Spring Swap Thread - 1963 K15

[snj8198]

2" ish the pinion nose housing is quite a bit larger than the 60. i doubt you have the shaft spline travel to make it up tho so 2 chops and a weld is about $60-80.

['63GENIII]

So you're saying that the 14 bolt is longer than the 60 right? I had planned on moving the axle back 1" already (to center it in the wheel wells). 2" would really get it centered perfect. This axle just came up and I really don't know much about them other than what I've heard. I'm guessing in addition to the shock mounts having to move, I'll also have to move the spring perches inward? Lug pattern (8 lug ) is still the same right? Sorry for all the ?s. I do appreciate all the info!

[snj8198]

hmm, ok. did i miss something about you lengthening the overall drivetrain length? if all you want is to position a 14ff in the wheel wells then you are still on tract for a 2" ish shorter drive shaft over the original D60 diff.

ill reread the thread for details bud

['63GENIII]

I think we are on the same page Steve. The position that the 60 was in made the tires hit the front of the fenders when I would really load the truck up. I had planned to move it back 1 to 1-1/2 " anyway to alleviate this. I figured that would be max for safe slip yoke travel. If the 14b is longer, I could potentially move the axle rearward around 2" without really changing the driveshaft at all. Sound right?

[snj8198]

yep, i believe so sir. also, dont forget to look in on ORD's zero rates as they have the pin locater for moving the axle 1" and 1 1/2" with a pin locator for getting the wheel well/axle positioned just right. they are 1" tall tho; but would be an option if a little rear end leveling as well as slight for/aft adjustment of the axle positioning is needed.

[argonaut]

Spring perch spacing on a SRW 14 bolt from 73 to 87 will be 42.5" on center, not sure about the newer models. Stock spacing for 60-72 is 40" on center. Shock mounts will be in the wrong locations too, and one will be facing the rear. Parking brake cable setup will likely be different. Also you may need to change something with the proportioning valve, resresidual vakve or master cylinder for the rear disks; Not sure what you have in there now.

['63GENIII]

Originally Posted by snj8198

yep, i believe so sir. also, dont forget to look in on ORD's zero rates as they have the pin locater for moving the axle 1" and 1 1/2" with a pin locator for getting the wheel well/axle positioned just right. they are 1" tall tho; but would be an option if a little rear end leveling as well as slight for/aft adjustment of the axle positioning is needed.

I was eyeing the zero rates too. I think they are a way better solution to the lift and axle locating issues. I ended up buying a set of over sized (length) weld on perches with multiple positions .

['63GENIII]

Not much progress in the last week, Ive been working like a dog at my regular job. Between that, Little League playoff / championship games and practices and end of year grad stuff for my older one, there has not been a lot of time. I did however manage to bring home a new member of the family for about the price of re doing the brakes on the Dana. Not sure why Im so stoked to have rear discs since the old drums always worked so good. Parking cables seem to be intact. Im pretty sure that the 10 41 stamp on the ring gear means 4.11. I think I may miss the Trac Lok in the 60 since this one is definitely open. One thing I will say about this axle... it is WAY burly!

['63GENIII]

And before I get called out on this

['63GENIII]

Originally Posted by '63GENIII

I think I may miss the Trac Lok in the 60 since this one is definitely open. One thing I will say about this axle... it is WAY burly!

Edit: This axle turned out to be out of a 2005 2500HD truck.
After some careful examining and comparing posts and pictures, it actually has a Gov Loc. Not really having a lot of experience with the 14BFF, I have some mixed feelings on this as I have heard them referred to as "Gov Bombs" and it seems as though people avoid them like the plague. The 60 had a "Trac Lok" which Ive read wasn't the greatest either but seemed to do really well for what I do.
So what are your opinions on this? I did see one mod where a guy lightened the weight(s) inside of the Gov Loc in order to "lock" it earlier (I don't think it completely locks though?). He did this BC from what I read, the GL is supposed to lock at 15 mph difference between wheels which to him seemed like a pretty big shock load to the 3 pin spider? He thought that locking it earlier would lower that shock to the spiders.
Again, for what I do with my truck, I have a feeling that it will probably be fine but I do like to understand how things work before I use them so I welcome any info and or advice.

Any way it works out, Im still pretty excited to have what appears to be a fairly new axle that has been sitting for the last 5

[argonaut]

Whats the WMS-WMS dimension on your old dana 60 versus thr AAM?

[argonaut]

I have the feared gov-lok in my Big Ugly pickup. Never had any problems so far. But then again I don't hammer it offroad, just low and slow.

['63GENIII]

Originally Posted by argonaut

Whats the WMS-WMS dimension on your old dana 60 versus thr AAM?

The D60 is 65" and the 14B is 68". I thought about that when I was picking it up. I couldn't remember what the front Dana 44 measured wms to wms but I figured however it worked out, Id live with it. Who knows, maybe 1.5 inches sticking out on either side might just push me over the edge and I do something like narrow it! LOL.
Do you know offhand what the '73 Dana 44 width is?

[argonaut]

The 3/4 ton dana 44 is roughly 69". I was asking because I had given thought to pulking the 14 bolt out of my burb in favor of a dana 60. The 14 bolt diff is so huge that ground clearance is terrible with anuthing smaller than 35" tires, and I only plan to run metruc 32"s. Downsides were 1/2" wheel studs, narrower track width and of course smaller axle shafts.

You say your axle is from an HD pickup? Could it be an AAM 11.5 even? I'm not real savvy on the visual differences. Either way, nice score!

['63GENIII]

Originally Posted by argonaut

The 3/4 ton dana 44 is roughly 69". I was asking because I had given thought to pulking the 14 bolt out of my burb in favor of a dana 60. The 14 bolt diff is so huge that ground clearance is terrible with anuthing smaller than 35" tires, and I only plan to run metruc 32"s. Downsides were 1/2" wheel studs, narrower track width and of course smaller axle shafts.

You say your axle is from an HD pickup? Could it be an AAM 11.5 even? I'm real savvy on the visual differences. Either way, nice score!

Those measurements are all good news to me. I never noticed the difference between the front and rear, I suspect because of the way the rear fenders somehow masked it.
It is a AAM but it does have the 10.5 ring and the removable pinion support. I think I read somewhere that the 11.5 version does not have the removable support.
I just realized that I think I misunderstood Steve on the differences in pinion length in that the 60 is about 1 1/2" longer than the 14B that I have. Oh well, Ive got a good driveshaft builder not too far away in San Jose.

['63GENIII]

Originally Posted by argonaut

The 3/4 ton dana 44 is roughly 69". I was asking because I had given thought to pulking the 14 bolt out of my burb in favor of a dana 60. The 14 bolt diff is so huge that ground clearance is terrible with anuthing smaller than 35" tires, and I only plan to run metruc 32"s. Downsides were 1/2" wheel studs, narrower track width and of course smaller axle shafts.

You say your axle is from an HD pickup? Could it be an AAM 11.5 even? I'm real savvy on the visual differences. Either way, nice score!

Hey Jason, What gears does the Seahorse have anyway?

[argonaut]

4.10s now after I swapped in the big hub dana 44 and 14BFF. I drove a distance to get these because the guy said he was sure they were 3.73 gears, but when i got there and pulled the covers they turned out to be 4.10s. Now overdrive is a must.

['63GENIII]

So do you think you'll re gear the axles or run the 4:10's and swap the rear to a 60? I think these days with the availability of OD transmissions, Id run OD on everything I have regardless of the ratio! LOL. Im still really liking the 4500!

[argonaut]

I have another nv4500 and round pattern np205. So I'll most likely stick with the 4.10s. Plus its powered by a little old 327 so I probably need the gear.

['63GENIII]

Guess its time for an update. Been working 9 pm to 1 pm for the last few weeks so it hasn't left a lot of time to add to this thread. I finally got the Miller working well enough to lay down a couple of passes and get cross members in for the gas tank supports, re weld the gas tank straps, and move the brackets on the 14bff. My buddy Dozer kept me company the whole time. He doesn't seem to mind the air tools and welder. Please don't hate on the welds though. That was flux core. The solid core with gas came out a little better for the little machine.

['63GENIII]

Finally made it to Twainharte a few hours ago for a little R&R. Had a few already so if this gets askew, don't hesitate to get me back in line. LOL. After much debating (with myself), I finally got the nerve to drill the mounts for the spring hangers. I was in a little bit of a hurry BC I was trying to get it done before I went back to work. I may not have too many pics.
One cool thing that I was able to do was to adjust the TC. It was a few degrees off center. I was able to weld in an adjusting nut so that I could adjust it to where it was centered and keep it there. Hopefully the weird vibration that has been bugging me will go away!

['63GENIII]

I got the spring pads, bump stops and shock hangers cut off of the 14b and got it into place. Lots of measuring later, I was ready to set the new pads and the reworked shock mounts. I did have to get new 5/8" u bolts and plates for the tops of the springs. The plates are crazy thick (3/8") and are really well built.

['63GENIII]

I used the front hole on the spring pad and the top plate in order to move the axle back 1".

['63GENIII]

In moving the axle backwards, I had to lengthen the driveshaft. Had a complete new one built with 4510's ? Really big joints compared to what I used to have.

['63GENIII]

A little bling