14 bolt shave

sharksanddanger

sharksanddanger

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 18, 2005
Location
Reidsville
I'm going to be doing a 14bolt shave here before too long and I was curious as to how much you can shave off of the ring gear? .250, .500? More, less?

What is everyone doing there?
 
A guy on another forum did it and had a helluva time with the ring gear destroying his cutting bits on the lathe. I think he did .250. If it were me, I'd just shave the bottom of the housing and not worry about the ring gear. Again, that's just me. :rolleyes:
 
I can cut the gear down for you if you can't find something locally. It is hardened steel, but it is definitely cuttable, just slow.
 
not worth it in my opinion. lots of work and effort for minimal gain. You can cut 3/4" to an inch without ring gear mods.

however, there was a sweet set up on pirate where a guy built a jig with a grinder and drill to cut his ring gear down. search that if you want. it's been fairly recent.
 
orangecherokee said:
not worth it in my opinion. lots of work and effort for minimal gain. You can cut 3/4" to an inch without ring gear mods.
however, there was a sweet set up on pirate where a guy built a jig with a grinder and drill to cut his ring gear down. search that if you want. it's been fairly recent.
Click to expand...

Well I'm wanting to cut around 2" to 2.5" off of the 14bt and I think that's a pretty big gain, if it was only 3/4" I would waste my time with it. I've read a lot of threads but just about everyone uses a grinder or sander to turn it down but I'd prefer to use the lathe.


Jeepinmatt; If I can't turn it in class how much would you charge to do it? You can pm me.

Most people state around .250-.375 off the ring gear, I was just curious as to how much people on this board had taken off of theirs. I wanted to turn it down first then put it in there and trim all I could.
 
sharksanddanger said:
Well I'm wanting to cut around 2" to 2.5" off of the 14bt and I think that's a pretty big gain, if it was only 3/4" I would waste my time with it. I've read a lot of threads but just about everyone uses a grinder or sander to turn it down but I'd prefer to use the lathe.
Jeepinmatt; If I can't turn it in class how much would you charge to do it? You can pm me.
Most people state around .250-.375 off the ring gear, I was just curious as to how much people on this board had taken off of theirs. I wanted to turn it down first then put it in there and trim all I could.
Click to expand...
Not sure, but Im gonna go turn a trashed D35 ring gear and find out...
Expect a reply in a few minutes.
 
just remember you have to add back at some point. Taking 2" off will net you 1 5/8" if you go back with 3/8" steel. Something to think about. I don't compete so I don't see the point. Once the bottom is ground smooth it 9 times out of 10 will slide across with minimal gas but to each is their own.
 
jeepinmatt said:
Not sure, but Im gonna go turn a trashed D35 ring gear and find out...
Expect a reply in a few minutes.
Click to expand...

Cool.

orangecherokee said:
just remember you have to add back at some point. Taking 2" off will net you 1 5/8" if you go back with 3/8" steel. Something to think about. I don't compete so I don't see the point. Once the bottom is ground smooth it 9 times out of 10 will slide across with minimal gas but to each is their own.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I understand the process, this is just my first shave on a 14 bolt and if I'm going to do it at all I'd prefer to do as much as I can. Thanks for your input, I'll take it into consideration before I cut everything off.
 
PM Sent.
 
I've seen almost a half inch but .25 is alot more common...
 
I'm going to do at least .25 when I get mine done and may go to 3/8" if I feel I can. The bottom plate can be thin right below the ring gear with substantial internal bracing, etc. which I will do. Hopefully it doesn't fail :)
 
Yeh,there are some good threads with pictures on Pirate. Just search '14 bolt shave'. I am fairly certain Yager cut a big chunk off the bottom of the 14 bolt in his Jeep, but I don't remember if he cut the gear.
 
rockcity said:
I'm going to do at least .25 when I get mine done and may go to 3/8" if I feel I can. The bottom plate can be thin right below the ring gear with substantial internal bracing, etc. which I will do. Hopefully it doesn't fail :)
Click to expand...

How will that effect the pinion oiling in yours? Big difference in rock crawling and potentially hauling ass for 100 miles.
 
My experience

I did one. It cost two $60 ceramic bits and burnt (speckled) the hell outta the paint on the lathe! And could only take a few thousandths at a pass. Long time to get to .250"!

Better luck with coolant instead of brushing cutting fluid? Probably.

Better luck with lathe and grinder. Most surely cheaper than ceramic bits! Probably the best way. Maybe could do a "couple-of-thousandths" clean-up cut last with a bit.

Them thar rings are harder than...well...you know:rolleyes:
 
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