Van 14B FF

[starlifter]

While at the local pick-n-pull I found a 14B FF rear in a (87 -88?) GMC van. It's sitting on the ground however, it appears to be about 70 inches wide. The pumpkin appears offset more to the drivers side. My question is: the only way I can run this in my GW is to do some serious cutting on the fenders right? It is about an extra 10 inches wider than stock. I'm not sure about the offset on this one either could it cause problems.

[shackwrrr]

a great find yes you will need to trim maybe you could run hummer wheels that have like 8 in of offset. Another thing is that you need to find a D44 HD out of a j20 it will be the same width And it will be 8 lug to match the 14 bolt.

[KaiserMan]

J20 D44 will not be the same width. It will be much narrower.

[Brad W.]

what you need is a chevy truck front axle, not a jeep one. the chevy d44/10-bolt will bolt right in and be a closer to matching width to the van axle.

[shackwrrr]

oh sorry I heard somewhere that the van 14 bolt was good for the j trucks and thats why i thought that they were the same width

[starlifter]

What about shortning the 14B FF rear? Has anyone had experiance with this? I need to take more measurements but like I said earlier the drivers side axle is shorter than the passenger side (off set pumpkin). If I just shortened the passenger side (axle & housing) it could center the drive angle and shorten the overall width. Will the expense of all this make it not worth the effort?

[Brad W.]

DO NOT, cut up a van axle. pay the shipping and i'll trade you, lol

[starlifter]

What axle do you have, width,etc

[Micah Ross]

I would think since you are having trouble finding a van axle you would pay the shipping in that trade.

[Bama Burden]

I agree with Brad. It's not worth the time to cut a van 14blt to the size you want when there are zillions of pickup 14blts that are the size you want right out of the box.

[Brad W.]

I would think since you are having trouble finding a van axle you would pay the shipping in that trade.

wow, sarcasm is lost on some people. Go analyze something... maybe you can explore the meaning of LOL. jeez. :thumbsdown: :rolleyes2:

I may have solved my axle problem if this stud conversion works. As for the current topic, what you need is a 14 bolt from a single rear wheel (SRW) pickup truck. The SRW 14-bolt is 67.5" wms-to-wms, versus the van's 70" wms-to-wms.

[starlifter]

No worries here. I just spent 1/2 the day working TFI problems on one of the GW so rear end stuff is low on the list. I may pull the rear from the yard anyway cause I believe it will work in my bro's 64 cheeevie. Hey, for $50 it's an investment in American man...of course it will cost me $120 time and labor to get it:rolleyes:

[Brad W.]

the only reason i'm hesitant about van axles is because I can't find many around here to get spare parts from. I expect this jeep to go where I point it, so I might need spare parts, lol. The van 14 bolt is as strong as any, I'd run it in a heartbeat if I could only find some in the local yards to scavenge.

[starlifter]

Then you have experience with the axle. Isn't it offset to the left side and if so is that a problem? :fsj: :fsj: I put these Jeeps here for the Grandson he wanted them:eek: :mad: :( he pick all the smilies

[Brad W.]

haha, the driving jeep is my favorite too... It reminds me what mine does when I jump on the bumper, since it won't do it under it's own power, lol.

The diff of a 14 bolt is offset around the pinion. The pinion should be in the direct center of the wms-to-wms measurement, but the diff is not symmetrical, and so it appears more offset than it really is.