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5 lug conversion? is it possible?

J

jfd492

CEG'er
Joined
Nov 22, 2009
Messages
39
Location
Maspeth NY
i was wondering if it would be possible to do a 5 lug conversion on a contour, if so, what can you use?
i dont think something like a mustang would work, its rwd, but what about the taurus

CONTOUR 95-UP 14x6 4x108 12x1.5 63.4 H
TAURUS 86-UP 15x7 5x108 12x1.5 63.4 H
http://lugpattern.net/Ford_Bolt_Patterns.htm

how would you go about doing this if it were possible?
 
CRG Racer24 said:
AND, I'm pretty sure 5x108 has less wheel choices than 4x108.
Click to expand...

This ^^^. Sam and I were talking about getting parts from Europe from the Mondeo, looks to be the same hub/knuckle, and well, swap hubs for the 5 lug. It turns out, the 5 lug is 5x108. Sure you can find rims for that in Europe, but that's the thing, in Europe. I'm thinking of getting adapters and just finding a high offset wheel, if I don't get my hands on a custom rim set.
 
CRG Racer24 said:
AND, I'm pretty sure 5x108 has less wheel choices than 4x108.
Click to expand...

Yep, those of us in the Taurus SHO community have been struggling with 5 X 108mm aftermarket wheel availability for, oh... 20 years now, and like the housing market, it's not improving.

You could engineer a new/larger hub with a 5 X 4.5" or 4.75" bolt circle, more Mustang or Camaro-centric, but then you're fighting wheels with predominately rear wheel drive offsets.

I've tried to get European spec wheels over here, and unless you're willing to order a sea container full, it's nigh impossible.

Good luck, and I hope you have deep pockets. With enough $ and effort, anything is possible.
 
this is something that i am going to be doing at some point this summer. the escape wheel bearing is the same as the tour so an escape hub can be pushed in to the coug/tour hub. the escape has the same bolt pattern as the mustang, which has a rather large aftermarket. and for brakes, i already have the tce kit which is already drilled for the 4 and 5 lug.

i havent been able to find the info for the rear bearings, or rather havent had much time to look.

this will let me run my slicks on my coug and stang
 
Another option is having your rotors/hubs welded shut and redrilled for the new bolt pattern. That wouldn't require any different parts. Just doesn't make it easy to go back to stock if you were ever inclined to do so.
 
Redlineracer12 said:
Another option is having your rotors/hubs welded shut and redrilled for the new bolt pattern. That wouldn't require any different parts. Just doesn't make it easy to go back to stock if you were ever inclined to do so.
Click to expand...

Not to mention drastically, dare I say dangerously, weakening the hubs themselves.
 
i did some research but unfortunately the pics arent very detailed and without the actual vehicles/parts, its hard to see if this will work..

Graphic.gif

2005 ford escape FRONT suspension^

jnbljnbv.gif

wheelbearing.gif

suspension.gif

1995 ford countour FRONT suspension^

this is something that i am going to be doing at some point this summer. the escape wheel bearing is the same as the tour so an escape hub can be pushed in to the coug/tour hub. the escape has the same bolt pattern as the mustang, which has a rather large aftermarket. and for brakes, i already have the tce kit which is already drilled for the 4 and 5 lug.
Click to expand...
the knuckles arent the same, but if the hubs/bearings are like you say it would just need to be pressed and it should work then right?

vjc.gif

jblj.gif

1995 ford taurus FRONT suspension^
knuckles look similiar, but dont know if theyre the same
 
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The front wheel bearings have very similar part numbers between the escape and tour. So that part might be feesible...

Escape:YL8Z1215AA

Contour:F5RZ1215A


The rears will be a different story, as they are a completely different setup
 
when i went to rock autos website and looked up the wheel bearing under cougar it lists coug/tour/myst/escape as the same bearing for the front (timken 510029) and it actually lists the rear as the same as well (timken 510029)

ive never had a rear apart, didnt know they were the same bearing. well that pretty much solves it then.
 
Well, an escape rear wheel bearing bolts onto the knuckle, while the contour rear bolts on to a spindle in the rear.

Contour:
80833946


Escape:
107179722


The escape hub presses into this^. The contour has the bearings inside the hub.
 
if they are showing the same part number for the front and rear of the coug/tour, why couldnt you just use front hub from the escape on the rear?
 
contourspd98 said:
The front wheel bearings have very similar part numbers between the escape and tour. So that part might be feesible...

Escape:YL8Z1215AA

Contour:F5RZ1215A


The rears will be a different story, as they are a completely different setup
Click to expand...

Just FYI on comparing Ford part numbers, but the part in the middle that is similar is simply because that's the base number for that bearing. Pretty much every wheel bearing will have that same similarity in the part number, but they won't be the same.
 
Redlineracer12 said:
Another option is having your rotors/hubs welded shut and redrilled for the new bolt pattern. That wouldn't require any different parts. Just doesn't make it easy to go back to stock if you were ever inclined to do so.
Click to expand...

tsSVT said:
Not to mention drastically, dare I say dangerously, weakening the hubs themselves.
Click to expand...


I think this would be the best idea out of all of them. Even good weld is stronger than raw steel. I don't know the calculations for something like this but I do structural engineering and I can see little to no danger in filling the old stud holes and drilling/pressing studs into a new bolt pattern. The only variable for strength would be the amount of steel from edge of stud to edge of hub plate and weld penetration. Any certified welder can plug the old stud holes.
 
blu_fuz said:
I think this would be the best idea out of all of them. Even good weld is stronger than raw steel. I don't know the calculations for something like this but I do structural engineering and I can see little to no danger in filling the old stud holes and drilling/pressing studs into a new bolt pattern. The only variable for strength would be the amount of steel from edge of stud to edge of hub plate and weld penetration. Any certified welder can plug the old stud holes.
Click to expand...

I don't mean to argue with your skill or training, and what you said is true that the weld is stronger than raw steel, but the extreme heat from the weld reduces the strength of all surrounding material. There is also the possibility that the heat could warp/deform the hub itself. I have to agree that a good welder with proper penetration would probably suffice, but I can't stop thinking about the worst case if one was to do this. I may just be over thinking it though.
 
Yeah, I'm not arguing either. Now that you mentioned the warping, I agree that it will warp and that the hub should be removed from the knuckle/bearing when the welding takes place and then try to put that hub on a lathe to true it back up or to at least check for warping.

The discussion is bringing some ideas to the surface, I like it :cool:.

Also, any wheel with the different bolt pattern will also have a different hub hole and you will need to make sure the hub is centric to the wheel.
 
Guys, you can fill and drill most high quality wheels. BMW guys do it all the time. The difference is they are spending $200 to adapt $1500 set of wheels to a 4x100 pattern.
 
That's my plan. Getting rims sent out to be refilled and drilled more than likely. BUT, if I can finally set on a set, I'll do whatever it takes, whether adapters, hub fills, or wheel fills.
 
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