I have a early 1977 f250. Ive done a search on here and cant find any post about this. I think the search just sucks. I read the 14 bolt is a bulletproof and cheaper axle to build. What do I need to swap from a dana 60 to a 14 bolt. Is the axle width the same a the dana 60. I dont know what you have to do to make this axle swap work. Ive heard of moving the spring pearches? Is there anything else?

 

I'm going to do this and even have my 14 bolt here but I have yet to really look at it. 75f350 knows by heart what needs to be done as he has done many of these, but he has fallen off the face of the earth and hasn't looged in since December...

As for what needs to be changed - my truck is a 74 F-250 4wd so I'm pretty sure I will be changing leaf spring mounts. You say your truck is a 77 but don't say 2 or 4wd. With a 2wd you might not have to change spring perches.

The only other things that MIGHT come up would be the pinion yoke U-joint size. The one on the 14B MAY be bigger, and the whatever you need to mess with for the parking brake.

I will be running disks so I need to mess with this anyways...

If you get into doing this take some pics and notes and post up

 

i tossed my useless dana 60 out and replaced it with the 14 bolt on my 1979 with a 76 frame 4x4. all you need to do is cut off the spring perches and weld them on again to match your truck like the old 60 was. i would keep the 14 bolt perches as they are boxed in and solid. the thin cheap ones can collapse and ruin your pinion angle that you just set up. as far as width they are pretty close to the same. i am running 49 iroks so width wasnt a huge deal as my tires were going to sit out 6 inches anyways. you need to make sure you find the full floater rear single wheel axle though. get rid of those drum brakes though with an easy swap kit. may cost about 300 bucks to do it and is really easy. the rear yoke is going to be a 1350. you should just get the driveshaft cut and put in a 1350 weld yoke on your shaft. or just get a 1330 pinion yoke if thats what you have. i ended up getting a 1410 on mine with a heavy duty cv for help with my angle. if you upgrade one thing you then need to upgrade something else to get rid of the next weak link. it will never end. good luck

 

This was a response I got from 75f350 when I was asking him pretty much the same question in your opening post:

Hey there. That appears to be a decent rear axle. I am actually more fond of the 14 bolt than any other rear axle. Not all are the same, but this one appears to be just fine. You do not want too many of the dually axles and want to stay away from mid 80's axles with ribbed center sections. The one you found does not have any ribs, and takes decent hubs. These will actually have the same spindle nut as your dana 60 so you will not have purchase additional tools to work on it.
Things you will have to do is, make sure that your gear ratio is the same as the front, but you will find that parts and set-up is much easier than any other axle.
This axle also has 9/16" lugs, so you will have to purchase new ones. Your current lugs are 1/2" and these are larger.
You will also have to modify your driveshaft because this axle has a slight offset to the pinion and it takes a different style u-joint than your currecnt joint. It is a funny size, and it uses straps instead of typical u bolts. You can purchase std 1350 or even 1410 yokes, and if your ride is lifted it might just work with very little modification. You will also have to make up some brake lines, since your truck feeds from the left side and the 14B is closer the the center gut favors the right side of the diff. Vent tube is different, but easilly modified.
These brakes are larger than yours, and you will find better braking over your current set-up.
Disc brake conversions are cheap as can be, and pretty easy.
You will be pleased with this rear axle, and once you decide to install a locker, you will find that these are cheap as well. YOu wont invest near as much iin this as you did in the dana, and this axle will not let you down.
Much luck.