14 bolt sf question

[JohnnyBarnett1981]

i have an opportunity to get a 98 chevy 4 door 4x4 tahoe and its in great shape but im going to have to trade in my 89 2500 4x4 for the down payment but i really want to keep the 6 lug 14 bolt rear end so my question is will it interchange? i know it will physically bolt up but the tahoe has the sway bar on the factory 10 bolt thats currently in it they both have the 373 ratio but is there anything different? will the drive shafts work on the both of them or will there be some shortening or lengthening on them?

 

[dirtridinz71]

There will be no need to modify the driveshaft. You will have to use a conversion u-joint or swap the pinion yokes. Other differnce is the brakes, some will recomend swaping the proporiton valve, I didnt but you will notice the rear brakes wanting to lock up every now and then. Cant help ya any on the sway bars.

 

[thohill]

i have an opportunity to get a 98 chevy 4 door 4x4 tahoe and its in great shape but im going to have to trade in my 89 2500 4x4 for the down payment but i really want to keep the 6 lug 14 bolt rear end so my question is will it interchange? i know it will physically bolt up but the tahoe has the sway bar on the factory 10 bolt thats currently in it they both have the 373 ratio but is there anything different? will the drive shafts work on the both of them or will there be some shortening or lengthening on them?

A word on the sway bar- It bolts onto some brackets that are welded onto the axle tube itself. So you will not be able to swap the sway bar over from the tahoe axle to the truck axle without welding a set of brackets onto the old truck axle that you are removing.

I hope that clears up the sway bar issue, otherwise this sounds like a pretty sweet deal.

 

[JohnnyBarnett1981]

thankyou guys for the info i just hate to let that good 14 bolt sf 6 lug go but he may also tell me that i cant do the swap if we trade if he doesnt let me trade i know where a good 8 lug sf is out of a 4x4 3/4 ton and ive heard that you can just swap the actual axles to make it a 6 lug..is this true? i just know its going to be hard to find another factory 4x4 6 lug however the 2wd 6 lugs are pretty plentiful around here but i also understand that they are 2 inches narrower than the 4x4 version

 

[JohnnyBarnett1981]

anyone?

 

[thohill]

You wont find a 2wd 6 lug truck, at least not in 1/2 ton. The 1/2 ton 2wd trucks all have 5 lug axles. But you can find 6 lug axles on any 1/2 ton 4x4. Not sure if the 8 lug to 6 lug axle swap will work, ive never tried it, but thats where to find the axles.

 

[Wagonbacker9]

i have an opportunity to get a 98 chevy 4 door 4x4 tahoe and its in great shape but im going to have to trade in my 89 2500 4x4 for the down payment but i really want to keep the 6 lug 14 bolt rear end so my question is will it interchange? i know it will physically bolt up but the tahoe has the sway bar on the factory 10 bolt thats currently in it they both have the 373 ratio but is there anything different? will the drive shafts work on the both of them or will there be some shortening or lengthening on them?

I recently did this swap on my blazer, and if you are lifted, you can leave the drive shaft, I wouldn't recommend it at stock height though. I put a 2" block in the back, and the yoke still rode a little further in, causing the seal on the t-case output to start leaking. The 14 bolt is longer from axle centerline to the yoke.

There will be no need to modify the driveshaft. You will have to use a conversion u-joint or swap the pinion yokes. Other differnce is the brakes, some will recomend swaping the proporiton valve, I didnt but you will notice the rear brakes wanting to lock up every now and then. Cant help ya any on the sway bars.

I did not need a conversion u-joint. My factory u-joint fit just fine. not sure if this is because I had a 6.5l, but my understanding was that there was no difference in the axle of a 6.5 vs anything else. As for the proportioning valve, this is ENTIRELY unnecessary and the difference in wheel cylender size is not significant, even if you do have the larger drums. I drove mine on snow after the swap and did not lock the rear once.

You wont find a 2wd 6 lug truck, at least not in 1/2 ton. The 1/2 ton 2wd trucks all have 5 lug axles. But you can find 6 lug axles on any 1/2 ton 4x4. Not sure if the 8 lug to 6 lug axle swap will work, ive never tried it, but thats where to find the axles.

The 2wd 6 lug he is referring to would be in a 3/4 LD truck, and they are narrower than the 4x4 version. They are the same as the vans if memory serves. 6 lug and 8 lug 9.5" 14 bolt axles are interchangable. Spline count and axle size are the same.

 

[dirtridinz71]

I did not need a conversion u-joint. My factory u-joint fit just fine. not sure if this is because I had a 6.5l, but my understanding was that there was no difference in the axle of a 6.5 vs anything else. As for the proportioning valve, this is ENTIRELY unnecessary and the difference in wheel cylender size is not significant, even if you do have the larger rotors. I drove mine on snow after the swap and did not lock the rear once.

I agree with the prop valve, I didnt swap mine either. It is on the very rare time that the rear tires will want to lock up, same as buddy's truck the did the same swap. Not sure why yours did not need a different u-joint, know mine and friends did, I swapped yokes he did conversion joint.

 

[MOBS]

14 bolt FF, dually fenders.....now you have a dually tahoe!!!



jk, but let's see pics of the tahoe if ya get it, and good luck with whatever you decide to do.

 

[JohnnyBarnett1981]

i had my wife upload a picture of it onto my profile because im computer illiterate and i dont know how to add it to my post lol so would an 8 lug 3/4 ton 2wd axle be the same width as the 6 bolt 4x4 version? im just trying to see what all my options are