Which rear axle now?

[mbryson]

Well here it is. If you run the gm 14 bolt it comes with 35 spline shafts and a detroit is about half the price for this axle the gears are super easy to setup and about the same price as any other gearset to buy. ...

I'm 98% sure my 14 bolt has 30 or 31 spline shafts. However, they are NOT small. If I break one, I'll have done something.

 

[Cody]

I never trussed my 9"...and I never broke it or the 31 spline stock shafts.

 

[UNSTUCK]

The reason I voted for the sixty is that I am building a one ton YJ right now and am going to be able to build a virtually inderstructable rear end for about 1200.00 dollars thats gears arb locker, rebuild kit, yokes, perches shafts, and brakes replaced.

I'd like to see your parts price brake down.

 

[1995zj]

I'm 98% sure my 14 bolt has 30 or 31 spline shafts. However, they are NOT small. If I break one, I'll have done something.

I thought most (if not all) FF 14 bolt rear axles had the 35 spline stock shafts? If not then yours must be a 30 spline much like the D60 rear 30 splines right?

 

[UNSTUCK]

Anybody ever blown a c-clip and had to hobble home just to tear apart the whole axle to get it out and replaced? Full float is easier and stronger hands down.

Not Always easier. You could still have the broken shaft twisted and stuck inside the carrier. The nice thing is that if you do brake one, you can pull out the shaft, if you need to, and continue on down the trail, without worry of further damage caused by the shaft continuing to turn unsupported.

 

[Gravy]

I thought most (if not all) FF 14 bolt rear axles had the 35 spline stock shafts? If not then yours must be a 30 spline much like the D60 rear 30 splines right?

30 spline.

and no they are not like the 60 rears. they are a much coarser spline. 1.5" diameter shafts

 

[Greg]

How can you say we will never see loads like this. The constant jarring and bouncing of a tire on an axle that is intended to haul kids and friends to the beach is why we are having this discussion. Full float seperates the tube from the shaft so the tube does the holding and the shaft does the driving. All this tak of trussing is sick. Why do we need to truss the nine inch when the 60 and 14 bolt will never bend under the loads we are talking about. Anybody ever blown a c-clip and had to hobble home just to tear apart the whole axle to get it out and replaced? Full float is easier and stronger hands down.

A full-float axle is intended for 3/4 and 1 Ton trucks hauling very heavy trailers, with tens of thousands of pounds of weight resting on the rear axle, running at high speeds for hours on end. Having a full-float is very wise in that application, to spread out the load. Is your rockcrawler doing that? None of mine did. A semi-float axle with a healthy shaft diameter is plenty for 98% of the stuff we do.

We're talking about a uni-body Jeep on 37's that does not tow! You have to look at the big picture and consider the vehicle and how it will be used when upgrading axles. A 14 Bolt is not the FINAL answer for every case.

A truss isn't required for a Ford 9" but they are cheap and easy to do. Dana 60's and 14 Bolts can bend too... Don't tell me you've never seen one of those trussed.

Lastly, Ford 9" axles aren't c-cliped. Your argument about c-clip vs. full-float is pointless here.

 

[I Lean]

I thought most (if not all) FF 14 bolt rear axles had the 35 spline stock shafts? If not then yours must be a 30 spline much like the D60 rear 30 splines right?

FF 14b use a coarser spline than the "standard". It's 30 splines, but a 1.5" shaft like most 35 spline shaft are.

A FF axle will make your life harder, since there's no easy way to adapt an 8 lug pattern to the 6 lug you need. You'll need to delete a couple of lugs.

I'm tellin ya....just get any rear D60 to start with. (my last one cost me $25) I have the bearing ends you need, spool and gear it. One of the guys here has a lightly used 35 spline spool he'll sell you for $80. The shafts and disc brakes will be the same whether you do a 9 or 60, so that's a wash. I know the 60 fits under the ZJ pretty well, just look at Toady's for an example.

 

[mbryson]

I thought most (if not all) FF 14 bolt rear axles had the 35 spline stock shafts? If not then yours must be a 30 spline much like the D60 rear 30 splines right?

I'm not aware of ANY 35 spline 14 bolts.


Good reading if you're thinking about a 14 bolt. http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/14b_bible/index.html

I have mine shaved pretty good. I'm somewhere in between a stock 60 clearance and a stock 44.


A 14 bolt is not a perfect solution. In fact, about the only thing it's got going for it is cheapness and availability of stock parts. They are big, ugly, heavy etc. Locker selection is better than it ever was, but it leaves a lot to be desired compared to a 60 or a 9".

I've got $300 total in my 14 bolt. Thus, that's why it's still under my Jeep. Mini-spool from Poly Perf was about $200 and the diff was $75 with 4.56 gears. I spent about $25 in grinding/cut off wheels. It's STRONG but definitely not a perfect solution. I'd REALLY like a selectable locker for the rear to be terribly honest, but for the money I've got in it, it's working just fine.

 

[rondo]

dana 60?

I went with a dana 60 FF 8lug rear for my frontier. Here's what i spent. I hate to do this 'cause then peeps come on and say, ooh, i did mine the exact same way for free haha

78F250 rear D60 150 from Yoda33(but i've bought these for as low as 50$ before)
spring perches 19 advance 4wd
rear spare shaft 40 advance 4wd (trail spare)
ARB rear 784 rme vendor (I didn't list their name 'cause they may not want their prices put on for the public to see. but i'm very happy with them).
yukon gears 165 rme vendor
install kit 115 rme vendor
Caddy calipers, pads 180 checker auto parts
brake lines 170 EVCO (could have saved $ by going hardline)
disk brake brackets 60 Rufftuff specialties
axle seal 20 auto zone (could have been worse, some axles are in ok shape)
Diff Cover 75 Rocknroll offroad(use your old one to save $?)
Ring/pinion setup $117 labor rollover motorsports. Rate depends on how long it takes, could take yours 2x as long or do it yourself?
3/4 ton Chev rotors $60 checker
total was less than 2K.

This setup could be upgraded with 35spline shafts easily, i understood that. I just think that is overkill for what my rig will see offroad. I really liked having the 6lug zuzu rodeo dana 44 back there for many years, but did bend an axle shaft at one time and had to replace it. Made a good argument for full float vs. leaky outer everywhere (fullfloat FF vs semi-float).

 

[1995zj]

I'm not aware of ANY 35 spline 14 bolts.

Yeah I guess I was just thinking about the 1.5" shaft diameter vs. the 1.31" or whatever it is.

 

[tonloc152]

I stand corrected on the spline count for the 14 bolt thank you. I get ahead of my self on the splines but I did know they were 1.5" shafts. Thats what I meant by most of the work being done for you. On the 9" it seems they are hard to find of course I havent been looking for them. The price breakdown is from randy's and I do all of the assembly. Th c-clip comment came from the dana 44 being used in his old config. Im no tknocking the 9" it was just never an optin for me. I still think the full floater is sexy. Espacially if it was buit for huge loads, that an even larger margin for error on my behalf. I do still tow a pop up trailer behind my wrangler with large tires and any help is worth the investment. Good thread..... One additional item I havent figured out yet cost wise is machinig out the spindle on the d60. You cant fit the 35 spline shafts through the 1.444 (as mine measures) it needs to machined out to 1.6 i.d. to fit the 35spliners.

 

[tonloc152]

Not Always easier. You could still have the broken shaft twisted and stuck inside the carrier. The nice thing is that if you do brake one, you can pull out the shaft, if you need to, and continue on down the trail, without worry of further damage caused by the shaft continuing to turn unsupported.

right, right

 

[chans]

Th c-clip comment came from the dana 44 being used in his old config.

Dana 44s are not C-clip either
C-clips = bunch of Dana 35s. Chrysler 8.25, Ford 8.8 Chevy 10 and 12bolt etc.

 

[Cody]

Dana 44s are not C-clip either
C-clips = bunch of Dana 35s. Chrysler 8.25, Ford 8.8 Chevy 10 and 12bolt etc.

the HD44 (typically called the 44a for aluminum) in ZJ's and WJ's is also c-clipped.

Also, I dare say there is far more aftermarket support for the 9" than any of the other options.

 

[chans]

I meant the comment for the Isuzu D44 he is running now unless it is different then the Trooper D44 type axle I had at one time.

 

[1995zj]

Dana 44s are not C-clip either
C-clips = bunch of Dana 35s. Chrysler 8.25, Ford 8.8 Chevy 10 and 12bolt etc.

SF 14 bolt 6-lug axles are c-clip too. Have one in the rear of my 1990 K2500.

Th c-clip comment came from the dana 44 being used in his old config.

No my current axle setup is NOT c-clip, just to clear things up. Pretty sure I stated that somewhere on page 2 as well . Not really sure where the idea that mine was c-clip came from, but that's neither here nor there.

The axles that I'm looking at doing aren't c-clip so back to the main discussion :greg:

 

[Kiel]

Sounds like a ford 9 inch is in your future. I know you were concerned with width, what about a 78-79 bronco, I'm sure they are close, plus big bearing? Or maybe even a spider nine housing with whatever width you want

 

[Cody]

I think a 78-79.5 bronco 9" is 65" or so. I can't imagine your isuzu 44 is as wide or wider than a full size bronco 9"

 

[1995zj]

No, my Rodeo D44 is 58.5" but I've got 2" spacers on each side ....so it's about 62.5"