70" WMS to WMS Late 14 bolt

[WhiteWhale]

planning a rear end swap on my 72 K20 burb and found a late 14 bolt with a 70" wms. Ive read the front Dana 44 has a 69.5" wms while the stock HO52 has 65".

Other than welding the spring perches in the correct location (40.5") will the additional width cause any problems especially since it will now be wider than the front?

Anyone have any pics of a 70" wms rear in their 68-72 truck or burb?

Thanks

[haysonj]

I have never measured mine but this is a 73 14 bolt from a one ton and have not had any problems. Front is a Dana 44 3/4 ton

[WhiteWhale]

thanks for the pic. Series I SRW 14 bolts have a WMS of 67.5 which is just over an inch on each side, its the extra 2.5 inches per side of the late 14 bolt that worries me. I am running 255/85/16 (32x10) so they may not stick out too far but would like to see if anyone has run one.

The van 14 bolts also have a 70" WMS anyone use one of those?

[da-burb]

The only downside of going from 65 to 70" will be a larger turning radius. You will not notice the 1/4" extra width L/R. Mudders and us Northern snow belt guys would like your set up because the rear wheels would follow in the same path as the front wheels instead of dog tracking

[WhiteWhale]

Originally Posted by da-burb

You will not notice the 1/4" extra width L/R.

Wouldnt it be 2.5" per side?

[jeffahart]

For me, I went with the 85 cucv axle. The perches were in correct location for my 1970. Only had to weld on new shock mounts.

I think yoke to yoke was 3/8" shorter using 1" setting on the zero rate moving the axle to the rear, and pinion angel changed 1.5 degree(But I added 4" shackle flip with zero rate at time of swap, I'm not sure how much those two components offset the angle).

Measure where your perches will end up in relation to yoke. Then measure on the Eaton. I'm glad I didn't have to get the shaft(pun!) Since it's a Van axle you want to be sure before you stick it on the truck and find out wms is not the only measurement/spec different from the truck axles.

[WhiteWhale]

Yeah the spring perch is super wide like 50 inches. It is off a 2000 GMC 2500 truck.

[jeffahart]

Originally Posted by WhiteWhale

Yeah the spring perch is super wide like 50 inches. It is off a 2000 GMC 2500 truck.

Yea, and I meant it as a base point so you can see how much farther out the yoke sticks to determine it you will need to swap out the drive shaft.

[WhiteWhale]

Drive shaft is not an issue, the original slip joint is pretty worn and I will be replacing it after the new diff is in.

Ive heard of people needing the zero rates to push the 14 bolt further back but not sure if its just a shackle reversal thing or also needed on a standard position shackle as well.

I am really tempted to pick up a DRW one ton axle as they are only $100 or so, just not sure what the WMS measurement would be with SRW hubs

[jeffahart]

My axle was real far forward in the wheel well before I did anything. plus the rear end was squatting with the blocks that I used with my 4" lift. Never planned to keep the blocks, but thought I was going to get spring during the swap but opted for the shackle flip. So between the shackle flip and the zero rate, I have a level stance and the axle is not so far forward in the wheel well.

Also, when I did my swap I was worried about the pinion angle because I was using the corp14 perches. So I feel like I got lucky on the angle. Get your springs or shackles and every thing before welding the perches and you will be able to dial in perfect pinion angle.

[WhiteWhale]

Ive done the shackle reversal way back in 2000 using all GM hangers purchased from the dealer and an NOS CUCV 14 bolt. It was a piece of cake on the 73 Jimmy. Since the burb is a dedicated tow/trail vehicle I think the standard set up will work better.

Since you and I are both in L.A. do you have any leads on some cheap 14 bolts in the area? Any decent junk yards still around?

Ive contacted the CL ads with $200 axles but in the pics both look to have bad leaks from one axle tube to the housing so think they may be bent or heavily abused.

[jeffahart]

As far as junk yards go; I had real trouble trying to locate a decent D44 for my front. And I just did not have the time to drive all over and inspect axles. I found a lot of junk at the junk yards and gave up on the D44. I really felt like it was going to be a pay me now or pay me later type thing. Go through a dismantled scrap axle or pay more for the axle up front. I did not like either choice.

The only junk yard I liked was Northridge Auto wrecking in the San Fernando Valley. Give them a call. It's really tough to work the phones to locate a good junk yard front axle. I had no luck on the D44 front. So it comes down to time and money, the two things there is always a shortage of!

So I ended up getting a platform I could build on and be happy with. Enter the D60 Corp14 decision. Now you think I got sick of hunting a D44 the D60 issue was just as bad. After about 18months of the combined D44 then D60 hunting I caved in and bought the D60 Corp14 combo from Boyce so the 14 basically came with the 60 so I took it. Pricey but he guaranteed 20,000 mile axles. And now it's over. Pretty quick bolt in on both axles.

I think you can get a good Corp14 though because they are in everything. You just gotta beat feet.

Like I said I was in market for a front and am now happy to have the corp14.

[WhiteWhale]

Ive already contacted boyce as that was where I got my first set way back when. At that time the NOS D60 was $1100 and the NOS 14B was $400 plus $200 freight. Fast forward to last week and they quoted me $6K for rebuilds.

The $2500 take offs with $250 in shipping is looking nice but the 4.56 and 32s will not play nice on the freeway. Add another $1K for gears and carriers plus the time to put them in wont work.

Im in the same boat with the front D44, it needs ball joints, u joints, drive shaft, tie rod ends and I dont even know what kind of shape the diff bearings and ring and pinion are in. I also wanted to upgrade to chromo shafts but that adds another $700 on top of it. The D60 is looking REAL good now.

I have a good 14 bolt in my C30 CC which has the 4.10 and correct spring pad width so if I got a good used 1 ton with 3.73 I could just swap that in to the CC and then I could just get a detroit and have fun with the front. The late 14 is tempting due to price and disk brakes with e brake in the rotor.

Was the 20K warranty on the take outs?

[jeffahart]

Yep. When I got the price for take outs I squealed like a stuck pig. Figured I would have to go through the axles anyway. Mark assured me axles were bolt ins with 20,000 miles. I argued. He said add oil and run them. So I did. I inspected the brakes and used them with out touching them. I popped the diff covers and tool a look-see. But I actually plan to grease the front wheel bearing this weekend.

Like you, my concern became the 4.56 on the wrong side of the carrier break. I'm running what boils down to about a 32".

Can you say "SCREAMING METAL"

[da-burb]

the reason I used 1/4" is because it is the difference from the front axle width of
69 1/2" vs 70". Your front tire track would be only 1/4" inside of the rear.