The Craftmans Shop > PowerSports

Redrilling a wheel

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kvom:
I acquired a wheel for mounting my spare tire for the Jeep, but it has a 5x5.5" bolt circle whereas the axles are 8x6.5".   So I wanted to drill a new bolt circle.  The first step was to determine how much the new holes would interefere with the old.  I used a machining emulation PC program:



As can be seen, one hole touches and another is very close.  I was able to vary the relative start angles, but regardless I would get nothing better.

The holes for 8-lug wheel studs are nominally 9/16", but unless they are perfectly straight the fit will be toom tight.  Drilling 5/8" holes was needed.

Once the holes are drilled, it may also be necessary to bore out the center hole to fit the hub.  I needed to increase the center diameter from 5-1/8" to 5-1/2".   There was just enough room to do so.  Having a hub nearby to test the fit is a plus (or else use the actual axle, which is less convenient).

Because the original holes in the well-used wheel were wallowed out, two of the new holes intersected with old ones.  This isn't something I would recommend for normal use, but for a spare wheel it will work fine.

John Hill:
How about plugging the old holes before drilling the new ones?

sbwhart:
Will you be running on the wheel or is it for just mounting it on the bodywork for carrying If so do you need all the holes.

Cheers

Stew

kvom:
It's a spare, so I need all 8 holes.  Got it done some time ago with no issues.  The wheel center is solid steel plate, not stamped, so there is plenty of clamping force.

The two holes that meet the old ones we drilled with an endmill as a drillbit deflected into the old hole.

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