Should I go from 4 to 5 lug on my 84 Turbo Z???

[riceboyler]

Here's the reason for the question. I picked up my 84 TurboZ in trade for a not running CSX, and now that I have it running, it seriously needs a front driver's side wheel bearing. Looking at prices for a new bearing/hub assembly from AutoZone, it's like $79 or so. Looking at the Pull-A-Part yard in Nashville, there are no less than 5 89+ Daytonas that have the bolt-in rather than press in bearings. The only problem (obviously) is that the 84 is a 4 bolt and the 85+ is the standard 5x100 lug pattern. I have an extra set of 5x100 wheels (GTC anthracite) so that wouldn't be a problem, but what issues would I run into if I decided to pull the hubs off the 89+ and put them on the 84?

Anybody done this previously have some good insight or tips? Thanks!

[afsautoworx]

I dont think there would be any problems swapping over to 5 lug from a 89 daytona but the bolt in hub assembly wont be any cheaper than the press in. In fact it should be more. If you were gonna do this swap id put in two new bearings on the knuckles before i put them back in. When you swap out the rear youll prob have to replace the steel brake lines cause im guessing theyre rusted and will break. Then you should replace the rear with all new shoes,hardware, turn drums, e-brake cables might need to be replaced......see where im going with this?

[riceboyler]

Ah, gotcha.

Maybe I will just get the 4 lug assembly then... :)

[Holley]

Check on ebay for 4-lug hubs, I got one for $35 (most seem to be listed as 'Chrysler E series') ;)

[GLHS592]

Are the 1984 (4 bolt) and 1985 (5 bolt) steering knuckles the same? If so, it would be pretty easy to just press in a 5 bolt wheel bearing and swap on a 5 lug drum. I'm not a G-body guy, so I don't know. Just offering something for you to look into.

[afsautoworx]

/\ i never thought of that, you could do it, but i dont think you would be able to find a rotor to fit on the front (inside the bracket)

[turbovanman²]

You also have to remember, if you want to run the bolt on bearings, you need to swap to the 89 knuckle as well, :D

[GLHS592]

/\ i never thought of that, you could do it, but i dont think you would be able to find a rotor to fit on the front (inside the bracket)

Why wouldn't a 1985 rotor work? Are they knuckles different enough that the 1985 rotor won't work?

[afsautoworx]

Its not specific to 85' , i think the 5 bolt rotors would be too big to fit inside of the caliper bracket. There might be some backspacing issues with the rotors too, like if it did fit inside the bracket it might be offset enough where the caliper wont go on. Maybe using the 5 bolt hub cancels that all out. Ill have to look this up, curious now.

[riceboyler]

I'll be interested to see your answers, but for now, BIG thanks to Holley, I purchased a hub/bearing assembly off eBay last night for $42 shipped. Hopefully it'll be here this weekend and I can get it on the car, so I can drive it and park the Lancer while I try to fix it's myriad of issues (front suspension, body panels, 4-wire O2 sensor with only one wire hooked up, HEP, etc.)

Anything I need to know of when I pull the hub off? Any special tricks or tips?

[GLHS592]

Jason, I will help you. It is a pain in the butt. Maybe we can go get my Shelby Charger and change out your wheel bearings one weekend.

[Holley]

IIRC the 4-bolt L and G body hubs are the same part number, but the 5-bolt L and (pre-89) G ones are different ... maybe 5-bolt L body hubs would bolt right into 4-bolt G body knuckles or something (?)

Jason - Glad something I've said has come in useful :)