D series 14 bolt swap

Tonka Toy

Tonka Toy

Member
I've been wanting to do this swap for some time now, but there was never a need to rush. But now I May be in a sticky spot. The d44 under my 72 1110 Travelall is giving me problems. The housing has been dry outside for about 3 years now, but over the past couple of weeks has started leaking. Last week I detected a slight whine, probably from low oil. So I bought a gasket and some gear oil and set out to service it. When I crawled under, I found that the leak is coming out of the gap between the tube and center section. Not always a concern, but over the last couple of days I've picked up a slight vibration at highway speeds. I'm afraid that it's bending. So maybe I need to just swap in the 14 bolt and be done.

But we're set to go camping with it in a couple of weeks. So I don't have a bunch of time to waste. I'm lining up some used mid 80's suburban k20 springs for it later today. The axle I have is like new inside, despite coming from a 75 c20 of unknown condition. I wish that it was a bolt in and go deal, but I know it's not. After rereading the build-up of IHPA's blue beast, I'm starting to sweat it.

So can we go over just what I'll need to have and any tips to save time, money, etc? I read that I should replace the perches to the 3 bolt style and get the rear "positioned properly". How do I set up the pinion angle? And does IHPA now stock the parts to do this? I'm ok with using rubber spring bushings for now, since I May go to a new spring in the future. If I don't need to, then I can swap out the rubber ones in a day with urethane. I just can't afford any setbacks right now.

Thanks everyone! :icon_stressed:
 
On the leafspring swap are you performing this for lift or just because you want to? If you're not lifting the vehicle any just leave the IH rear springs in it and set the 14bolt to those springs. If you are lifting the vehicle with GM springs the leafspring bushings will need to be swapped out or current ones drilled as GM spring bushings use a 9/16" bolt but IH is 5/8". All the holes in your rear spring and shackle hangers are obviously 5/8" so that has to be contended with.

As for setting the pinion angle if you are going to run the same IH springs just measure what you have now and install the 14bolt with the same amount. If you are lifting the rear suspension at the same time just add a degree or two of angle.

Yes we do have or can get all the parts needed. If you are installing GM springs up front I should have in here any day now the spring hangers to install the GM springs. If you're in a pinch for time I can sell you the prototype set I have available.

Let me know if you have any other questions about the swap.
 
ihpartsjeff said:
on the leafspring swap are you performing this for lift or just because you want to? If you're not lifting the vehicle any just leave the IH rear springs in it and set the 14bolt to those springs. If you are lifting the vehicle with GM springs the leafspring bushings will need to be swapped out or current ones drilled as GM spring bushings use a 9/16" bolt but IH is 5/8". All the holes in your rear spring and shackle hangers are obviously 5/8" so that has to be contended with.

As for setting the pinion angle if you are going to run the same IH springs just measure what you have now and install the 14bolt with the same amount. If you are lifting the rear suspension at the same time just add a degree or two of angle.

Yes we do have or can get all the parts needed. If you are installing GM springs up front I should have in here any day now the spring hangers to install the GM springs. If you're in a pinch for time I can sell you the prototype set I have available.

Let me know if you have any other questions about the swap.
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I'm swapping the springs for two reasons. First is because there absolutely toasted. And secondly, they're 1/2 ton, and I want 3/4. For now I'm not planning any lift. The fronts are new 3/4 IH spec springs that I got through dan hayes who had oregon spring make them. So if there's a lift, it will be a side benefit of the GM stock springs. But if I leave the IH springs for now, will I have the clearance issue? And I'm running a tire near 33 inches.

As for the rear, I wonder if I could make a plate to go between the spring and perch to move it back? I have recently made a connection with a local machinist and he asked me if we could do it that way.
 
On a pickup 33" should just barely clear but it will depend o the extent of your sagging springs.

As for the rear yes you can make a plate to move the axle rearward. I have done such a thing in the past. But you May have to install new perch's anyway as the width might be different. It was different on mine.
 
Ok then. If I had you toss what I need in a box, what would it cost me? And could it be in boise by Saturday without having to refinance the house? Lol! I'm assuming u bolts and plates, upper shock mounts and perches (just in case) is all I need, right? You can pm me if you would rather.

Thanks a million!
 
Might need to do something about the u-joints also. The 14b is probably a 1350, not sure about the d44 but would guess 1310. New straps for the 14b yoke is always a good idea.
 
tonka toy said:
ok then. If I had you toss what I need in a box, what would it cost me? And could it be in boise by Saturday without having to refinance the house? Lol! I'm assuming u bolts and plates, upper shock mounts and perches (just in case) is all I need, right? You can pm me if you would rather.

Thanks a million!
Click to expand...

We could potentially get this all to you by Saturday if we have it all in stock. Best to call in and ask about pricing, availability, etc. Anyone of us here should be able to help you on what you need.
 
Ok Jeff. Decisions decisions. I just started my day and I haven't had enough coffee for this yet. Lol!

My problem is that I really don't have enough time to get this done before my trip. But I've got to get something to work. :mad2: so I cleaned up the 44 and the 14 last night before bed. (more like 5-6 am but who's counting.) anyway, I saw something on the 14 bolt that concerns me too. (I hope that I'm not just getting paranoid at this point.) the axle tube on one side doesn't really seem to be into the housing like it should. :mad2: take a look. The first two shots are of the 14, the last is of the 44 last night before I cleaned it up. The 44 seems to have a couple of cracks in one of the plug welds, but it doesn't look like a factory weld. I'm afraid that someone has dealt with this before. No way to know I guess.

So at this point, I'm looking at either running it and fixing it after the trip, or refinancing the house to have a shop deal with it. I don't really have the time to spend dealing with it. So damn frustrating!
 

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image.jpgsorry for the little rant yesterday. After a while of banging my head to come up with a plan, my uncle helped me out. Here's the result.

Well, this is what I found after a 50 mile road trip. I tried jacking it up from underneath the center section and just taking the weight of the truck off of it made the one tube go from 1 degree to zero. I am going to do some more measuring, but if they work out, I am going to attempt a repair while still in the truck. I believe that my housing is only off along the horizontal line. If so, I'll jack it again until we're straight (or maybe one degree up), and weld the tube to the center section all the way around. If nothing else, it should keep it from getting worse until I can get the 14 ready to swap in.

Thoughts?
 
update:

Well the patch job worked well, with one exception…. It couldn't handle the load of the family, camping gear and the tent trailer. :mad2: after about 75 miles, it started binding up on me. And it was getting worse by the 150 mile Mark when I decided to call in the cavalry. My uncle brought our expo out to us and limped the pumpkin home. :icon_sad:

so now it's time to get serious and do this! Before I start ripping and tearing (and parts ordering :lol:), I have a couple of questions. First, my rear springs are shot. I was going to go get some wrecking yard springs from an 80's suburban, but I had the bright idea to go one step further. There's a local place that parts out 99-07 GM trucks. When I was there a year or so ago, he had a pickup bed full of spring pairs. All $35-$45 a pair, iirc. I noticed they had several lengths, from 53-63", again, as I recall. Anyway, I'm not opposed to moving and/or flipping my rear hangars to accommodate a better spring. So, given this info, what would the general consensus be?

I'm kind-of in a sticky spot. Like many of us ihers, I don't have a buttload of money to blow on this thing right now, but I really only want to do this once, and without much delay. So do I just slap in some 80's suburban springs and go, or take the extra step to get a better spring? :confused:

by my rough measurements, the heralded 63's would land the shackle hangar right where one of the rear body mounts are located. So I'm not sure if that would work without even more custom fab, including moving a crossmember or possibly boxing the rear frame area.

Ugh!!! I know that I'm probably over thinking this, as I tend to do. But I can't help but to take advantage of the situation (if possible), and upgrade while I'm doing this. The axle itself is an upgrade, and since the rear springs are junk, why not? Oh I just need to win the lottery. Lol! :lol::crazy:

ps: the plan is to keep the lift to a minimum and run 33x12.50 maximum tire size.
 
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