|
Back to info.
What do I need to do a 5 Lug Conversion?
For S13 Front:
- S14 SE Hubs
- S14 SE Spindles
- S14 Ball Joint (will need to be pressed into your existing S13 Lower Control Arm)
- S14 SE Rotors (or 4 lug rotors re-drilled to 5 lug)
- 5 Lug Wheels
For S13 Rear:
- S14 SE or Z32 N/A Hubs
- S14 SE Rotors (or 4 lug rotors re-drilled to 5 lug)
- 5 Lug Wheels
For S14 Base Front & Rear:
- S14 SE Hubs
- S14 SE Rotors (or 4 lug rotors re-drilled to 5 lug)
Information (for front, with conversion hubs):
I have an S13 with Attain front hubs. It is seriously a 10 minute job once you know what you are doing. Take your wheel off, remove your caliper, I believe the 2 bolts holding it on are 12mm, then remove the pad holder thing, I believe those two bolts are either 17mm or 19mm. Then remove that bracket, you should be staring at just the rotor. If it's hard to get off, take a rubber hammer and tap it in a couple places, it will come off eventually. Then you need to take the wheel bearing cap off. I worked at mine for a half an hour and it would not come off for anything. I eventually used a hammer and a screwdriver to punch a small hole in the cap, then put the screwdriver inside and pried it off. Then you need to remove the cotter pin. I destroyed mine removing it, so don't feel bad if you do too. Then there is a 32mm bolt you need to break loose. The bolt will not spin, so you don't need to worry about that part. When you get that part off, just pull the hub off, and toss it aside. Clean the shaft up a little bit, then put some grease on it if you have some. Then put the new hub in, torque the socket down to 140 lb-ft, put a new cotter pin on, put the dust cover back on, then your brake parts back on and then your 5 lug wheel.
The same will apply for base model S14 going to 5 lug SE hubs. It's the same procedure. The only way this differs if you use a frankenstein front end from S14 SE on an S13, and I will not post the information, and please don't ask the information because I have not done that conversion, and I will not do that conversion.
Information (for rear, with Z32NA/S14SE hubs):
OK, this one is definitely a little harder, but nothing that can't be done. First off, the axel bolt. It spins with the wheel, so breaking it loose can be a difficult task by itself. However, there is one way to make it easier. Break the huge bolt loose with the wheel still on and sitting on the ground. It all depends on what wheel you have, but I think it should be possible on most wheels. The only thing that stands in the way of doing what I just said is the little plastic "lock" and cotter pin on the axel. If you can remove both of those with the wheel on (like I could), then skip this next part. If you can't, jack up the rear end, take the wheel off, remove that plastic "lock" and cotter pin, put the wheel back on, lower it and then break that nut loose. It's huge, 36mm. Break that loose and take the nut off, now remove your wheel again and jack up the rear end again. Now for the fun part. There are two ways to do a rear 5 lug conversion on S13/S14 base. You can either get just the hub or you can get the entire hub/wheel bearing assembly. Hub by itself will generally be cheaper, entire assembly will be easier.
Wheel Bearing/Hub
|
Hub Only
|
|
|
If you got the hub/wheel bearing, here is the install information; there are 4 bolts on the back of the spindle that bolt up to the wheel bearing flange. I believe they are 17mm and they are on there VERY tight, so either prepare for some manuvering with extensions and straining to break them or try some liquid wrench or whatever, I did it the hard way with pure muscle and I'm a computer nerd, so they aren't impossible to break loose, but they are on there pretty damn tight. Break those 4 loose, then prepare to pull the whole assembly out. On mine, one side would not come off no matter how hard I pulled, so I used a rubber hammer in a couple places and it came off pretty easily with that; on the other side, it slid off no problem. After that, put the new hubs in, making sure to line the bolts up correctly with the dust shield (they have extra bolt holes which can interfere with the caliper), bolt them down, torque those 4 bolts down to 80 lb-ft, then mount the wheels, drop it down, then tighten the axel bolt down to 160 lb-ft, put the plastic "lock" back on, new cotter pin, and drive away happy.
If you opted to just get the hub, I didn't do mine this way, but I'm told that a machine shop can press the old hub out and press the new one in. So after you remove the assembly, take it somewhere to have it swapped out, then just follow the directions for putting it all back together.
Additional Information:
For S13 Front 5 Lug Conversion, there are several companies that make replacement hubs that convert to 5 lug. I know of 2 companies that offer these hubs as they are a JDM market only product and have to be shipped here. I got my Attain hubs from Wayne @ phase2motortrend. Also, Sam @ Jspec.Com carries GTO Hubs. The hubs are not cheap, but they make the swap so much easier and they come with new wheel bearings, so thats a plus.
|
|