10 Bolt to 14BFF/Dana 44 Axle Swap

[Conny8412]

Hey guys, not to bring up a topic that is discussed 24/7 on here, but i had a few questions on the axle swap im doing on my 87 half ton with stock 10 bolts...

I recently discovered a good find on Clist for a set of axles (14BFF Rear/Dana 44 front) for 700 bucks. these axles, from the pictures at least, look cleaner then any of the other junk on clist that is completely rusted out going for over a grand. These dont have much rust on them at all, if any. The guy was planning on putting them into his 81 1/2 ton but ended up selling it. He built them up himself and he claims there are numerous new parts on them, especially the 14B. New u joints and disc brake conversion as well. One of my questions to you guys is, when i go to pick them up or look at them atleast, what are some important things i should be looking for? I know there are 4.10 gears in the set, but im planning on swapping those out and installing 4.56, 4.88. or 5.13's, just not sure yet. Will i run into any trouble doing so? Since he was setting this set up for his 81, how much modifying am i going to run into when trying to put these under my current half ton? Will i have to lengthen or shorten the driveshaft?

Any ideas, thoughts, answers are extremely helpful guys, your time is appreciated. Let me know what you think either way.
Thanks!

[Captkaos]

I honestly don't remember all of it exactly (search is your friend) but the u-joints on the 1T's are different than the 1/2T's, so you need to account for that.

[Conny8412]

Ok. Thanks for the input, that something ill look into. I was also gonna confirm that i need to make sure its not a duall rearend correct? I know the dually rearend 14 bolts are wider then the regular 14 bolts. Where do i measure from exactly to make sure itd fit my 1/2 ton?

[Blazin]

If its a 14 bolt FF it can only be a pick up rear end, or a cab, and chassis rear end.

Pickups all have the same width rear end, and run the same width spring perches.
Cab, and chassis rear axle is narrower. The distance between the spring perch, and the backing plate is less.
Duallies have a Dana rear axles.
As far as the 44 front end it will directly swap in place of your 10 bolt.

[aaronwilliams]

be weary of Clist deals. spin the axles a few times to make sure they aren't empty and don't bind:)

for quick easy comparison and to check if its a potential 'easy bolt in' for your rig measure your current axles. Lift your truck, lose the wheels and measure wheel mounting surface to wheel mounting surface, then measure spring perch to WMS. these will be good tell-tale measurements to have on hand when you check out the axles.

[Conny8412]

Hoping to go monday to look at them. Price actually went down to $600 which seems like a good deal for the set in the kind of condition the pics show. I guess another question would be if it was worth it to wait around to find another set come up with a 14b full floater and a dana 60 as opposed to the dana 44 in this set? How different are the 2? Thanks again guys! heres the craigslist ad details from the one im interested in now:

"here is a set of 3/4 ton axles, they are a match set with 410 gears, 14 bolt full floater and a dana 44 front, i have put alot of money in these and they are ready to drop in, the list of things include new seals at the pinions, new rotors on the front (never used), new ball joints both sides, bearings packed and ready, and the rear i did a convertion to disc brake on the rear which cost several hundred for the kit, they have been painted and a new crome cover on the rear one."

[fitz]

Keep in mind that most
Of the rear disc brake kits don't have an emergency brake set up on them.

[Engineer]

The D60 front is WAY more preferred. Bigger R+P, king pin knuckles, larger/thicker axle housing, larger wheel bearings, etc.

If you are building a 1/2 ton, try finding a 14bolt FF out of a 3/4 ton. The 3/4 ton has the same spring perch spacing as your 1/2 ton. Any 14-bolt FF that comes with a D60 front out of a 1-ton as a set will need to have the spring perches widened to work on your 1/2 ton.

[jfrits98]

http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/14b_bible/

Check out the link above on 14 bolt axles.


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[jfrits98]

https://roundforge.com/content/article/A2WJF75B/14-bolt-axles-the-difference-between-srw-drw-and-cc/

And not to be a smart ass or anything but 14 bolts did come in 1-tons. I have one in my 86 1/2 ton. Also the link above is more info on 14 bolts (specs, hubs, etc)


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