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Warn 5x5.5 Hub Conversion and WJ Steering

I have built 2 different front ends using Warn 5x5.5 hub stuff on WJ knuckles.

I'll make this simple, .. don't do it.


If you do it using CJ rotors (the easy way) the rotor is too thin, as the pads wear you spit a piston out of the caliper and your brakes either lock up or just vanish. Always seems to happen in the fast lane on the highway late at night.

If you do it using WJ rotors, you have to machine a ton of metal off of the knuckles and everything gets super custom. For some reason, I keep breaking knuckles with this setup.


If you want 5x5.5, do traditional Dana 44 outers or Reid knuckles. If you want WJ stuff, stay 5x4.5.
 
Not comprehensive, but start around post 1400, and it will give you a vague idea of what you have to do:

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1075100


2 big problems:

You have to run the rotor on the outside of the hub, not the inside (hat too deep). Which means your drilling and tapping the rotor to thread a stud in. Can't use an impact to put tires on, ever, or they back out.

The steering is within 3 or so millimeters of the brake rotor. Can only run heims, not enough room for a tie rod end.

You have to use 1/2" spacing on the spindle, which puts the ujoints out of center and they wear out fast.


Its just not a great setup.
 
Thanks for the insight! I appreciate your help! I have spent a lot of time reading pages and pages of forums but feel like I have gotten nowhere. The problem is that my axle is already all put together and everything up until the rotor and that's when I noticed the issue....do you think 2-piece rotors may be an idea? It would just be a ton of wasted parts to go back from where I am now... I'm kicking myself but what can you do now...lol
 
No. Believe me, we have tried DOZENS of rotors.


Your options are the shallow hat CJ rotor and destroy calipers, or the WJ rotor and destroy u-joints, or ditch either the WJ or the 5x5.5 stuff.
 
I believe you lol just trying to figure out the best solution. I came across the Reid knuckles and that looks like it may work. I'm going to ditch the wj stuff I think it will be most cost effective. It's a tj rubicon built Dana 44 axle.
 
The reid stuff won't use any of your warn kit, you'd have to find everything (brakes, rotors, spindles, stub axles) from a traditional f150/wagoneer 44 front.
 
cal said:
I asked Blaine about that and he told me to stop being an idiot; thats when we built the second config (which is totally safe, but still not advisable).
Click to expand...

lol. I've seen them be used in road racing successfully. They simply space the outer pad (not the piston side) to compensate. As long as the caliper has enough physical room to accept the spacer and pad combo, I wouldn't see an issue (I'm just speculating at this point, so don't quote me! :p)
 
Hey cal I know you have said you have tried dozens of rotors...here is my predicament my jeep is at fat Bob's and they are having a machinist drill Ford Mustang rotors. After test driving it they are getting a bad shake when braking..so their machinist came and looked at it again today and is making some adjustments on it and they are hoping this works out. Have your tried this route? They don't really want to go back after all the work that's been done on it..any experience?
 
well, there are a lot of ford mustangs with a lot of different rotors, but i couldn't tell you if any of those were on the list that we tried.

i'd expect those to have kind of a small hat to fit over that warn hub though.
 
What happens if I get rid of the lockout hubs, change my wheel bearing to the 01+ tj, then get wj rotors and drill them to 5x4.5 and then run an adapter 5x5.5 for the front. Would that work? Or would those adapters cause an issue? Any experience? You know your stuff cal and would like to bump ideas off you. Or what do I need to do to run your second solution you told me about that wears u joints out prematurely
 
spawn_xj4rmhell said:
What happens if I get rid of the lockout hubs, change my wheel bearing to the 01+ tj, then get wj rotors and drill them to 5x4.5 and then run an adapter 5x5.5 for the front. Would that work? Or would those adapters cause an issue? Any experience? You know your stuff cal and would like to bump ideas off you. Or what do I need to do to run your second solution you told me about that wears u joints out prematurely
Click to expand...

You could do that, and adapters work fine - but keep in mind you're adding 2-3" to your width, and affecting your scrub radius. You may want that, you may not. I "wouldnt have a problem with it" but I would also much rather not do it, if that makes sense.


As far as the second solution.

You have to drill the hubs with a 2nd set of 5x5.5 holes that are tap'd 1/2x20, and bolt them up to the rotors with hub on the outside. You'll have to use cap screw wheel studs and not hex head, as the heads will be against the inside of the rotor hat.

Need to do 1/2" spacer instead of 1/4" or the rotor hits the steering. Once it is spaced out, bolt the spindle up, slide the rotor down and you will have to grind 4-5 places on the knuckle pretty heavily (the rotor hits the knuckle itself).

Once you can bolt the rotor in, you'll have to machine the caliper mount ears to center the caliper on the rotor. I forget the exact number, but if you look at the caliper mount boss, it is a protrusion - you'll machine that off to where the entire surface is 'flat', but just barely.

You will ONLY be able to run heim joint steering. Tie rod ends are too big and rub against the rotor. The biggest joint you can run is a 3/4x3/4, a 7/8 is too big and again hits the rotor. Probably not a problem for you, but I really wish I could run a 7/8x5/8.

The caliper is WAY inboard of where it would be normally, and hits the shock mounts at full lock. We have a fully custom axle, so it was fairly easy to work around, but you may find yourself having to cut some mounts off and re-do them.

I'm sure there is more, but I can't recall off of the top of my head. I'm actually going to be at Stinkyfab this weekend building a new knuckle (we just broke one), I'll try and remember to take some notes and revisit this thread.



Its enough modification to everything that I keep an entire second set of everything already machined up ready to go for repairs. Spare hubs, rotors, knuckles, spindles, etc.
 
Last edited:
Its interesting, reading back in this thread. The original parts I used (and that are currently my spares) are from Paul S, who posted a previous solution to the problem. I never noticed that before. He eventually abandoned the config and went to standard Dana 44 stuff. I think we're going to abandon it soon and go to dana 60 stuff.
 
spawn_xj4rmhell said:
What happens if I get rid of the lockout hubs, change my wheel bearing to the 01+ tj, then get wj rotors and drill them to 5x4.5 and then run an adapter 5x5.5 for the front. Would that work? Or would those adapters cause an issue? Any experience? You know your stuff cal and would like to bump ideas off you. Or what do I need to do to run your second solution you told me about that wears u joints out prematurely
Click to expand...

I run WJ knuckles, 01+ unit bearings, WJ rotors redrilled to 5x4.5, and an adapter to run JK take off wheels. I am sure I am not the only one doing this and except for the scrub that Cal talked about and making sure the adapters stay tight (haven't had a problem with that) they are fine. One thing to make sure of is to get hubcentric adapters.
 
for all the money you would spend on a WJ swap and a warn hub option, why not build a hp44, late 70s ford ?
 
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