14 bolt???

[bL.A.zer90045]

looking at a 14 bolt rear end,and need to know the difference in if its a a "full floater,and a "semi floater".it is on a 78 cc single wheel 2wd.looking to use this on a 1980 k10 4wd that will have a 454/sm465 with everything hydraulic,and a .is the "semi floater"even worth dragging home?

[youngblood78]

Atleast from what I know difference in a semi and a full floater is the huge hub sticking out the center of the wheel and the shape of the diff housing just do a google images search. And yes the semi is worth fooling with its still a stong axle

[tlawre87]

Here is a good reference Pic.

http://www.4x4help.com/axle/pics/full_vs_semi.gif

[kevinr1970]

Are the brakes and what not the same on a SF vs. FF?

[77K10Silverado]

[Ziegelsteinfaust]

If you have a 14sf like a guy above sad it is a very capabke axle. It is practically what the new trucks use to tow 11000 pounds. Plus it is 1/2 the weight of FF. Which is why I am running one on my K20.

I say it is worth dragging home. If you have a K10 it maybe the 6 lug version which is a very good axle for all but the serious off road rigs. If you wanna bounce off rocks and the rev limiter it won't last, or run 44 mud grapplers.

[Mike C]

Easiest thing is to look at the wheel hub as mentioned above. But if it has bolt on wheels with centers that come from the back, some other things to look for: The full float 14 bolt has a bolt in pinion support. The full float has an odd angular shaped cover.

Semi-float did not show up until early 80's. I don't think any crew cabs ever had the semi-float.

Semi-float cover is mostly round. Center of axles is flush with the wheel face or slightly inside.

[68post]

Semi-floater was used on the 454 SS trucks also. It would be a great upgrade for a half-ton. 3/4 ton axle which came in mostly 8 bolt and some 6 bolt versions.

[68post]

Originally Posted by kevinr1970

Are the brakes and what not the same on a SF vs. FF?

No , the smaller full floater brakes are a little bigger and the upgrade size is alot bigger. ( I know , sounds precise )

[andrewmp6]

What are your plans for the truck,Are you going to lift it and run bigger tires?If the semi float was going in a stockish truck it would be ok.If you want a lift and 38s i would go for the 14 bolt.Are you going to upgrade the front to a dana 60 as well?

[KrazyRay]

I had a semi float axle snap off on my 87 K 20 (V 20) and the wheel passed me up and it almost hit oncoming traffic. Since then, I have always run full floaters and haul the semi float for scrap metal. But I work my trucks hard.

[bL.A.zer90045]

you guys are the bitness!!! thanks for the schooling!!! looks like the rear end is a full floater.now i have a choice of trucks that im building to install this rear end in,and would like your guys educated/valued oppinions as to what truck the full floater would do/suit better? i can either put it in my 80 k10(1/2 ton),that is lifted 4" with 33's,454 and sm465(that is used solely for hauling wood,and the occasional mud pit playng),or my 86 2wd k5 with a 454/th400(that is used for the hauling of my gbodies,to the occasional cruise in car shows)so tell what you guys think would be the better "fit" for the full floater? also where are i.d. numbers for these axles located?

[68post]

The K10 , but the 10 bolt in the Blazer could use a support cover to brace the carrier bearing caps.

$.02

[slotard]

The full floaters have serious brakes too, the drums weigh something like 60-70lb each.

[bL.A.zer90045]

yeah one of the reasons im wanting to swap over the 14 bolt is for the convienience of the rear disc brake conversion brackets avail from various vendors! so those ugly overweight drums will be gone! as far as my blazer is concerned,it currently has a 12 bolt 6-lug 4wd axle on it as i converted it from 4wd-to-2wd,along with modding it to a full vert using a 74 donori also have a 12 bolt 5 lug from a 2wd burban,as well as a 10 bolt 5-lug from a 83 c10 lwb that i could swap over to the blazer? just looking to do this all once and be done,so this is the reason im asking/wanting you guy's valued knowledge on this subject

[kevinr1970]

Originally Posted by Mike C

Semi-float did not show up until early 80's. I don't think any crew cabs ever had the semi-float.

My '87 3/4 crew 2-wheel drive was SF.
It was an ex-government truck though, so they might have requested it that way?

[Kaysen]

Since you're ditching the drums in favor for disks, I'd put in in the truck that'll see mud. I was tired of breaking axles from off road abuse and swapped in a disk brake 14bff. Never had another issue even in stock form. Loved that axle and if I ever build another off road rig it'll have one in it.

[tommartin]

All the 14 bolt knowledge! It's amazing... Now I can tell difference...
So what's the difference between 3/4 ton and 1 ton 14 bolt?
Is it SF or ff, brakes, ring and pinon?

[68post]

Originally Posted by tommartin

All the 14 bolt knowledge! It's amazing... Now I can tell difference...
So what's the difference between 3/4 ton and 1 ton 14 bolt?
Is it SF or ff, brakes, ring and pinon?

No sf in any 1 tons , 9.5"ring in the sf and 10.5" in the ff.
Brakes... (1984 sizes) ; 11" X 2.75" sf.
13" X 2.5", 13" X 3.5" ff.

FF was optional on a 3/4 ton, mandatory with some packages.

[Your41Plague12]

Originally Posted by tommartin

All the 14 bolt knowledge! It's amazing... Now I can tell difference...
So what's the difference between 3/4 ton and 1 ton 14 bolt?
Is it SF or ff, brakes, ring and pinon?

From the early to late 70's, both 3/4 tons and 1 tons came with a FF14 bolt axle. This was before the SF14 bolt was adopted in the 3/4 tons. One difference was where the spring perches were located. On the 3/4 ton trucks, they will bolt right into a half ton or other 3/4 ton truck because they have the same spring perch location. The 1 tons had a narrower spring spacing, and the perches were moved inboard accordingly. To bolt one of these axles into a half ton or 3/4 ton, you'll need to cut off the perches and weld on new ones in the correct positions. This gives you a good opportunity to make minor adjustments for pinion angle anyway on a 4x4 (if lifted). Another difference was the location of the shock mounts from the 3/4 tons to the 1 tons. Those are much easier to relocate. You should be able to find all the info you need in "The 14 bolt Bible," located here.

http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/14b_bible/

[greg64]

Steve, you beat me to it. I was going to say exactly the same thing. Measure the distance between the centre of the spring perches to tell the 3/4 apart from the 1 ton.

Greg

[bL.A.zer90045]

turns out the rearend is a d60,so that would be a 1-ton ff yes?

[bL.A.zer90045]

also looking like ill have to get the springs perches as well(in order to mount the ff to a 1/2 ton frame)?

[Your41Plague12]

Originally Posted by bL.A.zer90045

turns out the rearend is a d60,so that would be a 1-ton ff yes?

Originally Posted by bL.A.zer90045

also looking like ill have to get the springs perches as well(in order to mount the ff to a 1/2 ton frame)?

If it's truly a D60, that's a Ford axle. Not saying that is a bad thing, but keep that in mind. What did these axles come out of? Lots of people who don't know what they're talking about claim they have "D60's front and rear," even though the real axle is a 14 bolt FF. There are lots of differences between a D60 rear and a 14 bolt FF. Make sure you know what you're getting before you buy it. If it is a 14 bolt FF, you may or may not need to move the spring perches. It depends on if it originally came from a 3/4 ton or 1 ton originally. Take a tape measure with you when you go to look at it.

[i427bbc]

The answer to your question is simple. A full floater has axle shafts that are bolted to the drums. The semi floating ones are held in with c-clips inside the differential case. Look at the picture in post #3, the bottom one has axle shaft that bolts to the drum. The one above it doesn't.