Five Lug Bolt Pattern Conversion - Hole Exchange
| Ditch The HolesOur rear independent suspension came from a Ford Expedition, which had a six-lug metric bolt pattern. Our wheels had a five-lug American bolt pattern.
Owning a truck with six-lug hubs and axles used to be a pain when it came time to buy new wheels for your ride. With the exception of billet wheel manufacturers that would custom-make a wheel with the right bolt pattern, which is really expensive, there weren't a lot of choices for rims. Let's face it: It used to be a five-lug world when it came to aftermarket wheels for trucks. In some respects, it still is.
There are many ways to make the switch from six- to five-lug, such as purchasing new axle and hub assemblies from a donor truck or buying aftermarket upgrade parts. However, this can be quite costly. Here's a quick, cheap way to do the job, using the parts you already have. We wanted to run five-lug wheels on our '67 Chevy C10 project truck because we like the look of five-spoke rims, which you can normally only get in a five-lug pattern. We didn't want to spend a fortune to buy new parts, so we just welded up the holes in our existing hubs and brake rotors, then had a machine shop drill a new five-lug bolt pattern in the parts. It was quick, relatively easy, and cost less than 300 dollars. Here's how it all went down.
