Quote:
Originally Posted by jbclassix
That's the Eaton guy there.
As for bearings, None are interchangeable. I tried. Only bearing I have not checked on yet is the pinion support bearing.
Stay tuned. If I can find someone to machine my 14 Bolt hubs for cheap (free) I will show you what I have to do to run the 14 Bolt parts on my Eaton.
Edit: don't forget about the mythical 3.92 ratio discontinued aftermarket offering. |
Well if the tech isn't enough proof for some, does owning 6 Eaton HO52's/72's (2 C&C's, 1 Front Eaton60, and 3 SRW's) prove I'm an Eaton guy for sure?
I've heard various rumors about the aftermarket gearsets available for these. I know for fact that it was Randy's Ring & Pinion that had a limited production run of like 10 of those gear sets made, and I've seen mention of several different numbers. Most times that those aftermarket sets were brought up in the thread on Pirate, they were referred to as being a 3.73 gear set. I've heard 3.90 and 3.92 thrown around on here. I have yet to see a picture of these aftermarket gears, likely because of the fact that they were made in such a limited number.
I'm curious to know what the R&P tooth count was for those gears too. According to Tim Cooper, the guy on Pirate4x4 that machined a 14bff ARB air locker to fit in an Eaton, (he seems to be an Eaton guru, but only posted a few pictures to make us all drool over the possibility of an ARB for the Eaton and some tid bits of tech), the 4.57 gear set is the strongest because of the 7/32 tooth count, the ring gear is thicker than any of the other gear sets and it has larger/coarser teeth than the other ratios. There has been 1 person on Pirate in the several year/30+ page history of the Eaton thread over there that has managed to grenade two 5.13 ring/pinion sets in a pulling truck, and the shredded gears were quite spectacular (and somewhat saddening) to see. Compared to the amount of shredded 14b gears that are seen over there, I'd say that's pretty impressive, but I doubt anyone with those low ratio aftermarket gears from Randy's would be abusing them quite like us offroad guys do.
And I'm interested in seeing some 14b hubs put on an Eaton, I'd love to make the rear HO72 in my GMC into a 67'' wms width axle without the use of spacers or extending the housing. 14b hubs should make it that wide I would think. If I were more skilled with a lathe (I have free access to one at work), I'd try to machine a set myself, but I'd be afraid of ruining the hubs.
EDIT: After looking at your pictures on page 1, I think there would be some issues with disc brakes and 14b hubs on an Eaton, because the drum/rotor mounting surface on the back of a 14b hub is moved further out on the hub than it is on the Eaton hub. Why would this be a problem? Simple, the same reason why all of the same disc brake conversion stuff works on an Eaton. The "backing plate flange to machined drum/rotor mount surface on the hub" distance is the same for the 14b and the Eaton. Since that surface is further inboard on the Eaton, so is the backing plate flange. If you move that drum/rotor mount surface further outboard, which is what you would be doing by putting a 14b hub on an Eaton, then your drum/rotor will be too far away from the backing plate flange, probably by about 1'', since that's the width difference per side between an Eaton and 14bff. This probably could be solved with weld on caliper brackets or a simple spacer, but just something to keep in mind there. Bearing spacing is the other thing I'd be concerned about when trying to fit 14b hubs on an Eaton housing. I can check for you tonight if the bearing spacing is the same for the 14b and Eaton hub, since I have a 14b housing with no hubs and a couple Eaton spindles I cut off for my Eaton 60, I can compare the two and get some measurements.