14 bolt info

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9" rear is tough but not 14b tough. the 9" stock housings are not all that beefy under a heavy truck. and u cant just bolt in a beefy detroit like the 14b. stock 9axleshafts arn't close to 14b strong

for the money the 14b strength cant be touched .

but a mildly built 40 on 35's would perhaps be better served with a 9".

But a mildly built 40, or 60 for that matter, is fine with a stock rear axle on 35's.:meh:
 
But a mildly built 40, or 60 for that matter, is fine with a stock rear axle on 35's.:meh:

I've gotten past 35's up to 38.5's, 39's and 40's (the latter being my current two sets of tires) - and can't see myself going back to 35's with a full bodied FJ40. The 14 bolt was one of only a handful of only affordable options to keep making it up and over the rocks and ledges I want to wheel. Note that even at that size - when aired down, I'm sitting at the same ride height as many folks with 35's.

Only way I'm going back down to 35's would be with a mini, or buggy - something light with a light drivetrain and axles - that can handle full rpm assualts and bounces off obstacles.
 
thanks for the link bustanutly and sputnik 40 my questions have been answerd . i am looking into 14 bolts because i see them in the wrecking yards near me all the time i just wasnt shure how hard it would be to narrow one down. thanks again guys apreciated greatly
 
either give me exact inside dimensions or a sample of your axle tube and i will turn a 8" sleeve out of 2 3/4 x 3/8 wall dom . for 70 bux shipped. if you send dimensions and it is wrong then you own it. piece of tube will guarantee it is exact. as i have found 3 diff sizes depending on the year. i can also turn the hubs to fit the 6 on 5.5 pattern for 150 ea. and the shafts for 40 ea plus shipping or the whole package for 400 plus shipping.
 
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either give me exact inside dimensions or a sample of your axle tube and i will turn a 8" sleeve out of 2 3/4 x 3/8 wall dom . for 70 bux shipped. if you send dimensions and it is wrong then you own it. piece of tube will guarantee it is exact. as i have found 3 diff sizes depending on the year. i can also turn the hubs to fit the 6 on 5.5 pattern for 140 ea. and the shafts for 40 ea plus shipping or the whole package for 400 plus shipping.

Smokin deal for a stupid strong, six lug, offset rear axle if you ask me.
 
I have 44s on a D60 rear that came factory with spindles large enough for 35 spline shafts and I just run a spool.

It was out of an old ford truck and cost me $50 and the spool cost me $50 too (new/second hand). Then I bought two shafts for it.

With disc brakes on it it weighs about as much as a pair of drums off of a 14BFF.

Just my opinion. Sounds like you boys are sold on the ol generals dragger.

Sometimes a $50 rear end performs like a $50 read end.

Sometimes a $50 rear can perfoem like a buggy rear end.

(ps, Hope you like 5.13s, thats as low as you got with a 14bff)
 
thanks for the link bustanutly and sputnik 40 my questions have been answerd . i am looking into 14 bolts because i see them in the wrecking yards near me all the time i just wasnt shure how hard it would be to narrow one down. thanks again guys apreciated greatly

Dana 60s in old fords and dodges are more common than 14bff.

Always a bunch on CL in my area for $100 or less.

Samme cost involved in narrowing one as a 14bff too.
 
Dana 60s in old fords and dodges are more common than 14bff.

Always a bunch on CL in my area for $100 or less.

Samme cost involved in narrowing one as a 14bff too.

and the r&p are way weaker.....you can't beat a 14bolt, and now that ballistic has come out with the shave kit the clearance thing really isn't an issue anymore
 
I have 44s on a D60 rear that came factory with spindles large enough for 35 spline shafts and I just run a spool.

It was out of an old ford truck and cost me $50 and the spool cost me $50 too (new/second hand). Then I bought two shafts for it.

With disc brakes on it it weighs about as much as a pair of drums off of a 14BFF.

Just my opinion. Sounds like you boys are sold on the ol generals dragger.

Sometimes a $50 rear end performs like a $50 read end.

Sometimes a $50 rear can perfoem like a buggy rear end.

(ps, Hope you like 5.13s, thats as low as you got with a 14bff)

D60 rears that have spindles big enough for 35 spline axles are not that common. If you have a solid set of years for them, please post them up. Cause I have pulled a ton of rear 60's apart and all of them needed to be machined to take a 35 spline shaft... machining them makes the spindles weaker and costs money. HD60's are the ony ones I have seen that will take a 35 spline axle without mods.

14 bolts are soooo easy to weld up... Just a bit of wire or a couple of sticks...

How much were those 35 spline shafts again???
To make your D60 even close to the strength of a 14 bolt, without any "friend" deals you probably have to dump ~ $600 into it if not more. Or am I missing something?

14 bolt drums are stupid heavy.. and that's why you replace them with disk brakes just like your D60.. Then you have a marvelous base for a grinder stand :)

I am missing what you are trying to say about the $50 rear ends...



(p.s. 5.13 is not the lowest gearset that you can put in a 14 bolt.)

Dana 60s in old fords and dodges are more common than 14bff.

Always a bunch on CL in my area for $100 or less.

Samme cost involved in narrowing one as a 14bff too.

And all of them will require new axle shafts at a cost (and probably machine work to make the axles fit). The cost to narrow a D60 is not the same as a 14 bolt. You can pick up 14 bolt short side axles all over the place for dirt cheap. Making a offset D60 as strong as a offset 14 bolt will cost at least $400 more (if you go cheap on the custom axle shafts). plus you will spend more on spare axles than you would on a 14 bolt. Utilizing stock components makes things a lot cheaper.

And, how much clearance do you actually get by using a D60 chunk instead of a 14 bolt center? Shaving a 14 bolt is very easy..
 
I was just saying I was ablr to put a 60 together for pretty cheap. If you are not able to find junk/deals like me then stick with cheap and easy.

Just saying a built 60 is a better choice than a built 14 bolt.

I didnt see any 14 bolts at KOH this year?

Enjoy the 14 bolts.:cheers:
 
How much were those 35 spline shafts again???
To make your D60 even close to the strength of a 14 bolt, without any "friend" deals you probably have to dump ~ $600 into it if not more. Or am I missing something?

Damn Im exhausted, This search took a heavy toll on me. I looked for about 40 seconds and found another one less than an hour from my house.

2 DANA 60's

edit (his price is a little higher than I like to pay, but shows that these 1.5 inch ready axles are out there and far from rare.)
 
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I was just saying I was ablr to put a 60 together for pretty cheap. If you are not able to find junk/deals like me then stick with cheap and easy.

Just saying a built 60 is a better choice than a built 14 bolt.

I didnt see any 14 bolts at KOH this year?

Enjoy the 14 bolts.:cheers:

So why is a 60 a better choice? Is it weight alone? Ground clearance?

Are you really comparing a KOH racer to one of the standard homebuilt rigs? That's like saying Rack and pinion rules for off road cause Trophy trucks use it.

D60HD's are not nearly as common as a 60 or a 14bolt. Can you find them, sure. Hell I found a D60HD DS drop front axle. And, as you pointed out. They are not the $50 D60's and still will require a couple of hundred dollars worth of upgraded axle shafts.

So, why are D60's better? You bagged on the 14bolt pretty hard. Why the hate?
 
You may as well forget it
So why is a 60 a better choice? Is it weight alone? Ground clearance?

Are you really comparing a KOH racer to one of the standard homebuilt rigs? That's like saying Rack and pinion rules for off road cause Trophy trucks use it.

D60HD's are not nearly as common as a 60 or a 14bolt. Can you find them, sure. Hell I found a D60HD DS drop front axle. And, as you pointed out. They are not the $50 D60's and still will require a couple of hundred dollars worth of upgraded axle shafts.

So, why are D60's better? You bagged on the 14bolt pretty hard. Why the hate?
 
So why is a 60 a better choice? Is it weight alone? Ground clearance?

Are you really comparing a KOH racer to one of the standard homebuilt rigs? That's like saying Rack and pinion rules for off road cause Trophy trucks use it.

D60HD's are not nearly as common as a 60 or a 14bolt. Can you find them, sure. **** I found a D60HD DS drop front axle. And, as you pointed out. They are not the $50 D60's and still will require a couple of hundred dollars worth of upgraded axle shafts.

So, why are D60's better? You bagged on the 14bolt pretty hard. Why the hate?

That trohpy truck statement is stretchin it. My rig is simular to a KOH type of rig, not a trophy truck.:doh: If hes building abudget minded somewhat normal rig (not a custom/hardcore) why is he asking for advice in the hardcore corner?

He asked this in the hardcore section, so I assumed he was after hardcore advice not justification to run a cheap heavy huge pig.

If you are a broke ass noob with a mud rig then a 14 bolt is fine.

No hate, just pointing out another option.

I dont want a huge diff with not many gear choices, that weighs over a 1/4 ton.
 
So why is a 60 a better choice? Is it weight alone? Ground clearance?

So, why are D60's better? You bagged on the 14bolt pretty hard. Why the hate?

You may as well forget it

do either of you run a 14bff? or are you just ragging on my opinion?

If you dont have a 14bff in your rig it was for a reason. Must be a different reason than mine.:cheers:

my three reasons are, weight, clearance, gear selection. JMO.
 
That trohpy truck statement is stretchin it. My rig is simular to a KOH type of rig, not a trophy truck.:doh: If hes building abudget minded somewhat normal rig (not a custom/hardcore) why is he asking for advice in the hardcore corner?

He asked this in the hardcore section, so I assumed he was after hardcore advice not justification to run a cheap heavy huge pig.

If you are a broke ass noob with a mud rig then a 14 bolt is fine.

No hate, just pointing out another option.

I dont want a huge diff with not many gear choices, that weighs over a 1/4 ton.

I'm missing why a budget rig can't be hardcore?

What's wrong with a broke ass rock wheeler with a 14 bolt? There was a s*** ton of them out at the hammers for KOH.


do either of you run a 14bff? or are you just ragging on my opinion?

If you dont have a 14bff in your rig it was for a reason. Must be a different reason than mine.:cheers:

my three reasons are, weight, clearance, gear selection. JMO.


Weight,
D60 with drums 480 Without ??
14 bolt with drums 550 without, 450
Drums on a 14 bolt are significantly heavier than a 60's drums are. So if you do a RDB conversion, you are looking at maybe a 50 lb difference between the two. And even less with the D60 HD's thicker axle tubes..

Clearance,
You can easily shave over 2" off of a 14 bolt without getting into the ring gear. More if you want to cut the ring gear. To tell you the truth, I do not know the exact difference between a mildly shaved 14 bolt and a D60. I would be amazed if it was more an a half inch tho..

Gear selection,
What gears do you want to run?
14 bolts go down to 5.38
The 60 does go to something like 7.71.
I suppose if you really want to run deep gears that is a important thing..

Lockers.
the 14 bolt does not have as great a supply of locker options. However, the Detroit is cheaper, and now that ARB is making a locker for the 14 bolt there are more options.


I really look at it this way, a 14 bolt is stupid cheap and strong. And yes, it is heavy and hangs down. However, a 60 is not that much better (weaker) and will cost more to get to the same strength.

Different strokes for different folks. But if you come on out swinging, please do not get annoyed when someone asks you Why they are only good as "boat anchors" or for "broke ass newbies in a mud truck".

Give people actual data that backs up your decision.
 
There was in fact a few 14 bolts running KOH. How many racers were running Mogs, Portal Teks, or those goofy Atomic axles. Sure a handful but not many.Most of the top finishers were running fabbed 9" housings. So where does that leave the ground clearance argument? I also don't think there were many running gears deeper than 5.38 as a 5.89, 6.17, or a 7.17 don't really help a rig hit 70 plus (except maybe that one with the 46" Claws)
A 14 bolt that came with 1.5" shafts can be found at just about any junk yard across the country. They've been in trucks since the mid 70s and were still being used in pretty much the same configuration up until a couple of years ago. They are great for building an offset diff using just factory parts (like many hot rodders have done with the 9") since the passenger side is roughly 6" longer than the driver.

Finding a 60 that will accept 1.5" shafts (after you buy them) in a junk yard is in fact a rarity. 14 bolts are cheap to buy and cheap to build. To get the axle strength of a 14 bolt in a 60 you are easily dropping a few hundred bucks and even at that you will still have a weaker ring and pinion.

I've run many 14 bolts with tires ranging from 33s up to 44s. Shaved them all and drug them all. And? I've drug my fair share of 60s too. Same tire range with the same results. So what's the point????

So at any rate this thread has gone way off topic but within my rant :lol: I did attempt to answer the OPs questions.
 
TURNMEOVER that is a hell of a deal!!! im going to try and grab a 14 bolt in the next month i hope, and i will defenetly cut a piece of the tube and send it to you for the sleeve. it may take me a few weeks to save for but i will try and do your package deal. i just want to cut 6 inches out of the long side and run 2 short axle shafts and keeping my six lug wheels would be really awsome.
 

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