14 Bolt axles in Land Cruisers

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I've never had the two side by side, so I don't know directly, just going off of what PPFJ60 said.

With a FF rear axle however, can't the axle shafts handle more torque before snapping because they are not supporting the weight of the vehicle?

In the weight range we are talking a bout in a 60, not really. You basicaly have to bind the axle shaft against the wheel bearings before the FF SF strength differences come into play.

If you have 7,000 lbs on the rear axle, yeppers..
 
I was with PPFJ60 when he broke that axle, and I have to tell ya... I was ready to take up a collection to get rid of that damn C clip axle after trying everything to get that broken b@stard apart. It came up that we might have to torch out the Aussie locker just to get the long side shaft out! stupid C clips. 14 bolt stronger or not, It has to be a better design than that damn 60 axle. I have never heard of anyone breaking a 14 bolt. Chuck, Go with your bad self! glad you got a better axle!!!
 
The Colorado Land Cruisers are going on a trail ride Sunday and while this may not be a hardcore trail we may be doing some snow bashing and I am wondering how the FJ60 rear axle will hold up. The carrier has taken a beating on the passenger side where two axle shafts have exploded. Takes some of the fun out of the trail ride if I know I have to take it easy before we even go.
 
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Here are some picture of the 14 bolt.

i really like the concept of swaping the short and long sides of the axle so you can get an offset chunk but i was wondering if you could have gotten the tubes out of the centersection somehow and then pressed them back in on the opposite sides instead of cutting and welding them?
 
i really like the concept of swaping the short and long sides of the axle so you can get an offset chunk but i was wondering if you could have gotten the tubes out of the centersection somehow and then pressed them back in on the opposite sides instead of cutting and welding them?

That's really hard to do...
 
what's holding them in there? i know i've heard of people spinning the tubes on a 14bolt so i'm assuming they aren't welded to the centersection all the way around the tube? and i wasn't thinking this was something you could do in your garage, more along the lines of taking the housing to a axle shop that had a giant press or something...
 
what's holding them in there? i know i've heard of people spinning the tubes on a 14bolt so i'm assuming they aren't welded to the centersection all the way around the tube? and i wasn't thinking this was something you could do in your garage, more along the lines of taking the housing to a axle shop that had a giant press or something...

They aren't plug welded in there or anything?
 
They are plug welded.

The big press is certainly possible. However, You also have to remember that the the individual legs of the tubes are not just 6" longer than each other. The pinion on the 14 bolt is offset. Honestly, I do not know how much offset that would net you..

And, by the time you found someone with a big enough press to do the job AND cut out the plug welds, you are going to be spending money. And, if you are going to spend money to truly build a custom axle, start with something other than a 14 bolt. Their main appeal is that they are stupid strong for $50.00
 
:meh:Extreme 4x4 did a custom axle set out of 14 bolt units, custom d60 outers bla bla bla.....

They seemed to really like them once completed, not sure what the price tag would of been at completion.
 
Waggoner Machine shop (deceased) used to do 14 bolt front axles. Cool, but the 14 bolt center section leaves a lot to be desired with ground clearance.

The same dudes thought 44's were the smallest tires admissible.

If you are going to spend money, the new fabbed housings are the way to go. Stupid strong.
 
Update on the 14 bolt:

All parts are supposed to be on trucks heading for Colorado. Don't have confirmation from Ballistic Fab yet but I talked to them today. The shave kit is ready to ship but they said they couldn't get Yukon gears until Jan or Feb? They could get Nitro gears but not for two weeks. I called East Coast Gear Supply and they told me they had them in stock but needed to hurry because they only had 20 minutes to get it ready before the truck showed up. I have a UPS tracking number from them:cheers: to East Coast Gear Supply for getting an order and shipping it in 20 minutes.

I picked up the sleeves tonight from a local guy. The same guy said he could turn the ring gear since Ballistic Fab could get not the gears.

I hope to get some time on Saturday to work on the axle. I have some work to do around the house since we are getting some carpet installed on Tuesday.
 
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Called Ballistic Fab to cancel the R&P since they told me yesterday that it would be two weeks before they could get the Nitro R&P. Today they told me the R&P was on its way to Ballistic Fab and it will cost me 25% to cancel the order.

My first impressions of Ballistic Fab are not good!
 
Some better pictures of the chromoly axle shaft that I broke, this is exactly how it was when I pulled it out all I did was wipe it off and take pictures.
11-12-10 Busted short side Poly Perf axle 1.webp
11-12-10 Busted short side Poly Perf axle 2.webp
11-12-10 Busted short side Poly Perf axle 3.webp
 
Luke(Black95) is right about a broken axle shaft on a SF axle being a pain. It's the only trail brake that stopped me in my tracks. All other brakes I have been able to do a quick tail patch and drive home to fix it. The 14 bolt FF should fix that problem.
 
Called Ballistic Fab to cancel the R&P since they told me yesterday that it would be two weeks before they could get the Nitro R&P. Today they told me the R&P was on its way to Ballistic Fab and it will cost me 25% to cancel the order.

My first impressions of Ballistic Fab are not good!

Ballistic makes great products, but they are notorious for slow shipping...
 
Ballistic makes great products, but they are notorious for slow shipping...

Thats crazy cuz I just had to custom fit more of Ballistics snazzy bammer fitting steel AGAIN.

My local torchmate guy in town does nicer plate cut tabs/brackets than I have ever got from ballistic.

Just my .02
 
After lots of grinding and fitting the tube is welded back together.

I used 3" x 3" angle iron and clamps to hold the tube. Its rosette welded on both ends of the tube to the sleeve, trench welded the sleeve and tube and the went back and fill welded the rest of the groove. I slid a 6" x 1 1/2" tube thru the center fo the axle to make sure every thing was staying straight as I welded it.

Still waiting for the R&P which should be here tomorrow. I don't have a tracking numbers for the shave kit or the pinion adapter but they are supposed to be on the way as well.

After welding this last night I was drinking a beer and checking things out with a tape measure. It looks like once the shave kit is installed the 14 bolt will have about 3/4" better clearance than the stock FJ60 diff.
Welded_tube.webp
 
Diff shave kit, R&P and pinion adapter showed up today.

Good news is the diff shave kit is installed.

The bad news is the R&P I received is for a 10 bolt and not a 14 bolt.
Uncut.webp
bottom.webp
Done.webp
 

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