Wheel Adapters Versus Drilling Axle Flanges or Wheels

[biggman100]

This is one where i would like some practical insight, and as much info as i can possibly get. I am looking to replace the factory wheels on my 1994 Dakota, which has a 6x4.5 bolt spacing. The wheel style i would like to use though, i can not find anywhere in that bolt pattern. I want to use a 15" or 16" "smoothie" wheel, with the baby moon caps, and the trim rings. I have always liked that look, and this is one of the few things the wife and i actually agree on, at least when it comes to my truck. My issue is, i cant seem to find any in a 6x4.5 bolt pattern, all i seem to find are 6x5.5. I have read about billet adapters, but i have also heard they arent recommended by some for any vehicle used off road or when towing, so i would like to hear from anyone who has used them for a decent length of time, and there experiences. Another option would be to redrill the rear axles, and front hubs for either a 5x5.5, or 6x5.5 pattern, due to that being more common bolt patterns. My issue there, i have never known anyone who has ever had that done, so i am also looking for some insight into that option. A few questions i have there, if i have the axles and hubs redrilled, do i have the drums and rotors done as well, or would it be better to source new drums and rotors already in the bolt pattern i choose? Another question there, being that my Dakota is a factory 6 lug, what would be the disadvantage of going to a 5 lug bolt pattern? I am only speculating the 5 lug, due to thinking the 6x5.5 might be too large for my hubs. One last option i have heard of, but only briefly, is having the rims redrilled to fit my truck. My concern there would be, what all would be involved in doing that? How would it affect balance? And how would it affect the strength of the center of the wheel? A last option, although one that may be cost prohibitive on this truck, would be to see if i could have new wheels custom drilled by the manufacturer, but being that im trying to keep costs down as much as possible, that might end up blowing the budget.

[Moses Ludel]

The Dakota has an odd wheel bolt pattern, Biggman100.  Is there a popular import truck with a metric sizing that matches this U.S. bolt pattern?  Toyota FJ40 and pickup wheels were interchangeable with common Chevy 6-lug in the day.  If there's a popular import interchange, maybe a wheel for that application meets your tastes.

 

Some re-drill the hub and axle shaft flanges, though you'd have to find drums with the same locating center hole size, brake drum/shoe sizing, offset and so forth.  Same with the front rotors.  I'm not keen on the idea of drilling rotors or drums, though many do this, I see it a lot in the Jeep/Ford Explorer and other hybrid axle swap arrangements.   

 

Another possibility would be a change of front bearing/hubs and rear axle shafts to a more common Jeep sizing in 5-bolt.  Confirming parts interchangeability would be required here.  The rear axle shafts would be the same scenario.  If you have an 8.25" Chrysler rear axle or a Dana 44, there could be a direct axle shaft and drum replacement if you can find an axle shaft length that is the same...Just a thought.  You'd have stock and common Chrysler parts with this approach. 

 

Other members, please jump into this discussion.  Share your experiences and solutions.

 

Moses

[biggman100]

Moses, actually, for the drums and rotors, getting custom pieces made may not be such an issue. There is a foundry about 55 miles from me that does drum and rotor casting for bendix, and i have some friends that work there who have done other custom jobs in the past, such as one off or custom drilled rotors and drums, so with that, i may just have to get them all the specs, and see if they make a replacement drum and rotor for my truck, and just have them drill the pattern i need, although usually that takes a bit timewise to get them done. The last time we had it done was on a 1949 ford my dad had, and it took them 5 months to have them finished. The bolt pattern works out to a 6x4.5/6x114.3mm, and the only other vehicle that uses that pattern anywhere in the world is the 2004 to 2009 Nissan Xterra, and 2005 to 2009 Nissan Pathfinder. Unfortunately, because it is such an unpopular pattern, there arent very many aftermarket solutions available in steel or aluminum wheels. I have went through every available source to see what wheels are available aftermarket, and didnt like anything offered. This whole wheel discussion has been ongoing for more than 4 years now. It started with my 1991 Dakota, an the only options i saw i liked were either lowrider style wire wheels, which i have somewhat gravitated away from, or the old school baby moon look, which i have always liked. This isnt something i plan to do right away, so i do have time to search all the available options, and then figure out the best way to proceed.

[Moses Ludel]

How would the moon cap wheels work with the Dakota 4WD front wheel/hub design?  Would the wheels and caps clear the axle stubs and flanges?

 

There are examples of Jeep flange drilling at our CJ Jeep forum: http://forums.4wdmechanix.com/topic/106-ford-88-rear-disc-brake-conversion-on-1986-jeep-cj7-dana-44/.  LastCJ7's posts may provide some ideas.  The stock CJ-7 had a larger, 5 x 5.5" wheel sizing.  The Explorer 8.8" rear axle is the swap-in that led to his choice of resizing the flanges.

 

Moses

[biggman100]

Moses, on the 1991 to 2004 Dakota, the front axle doesnt stick out past the studs, after it comes through the hub and the nut is tightened on. If you look at the wheels on my dakota, the plastic cap that is over the lugs only comes off the wheel maybe 4 inches, so the axle shouldn't affect the moon caps at all. The first pic i attached is my front wheel with the cap off, the second is with the cap on, the third is the wheel im looking at (which shows the depth of the area the baby moon cap sits on, which is the raised area just outside the lug holes), and the fourth shows a lowered Dakota with the style im going for. His was done by a whole lot of parts replacements though, such as changing hubs, and modifying his spindles for the new hubs. One thing i forgot to add to this, im looking to keep my truck stock height or a bit higher, not lowering it.

[Moses Ludel]

Wheel offset is always a concern...When you get to that point, choose a wheel with the correct width and offset for your Dakota's front end geometry.  Scrub radius and steering axis come quickly to mind...The photos are very helpful, Biggman100!

 

Moses

[Tim]

biggman100:

 

I know plenty of folks who have used wheel adapters to meet their needs, and beat them pretty hard off road. For some budgets it can be more common than you may think.  They seem to make them that convert to your needs, but whether it will fit will be up to you to look into (in the sense of fender clearance etc, don't know how your truck is set up). Some people will tell you to steer clear of them but I think that can be contributed to a few reasons:

1. They where installed incorrectly
2. They bought them from cheap sources with weak alloys and materials used in the construction
3. Or physics proved true (but this is more of a long term issue, or the type of use-> see below)

So, some would say that they don't recommend them because some racing groups have a ban on them. But, and this is my opinion, that has more to do with side-loading and how race cars corner (more specifically the amount of Gs exerted on the wheel when cornering, something a Jeep, or in your case a truck doesn't really apply to. Yet, because that ban is a thing with little to no explanation people tend to view that as reason to not run them. The painfully obvious flaw in that train of thought is the apples to oranges comparison (racing and off-road use). 

 

With that said, it doesn't mean that wheel adapters won't cause excess wear on your axle or ball joints, etc. But this is a trade off you have to consider. The optimal approach would be a custom wheel, another approach could be to re-drill the wheel but safety would be dependent on the entity doing the mod to the wheels which they would know (I would imagine how close the radius of the new holes to the old holes would be and how it is impacting structural integrity). Then again we see this in the off-road world with chromo axle makers who provide rear axles in dual patterns (5X114.3 and 5 x 127.0). 

[biggman100]

Tim, that is a good point about them offsetting the wheels closer to the fenders, that i didnt even consider. When i get ready to actually do this, if i go with wheel adapters, ill have to see if anyone makes wheels with an offset that will keep them inside the fenders. As for the wheel adapters, i know that most drag racing organizations also ban them, as well as most rally organizations, but, again with no real reason as to why. I highly doubt my truck will ever see the initial shock load of say a drag car at initial launch, so i doubt that ban would affect my decision to use them or not use them. The biggest concern i have with using them is, i tow trailers and cars with my Dakota, but, i dont do much in the way of off road activities with it, however, i am concerned the weight of the trailer and the cars i tow might cause issues with them. I did put out feelers to Wheel Vintiques and Cragar, and i am waiting to hear back on wether they can do custom lug patterns at the factory. I know both of them say they can do custom offsets, so i dont see where having the manufacturer do a custom bolt pattern would be out of their realm of experience, but i will have to wait for their replies.

[biggman100]

I finally got replies back from Cragar, Wheel Vintiques, and a couple others. It seems none of them do a steel smoothie in my bolt pattern. The only one who might is Circle Track racing, but they are billet aluminum, and may be pricey, since they are custom made.

[biggman100]

I got a chance to get back to this, finally, and even though the wheels are $1400 for 4, I think having circle track make me a set in billet, and then painted the gun metal gray that I want, is actually the best option. I talked to a couple billet wheel adapter manufacturers, and they don't recommend using them with the loads I sometimes tow, the last being in the 5500 pound range ( a 1979 Cadillac on a custom, home made, tow dolly). As for the option of drilling the hubs for a new bolt pattern, I found a couple places that will, but, they want roughly 6 weeks to do the work, and I can barely afford to let the truck sit 6 days right now.

[biggman100]

Moses, after some more thought on this whole thing, i got to wondering a couple of things based on your comments, such as, why does the Dakota have a 6 lug pattern in the first place? A strength issue, maybe? The rear axle is an 8 1/4, but, after some very diligent searching, i have read from many sources the 5 lug axle from the 87 to 90 Dakota is a direct swap into my axle housing, but, the 87 to 90 Dakota, i thought anyway, had a 7 1/4 rear, so, im not entirely sure if those axles are a direct swap, unless they are talking about the complete axle assembly, and, not just the axle shafts themselves. So, now, i am on a quest to find out if i could use, say, the axles from a Jeep, figuring they would be stronger than a 7 1/4 axle, but, that still leaves me with the issue of the front hubs. My front hubs are a hub/bearing assembly, and, noone lists just the hub, or, even any info on just the hub. My thought there is, if i can use the hub out of say, a jeep, since they did not make a 4x4 Dakota from 87 to 90, then, that would give me a much easier to work with 5 lug pattern, instead of my odd ball 6 lug pattern i have now. This isn't anything i am doing anytime soon, and, may not even be for another year, but, the longer it takes, the more info i can find on what is available, what is interchangeable, and, ultimately, what the best course of action is.

[Moses Ludel]

biggman100...Maybe this is the "good news":  I tested the new 1987 and '88 Dodge Ram 4WD pickup, Chrysler did make them in 4x4 form from '87-'90 if that helps.  

How rare?  I believe they are out there, the trucks were fairly popular...The 4x4 Dakota was competition for the MJ Comanche, which lost out.

Here's living proof of 1987-90 Dakota 4x4s:  https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/bymodel/1987_Dodge_Dakota_Pickup.shtml

As for a 5-bolt wheel on a Dakota 4WD, the 1987-90 Wheels for "N" Trucks were 5-bolt wheels.  Here's just one example:  04284323 N 15 X 6.0, 4.5 B.C., 5 Stud

1991-up are 6 Stud wheels as you note...Here's a wheel example:  04284985 4 N 15x6.0, 4.5 B.C., Steel, Styled Road Wheel Class 11, 6 Stud

This might increase your chances of finding an axle.  Jeep does use a 4.5" bolt circle (5-stud) 8.25" axle in the XJ Cherokee.  I own one (1999 without ABS), though most XJs have the Dana 35 rear axle.  You could compare the track width and brake sizing of the Jeep XJ Cherokee's 8.25" axle with your Dakota's rear axle.

Moses