14 bolt clearance

[DinkDavis]

does anyone know any tricks for clearanceing a 14 bolt or is it a grinder and hope for the best

[carwash]

well, you can grind off quite a bit and still utilize a stock cover, or you can go extreme, and cut off the whole bottom chunk of it and have a cover custom made....

Kargomaster has a seriously shaved one... maybe he will pipe up here and show us some pics...

[carwash]

here is a nicely shaved one...

[JeffK5]

I'm sure Kargo will post some info but I might be able to give a little knowledge on this as I was the dude that machined his ring gear.

Common technique is to machine around 7/8" off the ring dia. then do all your fitting with modified ring gear in place ... fit your bottom plate as close as you care to make it.

Weld in bottom plate with the correct rod/pre-heating and blend cover rail into housing. You'll need to modify your diff cover and add some new bolting points.

I can tell you that machining the ring gear is a pain in the ass, it's some tuff stuff!

Jeff

[DinkDavis]

WOW thanx alot that is pretty impresive

[KargoMaster]

Yep, mine is a 13 bolt now... Jeff brought the dia of the ring gear down from 10.5 to 10.125 (there's still a little sliver of the orginal bevel left)

Sean (4ward) machined off the bottom and machined a groove into the new 1/2" bottom plate for the flat ring gear to sit in... (Quite tight in there)

I don't have any pics, but have seen lots of great ones on pirate... iirc, even a comparison thread? for 14 bolt shaves.

[KargoMaster]

BTW, with a grinder, most take a little less than an inch (really depends on how far you're willing to push it)

I think I got more than 1.5" and less than 2"

[DinkDavis]

thanx alot guys also can u use a dana 60 rear yoke on a 14 bolt?

[KargoMaster]

:o

oh shoot... I responded in the other thread with front 60 information... not sure about a rear 60...

[carwash]

is the reason you want to use the 60 yoke is so that you can use ubolts instead of straps to hold the u-joint in?

if that is the case, there are many places that will machine your 14 bolt yoke to use ubolts instead of straps. I believe that Jeff Smith and Jim Smith's rigs both have one of these machined yokes if you are looking for an example of the machining.

[sarge]

here is a nicely shaved one...

This really was not what I was expecting to see from Carwash !!!!!

[blazerbrad]

As already mentioned it really depends on if you want "mild or wild".

You can gain a lot just be shaving off the "lip" (mild) that hangs down on the bottom of the stock housing...not only a little extra ground clearance, but the fact that you can make the bottom of the housing smooth so it will slide over objects much easier versus the grappling hook effect of the stock setup. This is what I did on mine. No measurements but I probably gained around 3/4" between removing the lip and grinding down into the housing some, basically I have just enough material left that I can put a regular bolt (no washer) in the bottom hole and have the head of the bolt just about flush with the bottom of the housing. I went from a rear 10-bolt to the mildly shaved 14-bolt with the same tires and did not notice any difference in regards to getting hung up on ruts. I did go back and look at a few places and the 14-bolt was obviously rubbing the ground, but it slid over it so easy I didn't even notice it while driving.

[carwash]

all of this being said, i never shaved mine, and never even put a grinder to it. i ran 39.5" tires and never had an issue with it hanging up on anything.

but then again, i'm a bad ass.

[JeffK5]

i'm a bad ass.

You got the half right!

[DinkDavis]

thanx alot guys but the yoke was for drive shaft but all is well just need 64 lug nuts the guy at the local parts store thought I was crazy