So earlier this year there was a learn me on ball joint and the tapers that are "standard". Is there similar in the world of spindles?
i want to change the hubs on my utility trailer so that I can use the spare tire of my truck if needed. Or pillage the trailer wheels to use on the truck if I lost more than 1 tire on a trip. I'm told the spindle on the trailer is a late 70's for van unit welded to the axel tube. Will non Ford hubs fit on the spindle?
Totally depends on the spindle. For the most part, trailer spindles are not automotive spindles. They are vaguely standardized, like 1" for the lightest duty, then I think 3500 lb axles use a 1" outer and 1-3/8" inner, and it continues on up as you get beefier. Trailer hubs are manufactured to fit one of those combinations and you can usually find them with nearly any bolt pattern. Some are tougher to find than others, but 5x4.5 is probably the most common. I have seen 5x5 and 5x5.5 before, but not what I would call common. 6 lug will likely all be 5.5" since that is a pretty OTC wheel.
My suggestion would be to measure what your spindle is. It's possible that you can find an ID and OD bearing to convert some other hub to fit it, but if you get too obscure then replacements become difficult.
The Ford Van pattern would have likely been 5x5.5. What's your tow pig?
In reply to itsarebuild :
Could you have the hubs and drums re-drilled to whatever bolt circle you want?
Yeah... give us an info dump. Maybe even pics if you can. The 70s Ford van is helpful, but it could have been 5, 6, or (rarely) 8 lug. Trailer have brakes? But let us know the tow pig so we know what we're shooting for.
You can also buy trailer spindles for cheap. Welding in new spindles wouldn't be the easiest route, but it would get you predictable and easy-to-source bearings.
Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:Yeah... give us an info dump. Maybe even pics if you can. The 70s Ford van is helpful, but it could have been 5, 6, or (rarely) 8 lug. Trailer have brakes? But let us know the tow pig so we know what we're shooting for.
You can also buy trailer spindles for cheap. Welding in new spindles wouldn't be the easiest route, but it would get you predictable and easy-to-source bearings.
Just take the inner and outer bearing to a bearing supply house. They will not only have the correct replacement and know if there are better or cheaper versions. They also will cost you less than a dealer or auto parts store.
I always used to junkyard shop for spindles for trailers. To match the tow vehicle. You can usually get them for less than the trailer supply house will sell you a set. Usually with wheel and tire included for not much more.
Existing trailer hub is 5 lug. I can measure tomorrow. Goal is to match my Durango pattern which is 6x4.5... not very common.
Yeah, that's a tough one. As far as I know, you're looking at Durango/Dakota, or Pathfinder/Frontier only for that pattern.
Fortunately, the 70s van uses super-common bearings that were used in everything from BMW to Toyota (including some Dodges from 1975-2004) You might get lucky and find a pretty common bearing to let you put a Durango hub on that Ford spindle.
Just checked... nevermind. Quick check on Rock Auto... Durango front bearings are unit bearings that come as part of the hub. Ford uses A12 and A13 bearings, and Frontier uses A37s
You'll probably be able to find bearings that fit, but no easy, off-the-shelf answer.
I get that the spindle itself influences a lot of other suspension geometries and would be best to redesign for a new car, but In terms of the shafts, is it safe to say the diameter and taper is specific to a vehicle or manufacturer? Or do the engineers really design a new shaft for each vehicle? It seems that would be overkill in design time / tooling for most applications.
itsarebuild said:Existing trailer hub is 5 lug. I can measure tomorrow. Goal is to match my Durango pattern which is 6x4.5... not very common.
How about an adaptor? Given trailer loads it may have to be fabed.
I think the 2wd Durango's may have had a separate bearing. I see a listing on rock auto for a Timkin 815 listed as "front". Is there a way to get specs on shaft diameter etc for a specific bearing?
In reply to L5wolvesf :
I thought about that but it would add at least an inch an a half of track width to each side. I think I am already gaining some with the wheel change and don't want to make the track too wide. It has to fit between my garage and a tree to be stored and it's already tight.
In reply to itsarebuild :
Or the bearing could have changed with the redesign. I think I looked at a 2002 or something random. The one I looked up didn't show any front bearings, but they sold complete hubs with bearings in them.
Engineers often recycle spindles, and even if they're redesigned they usually made the spindle to fit pre-existing bearings. That isn't quite as true in today's world, but at least 20-30 years ago they made spindles and hubs to fit Timken A15 bearings or whatever. There were common ID and OD sizes of bearings available pre-engineered, so all they had to do was make the spindle and hub to fit a bearing that was sized appropriately for the weight and speed.
For instance, if you click the part number for a 1975 Ford E150 front inner bearing, you can see that a ton of vehicle makes used the same A12 bearing
Sounds like I need to scavenge a 2wd Durango or Dakota and compare spindle shafts with the one on the trailer.
itsarebuild said:I think the 2wd Durango's may have had a separate bearing. I see a listing on rock auto for a Timkin 815 listed as "front". Is there a way to get specs on shaft diameter etc for a specific bearing?
If you click on "info" for a bearing on Rockauto, most will list ID, OD, and width. That lets you figure things out if you don't mind hunting.
You'll need to log in to post.
