Is there enough meat on a Ford 5 x 4.5 axle flange to redrill it to a 5x5 pattern? Axle would be from ab 91-94 Explorer.
Would depend on the diameter of the flange, right? If say it’s 6 inches, then not a lot of meat left after being redrilled. If using 1/2 lugs, the holes abit larger for the splines, leaves less than a 1/4 inch of material to the hole.
Buy one of those cheap plastic lug pattern measuring tools and stick it on there or a uni-lug rim because those are 4.5 to 5 on the pattern it covers.
No it’s not! I had the same question I asked (different rear though) in another thread. Saved me a few hours heading to pick and pull to measure one myself Aftermarket axles through Summit, etc aren’t too expensive if you find a rear the proper width.
I think this is one drilled for 4.75" Looks like enough meat for 5" ( https://www.s10forum.com/threads/explorer-8-8-install-with-pics.513864/ ) The pic is from S10forum. Mike
I believe so. The flanges are fully solid (no extra holes), and machined flat on both sides. Going from 4-1/2" to 5" is only a radius change of 1/4". I own a few of these. They work as advertised: https://www.hellsgatehotrods.com/shop/drill-guide/
Built a mold about thirty years ago when it was hard to get one of these wheel/bolt check gauges. Here's the measurements of five bolt sizes I used to build it.
Would it be safe to increase the dia. of the original flange by welding a ring of steel to the perimeter? Then machine it parallel and flat on both sides.
No, and it would also cost you more than just having new axles built with a larger flange. But there's another issue with increasing the flange size, and that's the drum. It might not sit inside the drum well if enlarged. And don't forget if you redrill the flange, need to redrill the drum also.
IMO…..totally unnecessary for the example being considered. Look at how the lug stud ‘load’ is imposed on the flange. No way is there going to be any load imposed to move the stud outward to the perimeter. And even if there was, the mass of the flange surrounding about 90% of the stud shank is very strong. Ray
curious too know if anyone has experienced a failure on any axle flange after a redrill...........given that as stated above axle flange mass is gonna encompass most of the stud, also axles drilled for more than one pattern seem to live just fine. I also think that reduced surface distance between holes ain't that concerning given uniformity through the flange circumference, and flange thickness. Axle quality might come into play as well. Just thoughts.
I admire your ingenuity and machining skills. I couldn't drill a straight hole if you held a gun to my head...much less drill it in an exact location. I just fired up Ebay and ordered a complete set of lug gauges for any and all possibilities.
Reasonably assuming the new studs are all the same specs (size and weight) there is no obvious potential imbalance on any affected parts. The studs will be installed evenly spaced on a concentric circle in newly drilled holes. The old stud locations (empty holes) were the same. Any imaginable differences would so small in mass, compared to the axle and flange, and located so near center of mass, as to be negligible. Ray
When it wasn't raining today I did some checking: small pattern 8.8" axle flanges are roughly 6-1/4 inches across, big pattern 9" axle flanges are roughly 7-1/4 across. In other words there isn't enough material yo re-drill the small pattern 8.8 axles to the big bolt pattern.
Pulled some info a while ago on the 8.8 including drilling them. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/8-8-rear-end-for-a-hotrod-info.1203372/
I seriously doubt all 9” Ford axle flanges are the same diameter. What was the wheel bolt circle diameter of the 7 1/4” flanges you measured? And, be honest! Ray
No. There is no need. I have an 8.8 that is re-drilled from 5-lug to 4-lug, and even with two new holes right next to two old holes, it is just fine. These are SVT Cobra discs on a 1991 Ranger 8.8, under my '60 Falcon.
Hnstray, to answer your question, you are correct, not all 9" Ford axle flanges are the same diameter, but all those with the big bolt pattern (5 on 5) that I checked were roughly 7-1/4" across, all the 9" small-pattern axle flanges (5 on 4-1/2 ) that I checked were roughly 6-1/4" across. As with anything made by Ford, expect exceptions. Note: First post amended.
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