1.25\" spacers for 14 bolt - installed w/ some pics
I did some searching on what width spacers to use for a 14 bolt to even out the track width for a Dana 60.
A lot of the guys here have used 1.5" spacers, but to the best of of knowledge, the difference in track width is only 2.5", not 3", so it would seem like 1.25" spacers would be a better solution.
I called Performance Wheel and Tire, but the thinnest they would make it was 1.5" because of the possibility of the wheel studs being needed to be ground down.
I ended up buying a nice set from TonyP:
They really look that good in person - the machining is perfect! They are perfect in every way.
The went on easily - the best way to mount them is to remove the entire hub and press the spacer on the stock lug nuts. This will prevent any marring of the surface.
I instead use a heavy dead blow hammer and got it on far enough to use an impact and pull the spacer flush.
Then you install the 8 lug nuts on the stock wheel studs.
Because I used a 1.25" spacer, I was worried about having to grind a lot of the wheel stud off. This was simply not the case. On the driver's side, 6 of the 8 needed to be ground down flush with the nut, but only slightly, about 1/16".
On the passenger's side, only 1 needed to be ground down. the rest were all flush or just a little above the top of the nut, but lower than the spacer mounting surface. I used a die grinder and it took maybe 15 minutes on the one side and almost no time for the other side.
In case you're wondering, yes my wheel studs are the stock length. When I pulled my 14 bolt from the junkyard 3 or 4 years ago, I replaced all 16 wheel studs with new ones from Autozone, buy they were the same length as the stockers.
Anyway, having got both spacers on and making sure the wheel studs were flush with the mounting surface, it was as easy as just putting the tires back on. My acorn style lug nuts fit perfectly on the grade 8 bolts.
Here's a pic of the hub showing how much the hub is sunken in:
Here's a pic of the backside of the wheel - you can see the spacers easily - it's the only thing not dirty /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
Did it even out the tires? I didn't measure WMS to WMS afterwards, but it sure looks even.
I tried to get the angle of the camera just right, but in person they look very even.
Am I worried about losing a tire? Some people have posted about losing a tire after installing spacers.
I am not worried at all. The spacer itself is a tight fit on the hub. I torque the spacers to hub nuts down to 110 ft lbs and don't feel like it will ever accidently come off.
As far as the tire to spacer lug nuts, they will need to be retightened several times because they are new - new alsways strethes, no matter if you install a spacer or if you just replace old wheel studs with new.
I just wanted to let you know about my experience with the spacers and my results - I am very pleased.
Thanks to TonyP!
-- Mike
I did some searching on what width spacers to use for a 14 bolt to even out the track width for a Dana 60.
A lot of the guys here have used 1.5" spacers, but to the best of of knowledge, the difference in track width is only 2.5", not 3", so it would seem like 1.25" spacers would be a better solution.
I called Performance Wheel and Tire, but the thinnest they would make it was 1.5" because of the possibility of the wheel studs being needed to be ground down.
I ended up buying a nice set from TonyP:
They really look that good in person - the machining is perfect! They are perfect in every way.
The went on easily - the best way to mount them is to remove the entire hub and press the spacer on the stock lug nuts. This will prevent any marring of the surface.
I instead use a heavy dead blow hammer and got it on far enough to use an impact and pull the spacer flush.
Then you install the 8 lug nuts on the stock wheel studs.
Because I used a 1.25" spacer, I was worried about having to grind a lot of the wheel stud off. This was simply not the case. On the driver's side, 6 of the 8 needed to be ground down flush with the nut, but only slightly, about 1/16".
On the passenger's side, only 1 needed to be ground down. the rest were all flush or just a little above the top of the nut, but lower than the spacer mounting surface. I used a die grinder and it took maybe 15 minutes on the one side and almost no time for the other side.
In case you're wondering, yes my wheel studs are the stock length. When I pulled my 14 bolt from the junkyard 3 or 4 years ago, I replaced all 16 wheel studs with new ones from Autozone, buy they were the same length as the stockers.
Anyway, having got both spacers on and making sure the wheel studs were flush with the mounting surface, it was as easy as just putting the tires back on. My acorn style lug nuts fit perfectly on the grade 8 bolts.
Here's a pic of the hub showing how much the hub is sunken in:
Here's a pic of the backside of the wheel - you can see the spacers easily - it's the only thing not dirty /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
Did it even out the tires? I didn't measure WMS to WMS afterwards, but it sure looks even.
I tried to get the angle of the camera just right, but in person they look very even.
Am I worried about losing a tire? Some people have posted about losing a tire after installing spacers.
I am not worried at all. The spacer itself is a tight fit on the hub. I torque the spacers to hub nuts down to 110 ft lbs and don't feel like it will ever accidently come off.
As far as the tire to spacer lug nuts, they will need to be retightened several times because they are new - new alsways strethes, no matter if you install a spacer or if you just replace old wheel studs with new.
I just wanted to let you know about my experience with the spacers and my results - I am very pleased.
Thanks to TonyP!
-- Mike
