I went looking for a set of pinion bearings for my 78ish 14b on Saturday morning. Went to the dealership, but they don't list parts for anything older than 79. No big deal, look up a 79 instead. Okay, they list the parts for a 79, but they're all shown as discontinued.

Every time I have ordered parts for a 14, they want to know what year it is, because sometime around 88, they "changed". Does anybody know what the differences are, and what part numbers carry through to all model years?

I'd like to be able to pick up parts for this diff in a pinch... and if I can tell them it's a 98 and get what I need...

i think around 84 or 85 they changed the design of one of the pinion bearings, some of the newer style cases have more casting ribs on em to, i`m trying to think of any other changes a FF 14 bolt went through but its 9am and i haven`t slept yet :confused:

They did change in the mid 80's. The 3rd pinion bearing (pilot bearing) was a different size. I believe it was smaller OD than the old version but the ID was still the same so the gears and the rest of the bearings as well as seals and crush sleeve are all the same. Why bother with GM? There are lots of good aftermarket bearing kits out there and most distributors should have the proper breakdown and year to select from.

No joke, wouldnt it be cheaper to buy another 14b rather than mess with replacing bearings, they add up you know.

Originally posted by Rocky
They did change in the mid 80's. The 3rd pinion bearing (pilot bearing) was a different size. I believe it was smaller OD than the old version but the ID was still the same so the gears and the rest of the bearings as well as seals and crush sleeve are all the same. Why bother with GM? There are lots of good aftermarket bearing kits out there and most distributors should have the proper breakdown and year to select from.

I found this thread last night while searching for something else:

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=134933

Some more conflicting information there.

No worries about getting parts -- they should be here tomorrow. But I wanted to get it done on Saturday, and couldn't find the parts I needed. In the future, it would be nice to know WTF the differences are between the model years.

JeepMangled -- LMAO, you make it sound like 14s are a dime a dozen. ;) I got lucky on what I paid for this one, then I got stupid and fawked it up. Have a browse through the FS boards -- people think 14s are worth $250+ all of a sudden. Junkyards around here want $600 for one. $85 in new pinion bearings (sleeve, nut, seal, etc) is cheap compared to that... especially for a 25yo axle.

Originally posted by sclemons
Junkyards around here want $600 for one. $85 in new pinion bearings (sleeve, nut, seal, etc) is cheap compared to that... especially for a 25yo axle.

amen to that brotha. you talking about capital truck salvage? thats the only place around raleigh id found one, and i swear the guy there thinks his axles are all made of gold.

i got a junk 14bolt off ebay for like $50 and put about $200 worth of bearings and brakes on it, and still came out way ahead of the going price in this area.

gotta move to the west coast, everyone out there makes it sound like there are stacks of them on the street corners with signs saying take one.

That's the guy. I told him what I paid for mine, and he about fell out of his chair.

I know a couple of "nearby" places to get good stuff cheap, but none of them are in Raleigh, and few are in NC. Capital Truck is good for lots of odd and end stuff, just don't expect to get big parts cheap.