Another discrepancy from the 14 bolt bible was that the pinion yoke on this axle was NOT centered with respect to the housing & backing plates. It was offset about 1.5” to the right which resulted in a compound angle for the aft section of the 2-piece driveshaft. Although this is not ideal, the resultant angle on the aft shaft U-joints was well below the minimum for vibration-free operation.
Indecently the pinion yoke to axle centerline distance of the 14b is only 1 inch greater than that of the Eaton; this would allow the use of the stock driveline (assuming there was enough travel in the slip joint). Both axles use the standard 1350 style U-joint. However I wanted to upgrade the driveline anyway since I had wimpy 2” diameter tubing to something larger, so I found a later model C3500 2-piece driveline from a junkyard with 2.75” tubing. This required shortening of the aft section of driveline to 35” and re-balancing. New U-joints (Moog 331) and carrier bearing (Timken HB88107A) were also installed.
Final installation of trailing arms, axle, driveline, panhard rod, shocks backing plates and hubs with new hub seals (National 2081)
Yet another area of internet misinformation on the 14b FF axle is the wheel bearing preload adjustment procedure. Most unofficial references I found, including the 14 bolt bible said to torque the wheel bearing hub nut to 50 ft-lbs and you’re done. I looked up the actual procedure in the GM factory manual for the 2000 C3500 and it said the following: “Tighten adjustment nut to 50 ft-lbs while rotating hub and drum. Back off 1/4 turn and tighten to 13 ft-lbs. Align nut slot with closest keyway, insert key, retaining ring and axle.” That last step of backing off is essential for proper wheel bearing preload. Other year applications back to 1973 have similar procedures, all beginning with torque to 50 ft-lbs, but ALL have the follow-up step of backing off to some degree and minor differences in final adjustment depending on the type of locknut style the axle has. BIG difference from just torqueing to 50 ft-lb and calling it a day…
Final assembly of main springs, custom spring spacers, brake shoes, brake hardware and axle shafts