overkill?

jeepman13

jeepman13

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 15, 2008
Location
mills river
ok, is a 14-bolt or dana 60 rear axle too much for a cj 7 with a slightly modified 350 sbc (aftermarket intake/header, tbi), 700-r4, dana 300. i plan to run 36-37" max tire size and 4.56's or 4.88's. i will be running a dana 44 from a waggy in the front. usage will be medium+ offroad trails and street use. i am not extremely hard on the skinny pedal but i dont want to worring about breaking rear end parts whenever i go wheelin.
If these are overkill then i plan on running a 8.8 or dana 44. any good input/advice would be helpful. tnx.
 
if your going to spend the time and money to swap in an axle why not go w/ the beef. it will end up costing you the same in the rear in fact a 14 bolt or 60 can be picked up for less then a 8.8. you get one ton brakes ect. ect. My personal opinion is 14 bolts are the best axle ever made removable pinion and almost unbreakable. the down size ground clearence, weight. save your money and put a 60 in the front. a 44 w/ cromos will be fairly reliable w/ 37's but by the time you build a 44 you'll have what you have in a 60 w/ room to ugrade later. 14 bolts and 60s will wrap up some springs up without a antiwrap bar and im sure your semi concerned w/ width. if you want it to remain streetable with out crazy width go 44 and 8.8 but run 35's and youll still probably want to upgrade the 44 later on. but 8.8's still have small pinion bearings and are c-clip which bring the suck. 8.8's have there place for in yj and tj when people are retaining the front 30 and running 35's and down but besides that they are better left under mall cruising explorers.
 
Cperry said:
im sure your semi concerned w/ width. if you want it to remain streetable with out crazy width go 44 and 8.8 but run 35's and youll still probably want to upgrade the 44 later on.
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I seem to remember that if you get the cab & chassis housing and right hubs you could get a 14 bolt to something like 63" wms... Might be making this up but I was thinking pretty seriously about shaving one and putting it in my XJ...
 
Archdukeferdinand said:
I seem to remember that if you get the cab & chassis housing and right hubs you could get a 14 bolt to something like 63" wms... Might be making this up but I was thinking pretty seriously about shaving one and putting it in my XJ...
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yea, the width thing is a concern to me. i believe there are 14-bolts under vans that are around 63" wms but havnt checked. i dont really like running full-width axles so this could be an alternative. maybe use some wheelspacers on the 44 until i can afford that front 60:beer:
 
lbyota85 said:
The waggy will be a different lug pattern. What about a 9"?
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with my auto tranny and stock wheelbase my rear driveshaft angle is already pretty steep. a stock 9" would be very difficult. yea, i know i could go high pinion or stretch the wheelbase but i'm working on a fairly tight budget and like my gastank under my jeep.
 
Cperry said:
if your going to spend the time and money to swap in an axle why not go w/ the beef. it will end up costing you the same in the rear in fact a 14 bolt or 60 can be picked up for less then a 8.8. you get one ton brakes ect. ect. My personal opinion is 14 bolts are the best axle ever made removable pinion and almost unbreakable. the down size ground clearence, weight. save your money and put a 60 in the front. a 44 w/ cromos will be fairly reliable w/ 37's but by the time you build a 44 you'll have what you have in a 60 w/ room to ugrade later. 14 bolts and 60s will wrap up some springs up without a antiwrap bar and im sure your semi concerned w/ width. if you want it to remain streetable with out crazy width go 44 and 8.8 but run 35's and youll still probably want to upgrade the 44 later on. but 8.8's still have small pinion bearings and are c-clip which bring the suck. 8.8's have there place for in yj and tj when people are retaining the front 30 and running 35's and down but besides that they are better left under mall cruising explorers.
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thanks for your advice. the main dissadvantage i see in the 14 bolt is the weight. jeez that thing must be hard to move around the garage! but i guess that is the tradeoff for strength without getting into really expensive aftermarket assemblies and upgrades.
 
jeepman13 said:
thanks for your advice. the main dissadvantage i see in the 14 bolt is the weight. jeez that thing must be hard to move around the garage! but i guess that is the tradeoff for strength without getting into really expensive aftermarket assemblies and upgrades.
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just ditch those massive drums and its manageable. Shave the bottom and you got one tough full floater. 37's and a locker won't bother it. even with a lot of skinny. i don't think you can make a better choice for a rear then a 14 bolt.
also don't bother dumping money into a front 44 if your going to lock it. stock shaft will break in the rocks with 37. chromo will fix that but like chase said you into a stock 60 $$ area by then.
If you go with a 60 and 14 combo then axle will be one less thing you have to worry about on the trail.
plus all that extra weight lowers your CG :driver:
 
madssjeep said:
just ditch those massive drums and its manageable. Shave the bottom and you got one tough full floater. 37's and a locker won't bother it. even with a lot of skinny. i don't think you can make a better choice for a rear then a 14 bolt.
also don't bother dumping money into a front 44 if your going to lock it. stock shaft will break in the rocks with 37. chromo will fix that but like chase said you into a stock 60 $$ area by then.
If you go with a 60 and 14 combo then axle will be one less thing you have to worry about on the trail.
plus all that extra weight lowers your CG :driver:
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i agree, locking a 44 front will break shafts. could use a good lsd like a truetrac but that's still no locker. how far down does a shaved 14 bolt hang compared to a 60 or 44?
 
axles

just to kill 2 birds with one stone, look for a 60/14 bolt combo out of a CUCV. they are already geared 4:56 and the 14 has a locker in it

thats the route i went, but ended up regearing due to me keep the stock 4.0

hope this helps some
 
jeepman13 said:
with my auto tranny and stock wheelbase my rear driveshaft angle is already pretty steep. a stock 9" would be very difficult. yea, i know i could go high pinion or stretch the wheelbase but i'm working on a fairly tight budget and like my gastank under my jeep.
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Difficult? :confused: Have you ever seen a 14 bolt? Imo it would be a lot harder to fit the 14 than the 9. The pinion is longer therefore shorter d-shaft. If you point the pinion on the 9 right at the output it will not be any lower than the 14. Just wandering.
 
jeepman13 said:
ok, is a 14-bolt or dana 60 rear axle too much for a cj 7 with a slightly modified 350 sbc (aftermarket intake/header, tbi)
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NO, there is no such thing as "overkill" when it comes to trail rig driveline modification :) With your setup and tyre size I would actually RECOMMEND the 14 bolt or upgraded D60 as the rearend of choice.
 
Had to jump in on this one. A 14 bolt is the king of cheap bomb/stupid proof axle. It is also huge, you hit everything even with 40's on them. They are stupid cheap but the front D60 to match isn't. If you don't know when to back out of it or back up and try a different line, then yeah get the 60/14 combo for 37's. If you wheel smart and aren't trying to show your ass or be abusive a built 44/8.8 or 9 will last long time. If you want to be a throttle jocky get the beef. Try hard enough and you can break anything. I've owned all of these axles at one time or another and think a 44/9 combo with good parts and 38's on mild V6/V8/auto/300 was the best combo of all. Biggest problem I had was Dshafts.
 
in the world of off-road is there ever such a thing as overkill? why not start strong from the beginning rather than spend alot of money along while running lighter stuff. for me a 44front and 9" rear have always worked good, but i ain't hardcore.
 
the 14-bolt is a great axle but probably too big for me at this point. i think i'll try a 9"/44 combo to keep the drivetrain light and use my head when wheeling.
 
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