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1-ton fat ass

57K views 78 replies 23 participants last post by  454_LPG 
#1 ·
Finally got step one of building my extra wide fat-ass rear end complete...... finding the right rear end. I've been looking for a 72" wide 14b for about a year now, and finally located one earlier this week. I had to drive about 60 miles one way to the JY that had it, and then had to pay way too much for it. They originally told me $550, but when I got there, they only charged me $500. :shaking:

I know, I know.... it's way too much for a 14b, but seeing as how this is the only 72" 14b I've been able to locate in almost a year, I decided to go ahead and buy it.

Now, I need to get on with cutting all the brackets off, stripping the drums/backing plates off of it, swapping hubs, installing discs and shaving it.
 

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#3 · (Edited)
The Fleckster said:
so retubing one of the $50 junkyard specials would have cost more than $500 and gas money:eek: :flipoff2:
Gas? what's that?

And yes.... by the time I bought an alignment jig, new longer axle shafts, 3.5 x 0.5 wall tubing, etc., etc. necessary to lengthen the tubes.... I'd have well over $500 in it.
 
#4 ·
Actually I'd have to agree with John. Atleast around here I could have probably had the housing build (I would love to buy my own jig, but easier and cheaper to have one built) with a D60 center and 14B outers and Yukon cut-to-fit shafts for close and probably under 500 bones. Then I would have more gear options and more locker options.


But hey, you got what you wanted so :beer: to you.

How wide you planning on going???? I'm actually cutting my D60 down... shooting for 80" give or take over all. Atleast over here its one of the best comprimise widths, and would only be 5" wider than I am now.
 
#5 ·
RustoleumWhite said:
...Atleast around here ...
Ahh... the key words in your post. "Around here" there isn't anybody that will do custom axle work. So, if you figure shipping into it (or buying a jig instead), it aint gonna happen for $500. Besides, if I wanted a D60, I would have bought a D60. I wanted a 14b for it's beef and brawn.
 
#7 ·
Mechanos said:
Ahh... the key words in your post. "Around here" there isn't anybody that will do custom axle work. So, if you figure shipping into it (or buying a jig instead), it aint gonna happen for $500. Besides, if I wanted a D60, I would have bought a D60. I wanted a 14b for it's beef and brawn.
I agree with you. Sometimes its worth it to just spend a little extra for what you want instead of fiddle fucking around with it.

Plus I like how much easier they are to set up than a Dana axle.
 
#9 ·
The Fleckster said:
oh you wanted beef......
Mark he should have gotten the $25 Dana 70 then:laughing:
Hey isn't Waggoneer Machine shop near there??
Considered the 70, but the hubs stick out a mile and half past the wheel mount surface.... don't want the rock fodder either. If I wanted the D70, I would have bought a D70.... but around here they're more like $150... if you pull it yourself.

Wagoner Machine Shop was in Oklahoma (about 5 to 6 hour drive from me) but seeing how they don't exist anymore........

Chi... I already have 'em. In fact, I have a complete 67" SRW 14b so now I will have a 63" 14b to unload here in a little while.
 
#12 ·
I don't know where you guys get any rearends for less than a couple hundred bucks. I have yet to find a junkyard around here that will do that, so if you want a good deal you have to buy it from some individual. If you consider your time and gas driving around worth anything, your good deal dosen't allways end up being too great.
 
#13 ·
corncrasher said:
...If you consider your time and gas driving around worth anything, your good deal dosen't allways end up being too great.
Especially if you have to get the rear end from Pick-n-Pull. You have to pull it yourself and they won't allow any "hot" tools into the yard. That pretty much means muscling rusted u-bolt nuts off with hand tools and then lugging the bastard up to the counter and out to the truck. Nothing in the PnP around me has wheels left on it, so simply rolling it out isn't an option. Doing all of this at this time of the year in my area means you're working in 95° heat with 90% humidity. Sure was nice to drive up the shop in an A/C'd rig and have a forklift plop that already pulled, heavy bastard in the bed for me.
 
#14 ·
The PNP here will let a power tank into the yard, some guy last tue was running one.
P.S. I looked at the PNP here and there were no dually 14 bolts of the years you were looking for. Your not suprized!
The real question is are you going to post your drawings of that linked front suspension for everyone to see:D
 
#15 ·
R290 said:
The PNP here will let a power tank into the yard, some guy last tue was running one.
P.S. I looked at the PNP here and there were no dually 14 bolts of the years you were looking for. Your not suprized!
The real question is are you going to post your drawings of that linked front suspension for everyone to see:D
Yeah, a power tank here is ok as well..... I just don't have one. I use a York for OBA on the trail rig. They'll let you run an impact or air chisel, but they consider a cutoff wheel a "hot" tool since it generates sparks that could set something on fire. I've seen a couple C&C type trucks here at PnP, but never have seen a dually pickup there.

Yeah, I'll post a drawing/pics.... when I draw one or have something to take a pic of. :flipoff2:
 
#16 ·
Powertank, BTDT and tossed the T shirt out. Maybe it would work for you cali guys, but with the way shit rusts here it was useless. I recently had to pull the leafs off of a 77 rustbucket F350. I have found that a planatery type 4 to 1(I think) torque multiplier is totally awsome. I got it off of ebay for a little over 100 bucks. After busting my balls pulling well over a dozen front 60's over the years I have tried lots of different methods. Short of a torch the torque multiplier totally kicks ass over everything else I have tried.
 
#17 ·
ChiScouter said:
Powertank, BTDT and tossed the T shirt out. Maybe it would work for you cali guys, but with the way shit rusts here it was useless. I recently had to pull the leafs off of a 77 rustbucket F350. I have found that a planatery type 4 to 1(I think) torque multiplier is totally awsome. I got it off of ebay for a little over 100 bucks. After busting my balls pulling well over a dozen front 60's over the years I have tried lots of different methods. Short of a torch the torque multiplier totally kicks ass over everything else I have tried.
Never tried the powertank here either since I don't have one... but our shit is usually all rusted up as well..... frickin' salt. One thing I haven't tried yet (but I was eyeballing one the other day at Home Depot) is a cordless sawzall. I've got several of the 18V Ridgid X2 tool line and was looking to add the recip saw to the collection. Never tried to cut a ubolt off with a sawzall before either so I don't how that would work out. I usually just reach for the blue-tip wrench.:flipoff2:
 
#18 ·
I have a Dewalt 18V sawzall that works pretty well. I carry it on trail rides for cutting dead-fall and clearing brush. :)

Cutting U-bolts with the saw can be a chore, but often a lot less than a wrench.

How about liquid nitrogen? Freeze the U-bolts and smack with a hammer. :p
 
#19 ·
Pulling D44's and other little stuff isn't too bad. I usually just put a breaker bar and a cheater pipe on it and tighten the nuts.... generally doesn't take much to twist the u-bolt off. D60's and 14b's have bigger u-bolts that can be somewhat of a chore to twist off unless they're "necked-down" due to rust. I'd like to try the liquid nitrogen thing sometime, but something tells me that it won't be happening anytime soon. :p
 
#20 · (Edited)
Build your own next time.

$50 --D70
$100 -Turned Sleeve -
$225 -Custom Alloy Shafts
$100 -Wheel spacers
$475 -Total







And no I did use pucks to align the axle, I used the axle shafts, to make sure it was centered in the housing, I also welded in short 1" sections alternating sides.
 
#21 ·
P'N'P Shenanagens...

Mechanos said:
Never tried the powertank here either since I don't have one... but our shit is usually all rusted up as well..... frickin' salt. One thing I haven't tried yet (but I was eyeballing one the other day at Home Depot) is a cordless sawzall. I've got several of the 18V Ridgid X2 tool line and was looking to add the recip saw to the collection. Never tried to cut a ubolt off with a sawzall before either so I don't how that would work out. I usually just reach for the blue-tip wrench.:flipoff2:
I've never had any luck cutting ubolts with a sawzall. That's just about the only thing that's stymied the Mighty Milwaukee! The damn u-bolts eat too many blades. Spring perches and spring bolts seem to be made of softer stuff, as they've fallen to the Sawzall. That'd mean you'd have to pay for springs though.

Too bad P'N'P doesn't allow cutoff tools or angle grinders. Those are my prefered method of destruction for the bigger U-Bolts. When I've pulled 14Bolts in P'N'P I've resorted to the breaker bar+cheater+PB Blaster+hernia method. It's worked so far. Now if your P'N'P has the trucks far enough from the office (out of earshot) you might be able to get away with a powertank and a 3" cutoff wheel. I can stash my cutoff tool in my jacket...

I've had some close calls with trucks shifting on those crappy welded wheel things P'N'P uses as jack stands. Ever watch the 'undocumented workers' place vehicles on those things? The Cherokee Chief I took a rear axle out of had the 'jackstand' under the R/R quarter behind the wheel well. That's a flimsy piece of sheet metal to support a 5K pound rig. Actualy, the tailpipe was sandwiched between the 'jackstand' and the quarter!!! Pulling on a cheater puts a LOT of force on a vehicle, especialy one that's not supported very well. Twice I've had trucks try to jump my ass durring this opperation. Once was the Chief and the other was a 3/4 ton Chevy that didn't want to give up its 14Bolt. That'll get you moving quick! :eek:

The P'N'Ps around here have strong wheelbarrows and huge rolling A-Frame engine hoists that you can use for free. When I pull an axle I use muscle, a rope, and a wratchet strap to drag the bastard out from under the rig. If it's a D44 I usualy just muscle it onto my wheelbarrow (that I always use to carry my tools+whatever parts I pull). If it's something bigger/heavier I use one of the hoists to transport the pig. Always bring a length of chain and some grade-8 bolts to sling your prize to the hoist.

Of course that means you either have to have someone with you to gaurd the axle while you get the hoist (especialy if you're one of the lucky bastards that's gotten a D60 front a P'N'P) or you have to SCOOT back to the entrance, stash your tool filled wheelbarrow in a corner (hoping some fawk doesn't swipe it), then HUSTLE back to your axle with a hoist before someone else lays claim to it.

So far I've been lucky. When I pulled my 14Bolt I had a helper. I usualy am at P'N'P by myself. If I stumble on a D60 front in Windsor I'm calling friends with my cell phone. If that doesn't work my wife and/or dad are gonna get a call to come babysit a D60. I'm NOT walking away from that sucker!!! Hell, even if I'm in Sac or Stocton I'm calling somebody. Beer and dinner is cheaper than paying market rate for a D60 Front! :flipoff2:
 
#22 · (Edited)
I know that is kind of a "hot tool" but usually the guy checking tools doesn't notice it, but belive it or not I take my 18 volt Porter Cable cordless with 2 etxra batterys in with a aubor and small cut off wheel. Take a few discs with you. Put the drill in high speed mode and go for it. It actually works pretty damn good. Obviously not as fast as a torch but a hell of a lot easier than busted knuckles and cheater bars. Take a BFH and usually you can snap the ubolt when you are about half way through. Give it a shot sometime.
 
#23 ·
jdjanda said:
Build your own next time.
$50 --D70
$100 -Turned Sleeve -
$225 -Custom Alloy Shafts
$100 -Wheel spacers
$475 -Total
A question and a comment..... first the question: wtf? Why do you need wheel spacers if you're cutting the tubes to modify the width?

A total of $475.... I spent $500 and all I have to do is swap hubs to get the width I want. I couldn't justify the amount of work you put into that axle to save myself $25.
 
#25 ·
Mechanos said:
A question and a comment..... first the question: wtf? Why do you need wheel spacers if you're cutting the tubes to modify the width?

A total of $475.... I spent $500 and all I have to do is swap hubs to get the width I want. I couldn't justify the amount of work you put into that axle to save myself $25.
It wasn't about the $25. First I wanted to see if I could do it since the axle was a $50 throw away, second I had all the crap except for the axles and third I had no luck finding a van width 70 or 14 bolt let alone the SWF hubs.

I also did not want the hubs sticking out past the tire with the hummer wheels. And I can always remove the spacers for a 70" wide axle.
 
#26 · (Edited)
aahhh that makes sense. That is why I went with the wide 14b... I didn't want the hubs sticking out a mile and I do not like wheel spacers. Swap on some SRW hubs and it's 76" wide with minimal hub stick out. I plan on running the DRW D60F as is at 77" wide. That should put me at about 85" to 86" or so overall width.
 
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