Topic: 14 bolt ??????

[Rocksnail]

Are 14 bolt rear ends out of new chevy trucks any good? i found  one out of a 2001 with disc brakes . are these as good as the older ones? pros cons? thanks

[dniel]

These are pretty much the same as older 14bolts. They take the same gears and lockers as the old model. I'm not sure about the bearings just get whatever is listed as correct.  They have built in e-breaks which are very nice. The best part is they have the old 8 lug pattern when many newer disk break axles have gone to metric. Mine seems to be heavier than my old 14b and I think it is because it has thicker tubes. They also have cooling ribs on the chunk that should help it slide over things better. These axles can be a great deal if you factor in the cost of disks and a e-break setup on an older axle. Get at least the rear part of the e-break cables as these can be hard to find.

E-break that fits inside rotor.




Ribbed housing.



Make sure the axle is not a AAM 11.5. This axle came in newer GM diesels but I have seen one gas truck with one. The AAM 10.5 (which is what a newer 14b is called) has a removable pinion support flange like the old 14b. The AAM 11.5 will not have this. You can just see the bolts around the edge of my pinion flange.

   

[Rocksnail [OP]]

Thanks for the help. Are the axles still the same as far as size and spline count?  The reason im looking at this axle is the disc brakes already on it from factory like you stated above. major plus!  Just want to make sure i got it right, the aam 11.5 will NOT have the bolts around the pinion? correct? and the aam 10.5 will have them and is the correct axle. thanks james,

[dniel]

Are the axles still the same as far as size and spline count? 

Yes. however they are a little longer so no 10$ spares at the JY. I bought a set of dutchman cromos for about 300$ and will use the stockers as spares. Stock 14b shafts are very strong so if your not running huge tires you probably don't need spares. The shafts are different length L and R. The yoke is also offset to the pass. side an inch or two.

Just want to make sure i got it right, the aam 11.5 will NOT have the bolts around the pinion? correct? and the aam 10.5 will have them and is the correct axle. thanks james,

Correct. Go to Randys Ring and Pinion site and look at GM diffs. They will have pics of the diff covers which are different between the two.

[Rocksnail [OP]]

thank you. ill only be running 39.5 iroks for now. once there done ill be going up to a 42 pit bull rocker i think or another set of iroks. I was planing on getting dutchmans and using stocks for spares, for what ever i axle i use. i dont think ill have a prob though. im light on the skinny. and how often dose a rear axle brake? i have snapped one in 8 years of wheeling. anyway thanks for the info, im going to look at the axle monday and buy it if its the right one.