"Does anyone make a bolt on disc brake caliper or do I have to use weld on brackets?"

Caliper bracket? I used a ruffstuff bracket for single wheel on my second gen 14b and it worked great

"What wheel studs can I use that match my kingpin Chevy Dana 60?"

Mine were the same thread size and pitch as my older front d60

"Should I really worry about having the back of the hubs machined for rotors? I've heard that others run it as is with no problem."

Haven't hear this but doesn't mean some have to.

"Can I use the same rotors and calipers as the 1st gen 14 bolt disc conversions?"

This is what I did.

"Can I run the same gears, lockers, etc as the 1st gen axles?"

I broke a first gen housing and swapped everything into the new 2nd gen housing. Minus axle shafts.

"Does the 2nd gen use the same axle shafts as the first gen? Are they a direct swap?"

Mine were not. I'm running a van axle and my shafts were different lengths from one to the other. If I remember right the longer one was shorter and the shorter one was longer. Make sense? :homer:

Hope that helps.

 

Thanks! Do you mind sharing what year the donor vehicle was?

Also, just so I'm on the same page... you used the bolt-on 1st gen disc brake caliper bracket from Ruff Stuff?

Also, did your axle have the slide on drum brakes or the drums that are bolted behind the hub?

Thanks again!

 

No clue what year donor. Friend had it sitting in his floor.

Yes bolt on 1st gen disk brake brackets. The ones on his site listed for single rear wheel.

Can't remember on the drums as that's been a long time since I did the conversion.

 

I believe you can swap hubs with an older 14 and do the disc conversion.

 

Awesome, thanks. Can anyone confirm this?

 

TSM make bolt together brackets that should work for all 14 bolts. I've been running their brackets for years, well theirs were the only ones on the market besides weld on. At the time they were very pricey.

 

2nd Gen 14 Bolt Disc Brake Conversion - Parts List

So, after quite a bit of Internet research, I have finally pieced together a parts list that seems to work well for a 2nd Gen 14 bolt disc swap. I picked up most of my parts at Autozone and used their part numbers, but I also included the application so you can get the parts where ever you wish. My total below does not include taxes or shipping.

My 14 bolt is SRW from a 1995 Chevy 3/4 ton Suburban. I have heard that many of the 2nd gen 14 bolts do not have the back of the hub machined flat because the drums were slip over style on the outside. I verified that the back of my hubs were in fact machined, and I'm assuming that was to give a nice flat surface for the head of the wheel studs. Just FYI...

I'll add pics and more info as I find a little time. So far everything fits perfect, just need to burn in the brackets.

 

So, after quite a bit of Internet research, I have finally pieced together a parts list that seems to work well for a 2nd Gen 14 bolt disc swap. I picked up most of my parts at Autozone and used their part numbers, but I also included the application so you can get the parts where ever you wish. My total below does not include taxes or shipping.

My 14 bolt is SRW from a 1995 Chevy 3/4 ton Suburban. I have heard that many of the 2nd gen 14 bolts do not have the back of the hub machined flat because the drums were slip over style on the outside. I verified that the back of my hubs were in fact machined, and I'm assuming that was to give a nice flat surface for the head of the wheel studs. Just FYI...

I'll add pics and more info as I find a little time. So far everything fits perfect, just need to burn in the brackets.

did you slide the rotors on? or put them on the back of the hubs? and did your rotors hub center fit nicely or is it sloppy?

 

I seem to remember (this going back 15 years) that the 14bff with the slip-on drums had odd-ball spindles. By that I mean the journals were spaced closer. The hubs had to match the housing. Only 1-ton SRWs (truck or van) and Suburbans got it, 92-00ish range. A 3/4-ton pickup with 14bff (usually BBC or diesel) had the old backmounted drums.

 

So what is a gen ll 14bt? is it a 10.5 ff with diff. brakes or did they change something? I have 4 14bts and they look the same but for the brakes, mine are 77 srw,79 drw, 79 srw, 98 srw. what am I missing here?

 

AFIK the internals are mostly the same... same gears, etc. Seems the biggest difference is with the slip on drums (can't use standard old school disc swap brackets), and mine is also 65" WMS/WMS instead of 67". The 88+ seem to mostly have slip on drums rather than pressed behind hub. This accounts for the difference in brake clearance and the need for weld on disc brackets vs the standard bolt on brackets.

With that in mind, I've heard of a few that are odd ball with pressed drums, etc.

 

I have a 2nd gen 14b not sure of donor model or year but has the extra fins on the housing.
I used a dis brake conversion kit I got thru machinewave off here with some solid industries hubs. Come up really good.

 

Just curious what the price was on the kit? Did it come with studs? My parted together swap was right around $200 minus studs, and I'm not sure if those are usually included in a kit.

Thanks!

 

Swapped from a 1st gen van to a 2nd gen van everything swopped fine. Drums were on the back side of the hubs it was a 94 I believe after that they were narrower and slide over drum. The width was still 70" but the shafts were like an inch different.

 

Just a note on 1st vs. 2nd- I had a perfect 2nd gen in a project with factory 4.56 and a detroit. I sold that housing with the project that it fit and kept the carrier and pinion to swap into an earlier housing that I had.

I have since been fighting the worst noise and vibration immaginable once I let out of the throttle and unload the gears. I have been thinking that there is more to a "all 14b parts interchange" than meets the eye. Gear pattern looks good, acceptable backlash, new stradle bearing, and I even took the pinion assembly to DTS and had them set a new crush sleeve thinking I had an issue there.

If my pattern and backlash are good and the pinion and stradle are good, and the gears are quiet when loaded, what would make an absolute f'n racket once I let off at speeds greater than 30mph?

 

Months later and I'm still looking for help wih this.

 

Hows the pattern on the coast side of the gears? U-joint angles? Transmission/Tcase combo?

 

the 13x3.5" JB7 drum brakes are highly underrated. Might not be the BEST for a trail rig or crawler due to weight, and its certianly not 'go fast' light.

That said, pick up the porterfield carbon kevlar shoes (SHOE452 is #), run dually wheel cylinders (bolt in) and run your pressure a little higher in the rear.
So much braking surface.. Will stop anything.

 

I'm running a 14 out of a 93 model 1 ton Chevy sports van. Its 70" WMS and had the older style first gen brake configuration. I used the bolt on Ruff stuff bracket and the usual late 70's k20 parts. The spindle nuts are single nut per side with the small slide-in steel shim and snap ring. Common 9/16 wheel studs. Im pretty sure the tube diameter is larher than the 1st gen by about 1/4". If anyone is curious to know more about this particular model axle, let me know.

 

anyone have the exact final wms after this disk conversion? im trying to get close to 67" to match my 78 dana 44 hp hd