Need help (FAST). Front hub/spacer problem. Picking up CJ in AM...

[danattherock]

The last two days a local 4X4 shop has had my Jeep of 23 years. Babied her, not some vehicle I ragged out. Anyway, had BDS 2.5" lift, 33" BFG Mud A/T's, and Rough Country 1.5" spacers put on. Got a call today while at work. The guy says all is well except the spacers won't fit front hubs. I thought the bolts on the spacers would be in the same space, size, etc.. as the factory ones it went on. Turns out he says I need to send them to a machine shop to have 1/4" to 1/2" ground out of the holes (where lug nuts go). Then I will have to get them rechromed I suspect. Really a big set back to say the least. I am picking up the Jeep, an 81' CJ7 Laredo , at 8 am. Sans front hubs, which I told him to send to machine shop. But now I am wondering... Am I missing something? Is there a different spacer I could use with factory hubs without having holes drilled in them. The guy is quite honest and trustworthy. I think the real issue here is I don't fully understand the problem. Hard to understand over the phone as he and I agreed to. Help?



Pic of my wheels below...






-Dan

 

[csuengr]

What kind of spacer are you referring to? Are you talking about a wheel spacer that goes between the brake rotor and wheel to move the wheels out? Or are you talking about the covers that go over the center of the wheels?

 

[danattherock]

Got the Jeep this morning. Love the suspension and tires. What he was trying to tell me was the way the centercap goes on the wheel, the bolts are in the way of the centercap going on flush. Below is the modification he wants to have done at the machine shop, a CNC grinding of sorts. The black pen mark shows what would be cut off so it would fit flush on the wheel (over the bolts).







Below are pics of the Jeep




Before...








After...















-Dan

 

[danattherock]

Below is a picture of the problem area.


The black bolts by the lug nuts (holding hub on) are in the way. The screw holes on the wheel are where the centercap attaches (with screws from backside of wheel). As they should attach, the curved area (which will be trimmed from centercaps) hits the black bolts (opposite from lug nuts). So he will have the guy at the machine shop remove some metal as shown (roughly) with the black sharpie line in the earlier image. That will allow the centercap to sit flush against the wheel. So the issue was the black bolts on the hub are hitting the centercaps. Good news is the centercaps are shet metal, not steel, so they won't rust. He said the guy will accurately cut away the material on a CNC machine and the chrome will likely not flake. Assuming so, I won't have to get the centercaps rechromed.

 

[csuengr]

So let me get this straight. When you dropped the Jeep off the center caps fit fine. Correct? But after new tires and suspension, the center caps wouldn't fit anymore.

Did you have wheel spacers put on? That is the only explanation I can come up with. The wheel spacers will rotate the wheel lug pattern 35 degrees, putting the center cap in the wrong place.

 

[danattherock]

Yep, that is it. And the trimming on the centercap is to make it fit on the black bolts on the hub as seen below. Once rotated (due to adding spacers) the bolts were in a spot that the centercaps would not accommodate.