

It can be done WAY cheaper.

smbroady82 · Jun 21, 2016

redneckengineered said:
It can be done WAY cheaper.

I would be interested to see some real world numbers from people who have built one . Other than the $15k + on some of the shop's websites.

I have seen people claim to have built them for what some of us have in a front 60.

Beerj · Jun 21, 2016

redneckengineered said:
What year and where are you, got a pic? I may take you up on that.

Lol. I thought everyone knew I was a yankee by now. Unless you get up to PA often I doubt it's worth your while. But here's a pic since you asked so nicely. Not sure of the year.

patooyee · Jun 21, 2016

smbroady82 said:
I would be interested to see some real world numbers from people who have built one . Other than the $15k + on some of the shop's websites.

I have seen people claim to have built them for what some of us have in a front 60.

I'm building Trail Gear 9's right now using SD60 knuckles. The aftermarket housing itself is $600 and I have about $300 into the SD60 knuckles that went on them. There was some machine work involved, maybe $500 max. That gets me to $1150 per housing, which is about what one would buy a stock Chevy 60 for. If I had used a JY 14-bolt instead of the aftermarket housing I would be in less than a stock 60. Most people still have to re-gear, add lockers, steering and all that crap so that's all a wash. I built the housings to fit stock-length 60 shafts as well so I can run the shafts from my knuckle donor axles until I need more.

Hudson1 · Jun 21, 2016

Im in the market for a nine housing right now. How do you like the Trailgear housing?

patooyee · Jun 21, 2016

Hudson1 said:
Im in the market for a nine housing right now. How do you like the Trailgear housing?

I have no reason to complain about anything yet but I haven't put a shaft in them yet.

redneckengineered · Jun 22, 2016

Beerj said:
Lol. I thought everyone knew I was a yankee by now. Unless you get up to PA often I doubt it's worth your while. But here's a pic since you asked so nicely. Not sure of the year.

Damn. Yep that's pretty much what I'm looking for. My Dad is from PA. You never know

redneckengineered · Jun 24, 2016

Can someone tell me the difference between the bearing set from '89 - '96 and '97 - 2011? From what I can tell it is just the pinion seal. I'm ordering parts for this build but I don't have the center yet so I don't want to get something I can't use. If it's just the pinion seal I'm not real concerned.

smbroady82 · Jun 24, 2016

All the little parts nickeled and dimed me to death when gathering parts for my 60. That's what I get for starting with a bare ford housing and cut down chevy RCVs. Made me never want to start one from scratch ever again. But I guess with a 14 bolt you don't have a lot of choice. ECGS was super helpful with setting me up with the right parts.

sleepsontoilet · Jun 24, 2016

Hudson1 said:
Im in the market for a nine housing right now. How do you like the Trailgear housing?

Be patient and watch the classifieds. I picked up this pair of 3" 3/8 spidertrax housings for $500. Grabbed a pair of Cs for $100, and reused my 60 outers. The Solid Industries 5x5.5 conversion was $1350 new, but that was before ECGS became my marketing partner. I run off the shelf ford 60 shafts for inners, and chevy outers. The LP Yukon 3.25" nodular 3rd with a spool was $900, and the Zip locker that's being shipped to replace it was $1509. It just depends on how you want it built, and how hard you look for deals. Yes there are stronger knuckles/C's than what I'm running, but the price is a wash to me.

On topic, when I bought the 2004 AAM 14 bolt for my YJ with disc brakes and a govlock, it was $150. Every state is different, I was given a Chevy 60 front a few years ago, and traded a propane grill for the housing, knuckles, and inner shafts of my current 60.

Bebop · Nov 24, 2016

Bumping this back up as I picked a late model 14 bolt. 2014 with big tubes and casting.

If you need specific measurements, ask me before I cut it up. Here's what I have :

WMS width is 72"

Tubes are a tad over 4" in diameter with a big taper at the outers :

I used the circumference trick as I didn't have calipers handy.

There is 58" of straight 4" tube from one taper to the other one.

Casting is .700" at the tube

Only problem I see : There is a drain plug in the casting right in the cutting line if I wanted to turn it into a 13 bolt. I guess I'll have to completely shave it or just live with it.

Once cut up, I'm gonna put the outers for sale. If someone wants a set of brand new spindles/hubs/brakes for a fabricated housing that would be a great buy.

redneckengineered · Nov 24, 2016

I literally just ran into the same issue with the 13 bolt cover and drain plus the other night as I was getting ready to mark the cut line for my 13 bolt cover. I don't want to do a full shave. Does anyone have any ideas on that? I thought about just cutting and welding the hole but feel like it'll leak like hell.