My 14b SF with Discs Install

[Mike]

Note: The contents have been copied to my tech site.

This thread is to keep anyone who cares posted on whats involved in swapping in this or any model axle into our trucks. I will also probably do a disc brake conversion and I will detail that.

I blew my 10 bolt a couple weeks after I finished my cognito. Luckily I bought a 14b 6 lug out of a junkyard truck earlier this summer. It was in non-running shape. I finally took it apart this weekend.

This is what I found:
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In this picture you can see the gears inside the carrier have fallen out of their proper locations.

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At the top of the housing next to the ring gear you can see a sticky mess of washers and thick grease that were flung and stuck there.

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More of the same...

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Here is the housing minus drums.

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Broken parts.

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Most of the diff survived.

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Damage to the carrier.


This week I'm going to work on cleaning up the housing (POR15) and getting parts together.

Thats it for now.

 

[Mike]

Did some more work today. I purchased some cheap (60 cent) paint brushes and a $16 wire wheel. I wire wheeled the whole axle and used marine clean and metal ready from POR labs. I let the axle dry and wiped it down with paper towels. I applied a thick coat of POR15 on everything.

I also took some measurements:
50" from outer side of one perch to outer side of the opposite perch
64" overall

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After some clean up.

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Found a Transgo sticker on the diff cover - it was hidden under grime.

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Wire wheel.

What diff are you bidding on on ebay?

I think I'm just going to leave it open for now.

 

[Mike]

Today (FINALLY!!!) I ordered from Randy's R+P:

• 4.56 Yukon gears $249
• Yukon "Master Overhaul" kit $153
• spider gear kit $135
• axle bearings $75
• shipping $30

4.88s are out of stock everywhere and have been for quite a while so I was pretty much stuck with choosing 4.56s. I think they will be fine as Derek runs them with my exact tires and has no complaints.

Be sure to look above and see the POR application if you missed it last time around, I think it looks really good. It is a really bright shiny black like a ceramic coating almost.

 

[Mike]

Tonight I ordered from Black Widow Performance:

• 14SF Disc Brake Kit $140
• 36" Stainless Steel Brake Lines $120
• Shipping $37

Thanks for the list Brad!

 

[Mike]

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Still waiting on disc brake conversion kit, I'm ready to go otherwise. Kit should be here in the next few days.

10 bolt versus 14 SF:

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more at http://tharf.com/images/14bolt/11-12/

 

[Mike]

Well its done and works great. The new brakes provide less resistance on the pedal but have better feel and definitely stop better. I didn't take any before/after measurements of stopping distance but I can easily tell that even with the brakes pressed half way my beast hustles down to a stop much quicker than before and with little fanfare.

(click any image for the larger version)

This is the kit, rotors, calipers, pads and lines:

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The brake parts were all off the shelf at NAPA. The rotors are from an 89 k1500 regular cab long bed (12"). The calipers and pads are for a 76 k20 front axle (Dana 44). I invested about $220 in brake parts. The stainless steel braided lines and caliper mounts came from Black Widow Performance (BWP).

The problem with the 14 bolt semi floaters is that they moved the axle flange a bunch of times and BWP wasn't sure where it would be. They included a spacer which they thought might have been the right thickness but offered "if you find that it is the wrong size, call me up and I will have one made for you immediately. However if you need a spacer for more than one inch then you should use the weld on brackets."

In this picture of the kit mocked up, you can see that the spacer they included was nowhere near the thickness needed.

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In the company's defense. that spacer was most likely designed for the other potential way of setting up the brake rotor. I had two options; I could use the rotor from a 76 k10 front and mount it to the back of the wheel mounting plate by pressing the studs out and then pressing them back in behind the rotor or I could get the rotor from the 89 and possibly have to lathe the wheel mounting plate down a little. I got the 89 rotor and it slipped on with no problems so it seems I lucked out. However the large gap now meant I had to use their included weld-on flange instead of a spacer.

After playing with the new flange and bracket I determined that the best way I could mount the kit with the grade 8 bolts they included is to include the spacer as well. I put everything together a final time, slid in the axle shaft, put in my C-clips and filled the differential with oil.

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The only reason I mounted it sideways was so that the entire spiders were visible, as opposed to:

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I put everything in the car and headed to Brad's house (Green95Hoe).

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I forgot my camera but we bolted everything together and determined where we wanted the brackets. He used an arc welder at 110 amps. He welded both sides of the flanges.

Early morning the next day I had gotten as far as:

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Looks like disc brakes to me!

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As you can see in that picture I had to grind on the top of my calipers. They were rubbing the inside of my 15" rims. I didn't have to take much off, mostly slag from the casting process.

My only concern with the kit is the fact that it mounts the pads a little high so that they clear the rotor. There is about 1/4" of pad surface that will never be used.

Pad clearance of rotor - it doesn't rub even if it looks that way:

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Unused pad:

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This concerned me until I drove it and discovered that it still works great. One day I will get some money together and switch to 13" discs, which im almost positive will bolt right up and will be able to utilize the full pad.

Housing and stuff:

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My rear u-joint posed a problem. I have a weird size aluminum driveshaft and had a really hard time getting the proper joint for the 10 bolt. I purchased Precision joint #447 like I was told but it didn't fit. Just for fun I tried some unused caps I had laying around and they were a perfect fit. Maybe someone can chime in as to which is the proper joint I need.

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To quote Y2KSierra: "the spiders will definately scare off potential brake failure too." I sure hope so.

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Its working!!! I already took it wheeling locally a couple times and got it stuck. Damn I missed driving this thing.

All the pictures and some more can be found at: http://tharf.com/images/14bolt/11-22/

Questions, comments?

- NOTE THIS WAS WRITTEN YEARS AGO -

 

[SSierra]

awesome thanks for the write up. i plan on looking for one when i have some money hopefully by next week or the one after

 

[Greg]

nice write up for those without a 14 bolt. hehehe