14 Bolt Question

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OK, just wanted to make sure I'm not going crazy...

Its definitely a 14 bolt FF, I know because I've had it apart twice now, never had to replace the drums and still don't thankfully.

Anyone have insight on the two different styles?
 

great white

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OK, just wanted to make sure I'm not going crazy...

Its definitely a 14 bolt FF, I know because I've had it apart twice now, never had to replace the drums and still don't thankfully.

Anyone have insight on the two different styles?

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Yepper. That is definitely a full floating axle.

Changing drums is no biggie. Just press the studs out and press 'em back in. You even reuse the same studs 99% of the time.

Yours should be very close (if not identical) to mine, which is a 1998 K2500 8600 GVWR truck....
 

Ruger_556

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Out of curiosity... Why are you wanting to change to disk brakes?
 

Ruger_556

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I'll guess to drop about 50-75 lbs off the rear end in the place it will do the most good?

Not exactly a huge difference on a 3/4 ton truck... Choice wheels and tires makes more of a difference
 

great white

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Not exactly a huge difference on a 3/4 ton truck... Choice wheels and tires makes more of a difference

Dropping 50-odd lbs off the rotating mass is like having one less steel rim installed.

So yeah, it's significant.

Most especially to acceleration and MPG.

Braking performance between rear discs/drums is pretty much moot, more so with an effective ABS or RABS.

A truck that spends significant time buried up to it's rockers in mud and such can benefit from discs, which are (for the most part) self cleaning.

Drums tend to fair better on a road vehicle in a corrosive environment (IE: salty roads, etc).

Drums make it much easier to incorporate a parking brake. Important if you have a manual transmission or annual vehicle inspections.

Vehicles that tow and make heavy use of their brakes can benefit from discs as they shed heat faster and are less susceptible to fade. They also recover faster from fade due to aforementioned better heat shedding. Yes, OTR trucks predominantly use drums. That's a whole different kettle o' fish.....

Whether or not it's worth the hassle and expense to switch from drums to discs on a regular use pickup is completely dependent on the individual owner.

Then there's the guys like me have already "optimized" wheel and tire selection and just can't leave well enough alone, although I'll likely leave the drums be as they fit well with 90-95% of my usage.

But there's always that little guy in the back of my brain whispering: "Dooooo Eeeeeeet, you know you want to".....

:)
 
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454ss

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Yepper. That is definitely a full floating axle.

Changing drums is no biggie. Just press the studs out and press 'em back in. You even reuse the same studs 99% of the time.

Yours should be very close (if not identical) to mine, which is a 1998 K2500 8600 GVWR truck....

being a 98, you shouldn't be having to do anything other than slide the drum off.
 

great white

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being a 98, you shouldn't be having to do anything other than slide the drum off.

Nope.

Shafts have to come out.

I've done it a couple times for both brake changes and leaking axle/hub seals.

I'm not saying everyone's is like mine, just that mine has the drum behind the hubs and not over them.

Just like the pics above.

:)
 
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454ss

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correct, I was talking about the hub/pressing studs
 
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correct, I was talking about the hub/pressing studs

Still have to... Luckily my drums are fine. My parking brake cable was sticking, right now I'm without a parking brake but wanted to pose the question about why the newer axles still have the press on drums.

Ya kno, curiosity killed the cat kinda thing. I do want to switch to discs in the future. Initially I was doing the research because I wasn't sure if I'd need new drums or not. Luckily I don't.

Because of the uncertainty about why these hubs are on newer trucks if I ever need to switch I will most likely find a new 14 bolt with the 11.5 ring gear.
 
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