I've ordered my front 60 (thanks Rick) and it comes with a 14 rear as a bonus.

I'm at a dilemma, I'd run the 14 since I've already got it but some are telling me to run a rear 60. I'm confused. So......

I'll spend the same money gearing and locking and disc braking either a 60 or a 14 bolt. The 14 bolt is obviously stronger than the 60. How much bigger is the 14 over the 60? Can I shave the 14 to be equal or less than a 60. And I know I can shave a 60 to be equal or less than a 44.

It seems to me that other than some loss of ground clearance it's a no brainer to run a 14, but then again if I knew that for sure I wouldn't be asking that question here. So between a 60 and a 14 which is best and which would you run. And how much bigger (really) is the 14 over the 60? And finally how much can I shave off the 14.

Dang I didn't think it was that difficult of a question. I'm just looking for opinions and I can't believe people on this board aren't into sharing their opinion.
:beer:

Go with the 14 bolt. The pinion is MUCH strong due to three bearings. Also, to setup the ring gear is very easy. No shims just threaded ends. Simple and strong. You can't go wrong.

I just tossed my 60 for a 14bolt. I actually had a d61 and traded it at the junk yard for the 14bolt. Looking at the shafts I am glad I did because the 30sp. 61 shafts were half the size of the 14 bolt shafts literaly. the 61 shafts were even small than my 28 sp. shafts off a 9in. Like Curtis said the pinion bearings are bad ass on the 14bolt. I just shaved the housing yesterday and should have more clearence than a 60. Keep it and use it for the extra security it will give you.

Dana 60=12 broken axles(2 in one day) 14 bolt=1 broken axle You pick.Put the 14 bolt in and forget about it.:smokin: :smokin:

Actually that is a tricky decision. Lockers for a 14 bolt are cheap. I think a Detroit ran me about $300. But it DOES catch everything. The pumpkin hangs down below the drums. I don't know how in the hell they ran these monsters in stock rigs. They are basically unbreakable. Everytime I pull one of the shafts I can't help laughing hysterically at the sheer size of a factory part. I think it was the boys over at ORD that shaved a 14 bolt. Looked OK. At least it is one part on your truck that you will know didn't break when you hear that dreaded bang.

go with the 14bolt. everyone says 60 but the 14 is stronger and the detroit is cheap. they are eay to set up the gears and spare parts ( if you need them) are easy to find. the 14bolt gets a bad rap because of it's clearance issues. just take a grinder to the bottom lip in it and take off as much as possible. i did my rear 14 and the same to my front 60 and the shaved 14 hangs down less than 1/2" more than my shaved 60. the ridge on the bottom of the 14 has alot of material that can come off. just my op. :D

Sweet! Everyone is seeming to say the same thing. The 14 *IS* stronger and argueably a better design than the 60. And the 14 can be shaved a bunch making it at least the same as a stock 60 and close enough to a shaved 60. Very cool indeed.

I have to agree that the 14 being as big as it is, how the heck did anyone drive them with stock tires and wheels and not get hung up on curbs and speed bumps.

Thanks everyone.
:beer: :beer:

Now where did that link go for the disk brake conversion.....

I had this dilema too. I went with the D60 rear. But I am using Dana 70 shafts in it. I am drilling the D60 spindles to accept them, and got a 35spline spool on the way. Only way I would change my mind now is if I found a rear 14bolt that is 63-65" wms-wms(I am going to the local salvage yards to take one last look). Plus, whats the lowest ratio you can run in a 14bolt? Is it 5.13 or 5.38. I already have 5.38's in the front D60. I say stick with the 14bolt if you dont want to spend anymore $$ for a D60. Yes, detroit is cheaper for the 14bolt, the spool is cheaper for the D60, BUT you can only run the D60 spool with 35spline shafts, not the stock 30. Another option I considered was running the D60's 30 spline shafts with a Detroit$$, and carrying 30spline spares as I can get them for almost nothing. And then hope that if I did break a rear shaft it wouldn't take out the Detroit with it, but there is no guarentee there. Good luck.

Yeah, I forgot about that. 5.13's are the lowest gearset for the 14 bolt. But, hey, You could run 4.11's, be way under geared, and smack that sob into rocks all day long without concern. Just make sure you grind the cover off up above the lip line. Opens up like a suop can on the first sharp rock.

5.13, Is ok. The plan is for 5.13 with ARB's The 5.13's should help on the highway. I've got dual Marlin Crawlers 4.0 and 4.7 so I think the low gears are covered. I plan on some serious shaving.

What do you guys think about these?
http://www.avalancheengr.com/rockrings/imga0002.jpg

Got the idea gtom Co5K's site.

Seems a little spendy for what they are but then again, I doubt I can build them for much less. Anyone got comparable items for less? Or anyone made up some plans? I see the sad part od DIY is the waste from the plate after you cut out the outside ring and you can't use it to create anything else of the Rock Ring. Then you need bar stock to make the ring gear protector.

Hope u guys r right, just got a 14 bolt out of a military CUC-V today with 4.56s and a Detroit for 380$. Im having Moser semi-floating shafts and 1/2 ton brakes put on it at Sunray to match front D44 lug pattern and in the GREAT interest of weight savings, also to match front width.

Cheap, huh? Got a line on any? Ducky and I wanna throw some under his Chev on 44's. Make it the real deal instead of the Saturday night cruiser.

Originally posted by Ricktard
...Only way I would change my mind now is if I found a rear 14bolt that is 63-65" wms-wms(I am going to the local salvage yards to take one last look.

I'm not positive about this (pretty sure, though), but I think some dually chassis cabs came with 14 bolts in the 64-65" range. The pickup duallys were wider, though. Look for box vans, ambulances, service trucks, etc.

Pete

Originally posted by pcorssmit


I'm not positive about this (pretty sure, though), but I think some dually chassis cabs came with 14 bolts in the 64-65" range. The pickup duallys were wider, though. Look for box vans, ambulances, service trucks, etc.

Pete

the cab and chassis dually 14's are between 62 and 63" wide.

jslamerman, i don't know if this is what width you are having sunray narrow your 14bolt to but i bet you could find a cab and chassis dually alot cheaper than what they'll charge to narrow yours. plus if you need a spare shaft the cab and chassis version uses the same shafts as the standard version because the width difference is made up in the wheel hub.

You think I should change the outers on my D44 to match?? I have a set of 35s I was gonna run with alloy 15x10s that are on the 83 (its gettin a set of black rockcrawlers and half worn 33s I have and getting sold!), and they are 6 luggers. I would have to buy new tires and rims, and I would really like to keep a tire with a bead (will a 16" rim fit over those MASSIVE brakes???). This all needs to be cost effective, as I am still in the f$##$@n Navy. My front measures at 64.5 WMS to WMS if Tom measured right. I got this thing in the back of the truck, email me with some HELP!!! (either jslamerman@yahoo or toyx4jay@hotmail).:confused: :confused: :confused:

You know, if I changed my outers to 3/4 ton stuff its gonna add 2-3 in overall width making it 66.5 to 67.5, messing sh##$@t up! I wouldn't even have to narrow the back at all (I don't think, have to measure), but I still have those BRAKES, I really want to get rid of them, cost effectively. I have been readin the posts on disk brake conversions, but its very vague, doesn't seem cheap, and leaves me with no, or almost no parking brake, as I am using a NP208 transfer case, and Tom swears by them, and he knows jeeps.

They make a cheap 15x10 wheel with only one backspacing measurement that has an 8-lug bolt pattern. It fits over the 14 bolt and fits on the front with a little bit of grinding on the calipers. No big deal. This simplifies things a lot.

What are the wheel measurements?? Is it purely backspacing?? Who makes this wheel??

I don't know who makes it. It is just your basic white wagon wheel. The 15 inch 8-lug only comes in one width and one offset. They run like 30 bones each or something close to that. The offset isn't bad at all, its probably near center or close to 4 inches or so.

Summit racing has those rims. I don't remember how much I paid but it was like $38 or so and they have 4.124 backspacing. They also have expensive ones that are like $75 that have 3.5 backspacing. You gotta call cuz they aren't in the catalog and the website sucks. Later

Your standard steelies 15X8 or 15x10 come 3.5" bs in 8lug. Im about to get a set of 15X8's to get Rockstomper converted beadlocks. My budy runs 15X10 MRTS 3.5bs. on his 14 bolt rear D60 front, rears work fine with those huge ass drums, we both ground our front D60 calipers to work with 15" wheels. Probably not the best way, but neither of our rigs are daily driven. Plus not that mutch material comes off anyway. BTW, American Racing was the company I was refering to. the 15X8's were like $28 each.

i think the summit rims with the 4+" of bs is a us wheel. i run black rockcrawlers and they have 3.5" of back spacing. the summit white spokes are cheaper if the 4+" of backspacing is where you want to be. black sparay paint is cheap if the white isn't for you. :D

Now that you mention it they are US wheel. I don't know what the 3.5 bs ones are but the front rims still fit ok (at least on my 3/4 ton D44) if you grind some off even with 4.125 bs.