5 lug swap questions

[Adams89]

Ok, I'm trying to get an idea of what is the best most cost effective way to do a 5 lug conversion. I've heard that I can get a rear end out of a newer mustang but what mods do you have to do to get it to fit. What's a good year mustang to get the rear end out of ? As far as the front end, what do I need there ? Thanks for your expertise. Adam

[Stangman]

Rearend out of a newer mustang while it sounds like a good idea, can pose a couple of issues. First is width. On a fox this can potentially push the wheels out quite a bit. Also if you go too new of an 8.8 the brake lines come in individually on each side of the axle instead one central location like on a fox on the drivers side of the diff housing.

Easiest way to swap to 5 lug on a fox if you plan to stick to 28spline axles is 2 right hand aerostar axles, or two left hand 2wd ranger axles.. however I cannot remember the year range.

Ford the front, you have some options as well. If your car is an original 5.0 car... you can easilly swap over to Lincoln Mark 7 rotors. MUST be bought *without* ABS. But if you wanna run wheels like bullitt wheels the caps won't fit in the wheel.

You could also get a set of 94-95 mustang spindles. These can be off of a v6 or a GT. The way to tell if you got the right ones are if they have a dog-leg bend in the part that the tie rod connects to. If that part is straight, steer clear as it will cause issues.

Once you get those spindles you will have the sealed bearing. No worries. You have to get a stack of washers or buy the spacer in order to use the spindles with stock fox arms. Or you can use sn95 ball joints in the fox arms. Your choice. The stock single piston v6 or gt calipers should work just as well or better than a fox caliper.

Hope that helps

[Walter]

Done.

http://www.latemodelrestoration.com/item/LRS-4234B-K/1987-93-Mustang-5-lug-Conversion-Kit-With-31-Spline-Axles?utm_source=google-shopping&utm_medium=comparison-shopping&utm_campaign=google-shopping&gclid=CO3I3sCOsbUCFUid4AodvRYAmw

http://www.americanmuscle.com/5-lug-conversion-8793.html

[facemelter71]

I have two lincoln front 5 lug rotors sitting here at work. Make me an offer for them. They are taking up space here.

[1baddlx]

I have 28 spline motorsport 5 lug axles for sale i bought them off kennebellcobra on here..call or text 513 805 9390 they are direct fit for a foxbody...

[TooFast98Cobra]

I have a nice set of Lincoln calipers and pads if you are interested. I am 20 min SOuth of Pittsburgh. Thanks

[Adams89]

Stangman I really appreciate you taking the time for the lengthy and valuable response. What year would the Lincoln rotors need to be ? I'm guessing the stock fox caliper will work with the Lincoln rotors. I was thinking about going with the newer mustang rear end so I could gain disc brakes along with the five lug conversion. The disc brake conversion kits on late model resto are 1600 bucks !! I guess there are length issues as far as the newer rear end being wider but do all the suspension parts bolt up ? I guess the only ways to fix the problem would be to get new wheels with the proper back spacing or cut the axle housing and use stock length fox axles ? Thanks again guys for all of the feedback. In my past hot rod builds I just went out and bought all new stuff cause frankly it was just easier and you didn't have to worry about fitment issues. With 2 kids and a new house, my car budget has been kicked in the sack !!! So now I must learn to build a car on a budget without sacraficing too much performance. The fox body mustang is the perfect car for this !

[Stangman]

Go for like a '92 Lincoln Mark Vii (7) without abs. If they don't offer it, go back a year or two. The rotors are the same dimension just with 5 lug studs.


If you're going with a "newer" axle... I wouldn't go past '95. Other issues you'll run in to are making the ebrake work (if you care) and of course backspacing and offset problems with wheels, which can be figured out if you are getting custom wheels. The wrong wheels can give a mustang the "skated out" look real easy.

Also, when converting to disc in the rear, you may end up having to get a '93 cobra master cylinder, modified proportioning valve and a manual brake pressure adjuster for the rear brake line in order to stop *effectively*

Oh, if you want discs in the rear that bad.... buy the brackets from www.northracecars.com and just pilage the disc setup off a junkyard car.... keeping your original rearend and axle length.

[Adams89]

If I did the brackets from northracecars, what car would I get the disc setup off of in the junkyard ? I reckon I would still need to change the master cylinder huh. Thanks again for the info. I'm going to try to set this car up to run for fun up at mid-ohio. Hence the need for discs.

[Stangman]

An sn95 would be easiest to find discs from. Need the backing plates, brackets, and everything. Gotta take the axles out to change the backing plates though

[dr59l]

Or save ur money an use sn95 brackets. Swap sides an cut so will go over axle tube an bolt to backside of flange. Done this on mine an even drilled them 4 lug an used mopar MC an bypassed proportion valve completely. Worked perfect w stock length fox axles an stops great w big n little's. Done my rear swap for $50 off 700hp04mystic

[dr59l]

This is w c clip Eliminators stock length fox moser axles an brackets on backside of flange

[facemelter71]

I also have brackets from a turbocoupe t-bird for the rear.

[5.0calypso93lx]

Done.

http://www.latemodelrestoration.com/item/LRS-4234B-K/1987-93-Mustang-5-lug-Conversion-Kit-With-31-Spline-Axles?utm_source=google-shopping&utm_medium=comparison-shopping&utm_campaign=google-shopping&gclid=CO3I3sCOsbUCFUid4AodvRYAmw

http://www.americanmuscle.com/5-lug-conversion-8793.html

Wish they had these kits back when I converted. Never did like the idea of used axles and rotors personally.

[Adams89]

Those two kits are cool but I would roast those drums before I ever completed lap 2. When you step up to the 5 lug conversion/disc brake conversion..............cha ching !!! Keep the ideas coming. Stangman, much appreciated.

[akagreg3]

i used everything off a 94 gt rear end/a arms/springs/shocks all of it but front brake system is from 2004 wheels are 18x9 & 8x10 keep your drive shaft tho..lol

[Walter]

You never said anything about needing disk on the rear.

[Adams89]

You are correct Walter, at that point in the thread I had not mentioned it yet. I appreciate the info. Greg, do you think I could take a rear end out of a 94 gt and It would bolt up to all the suspension I currently have ? The car already has tubular control arms and eibach springs. Get this, I bought this notch and just drove it for three months before dismantling it. On the passenger side rear, one of the previous owners had taken a hammer and smashed the brake line against the axle tube to hold back the brake fluid. They then removed all of the shoes and springs from the drum, put the drum back on and away they went. The shocking thing is that the three months that I drove the car I didnt notice a problem. Imagine my surprise and frustration when I removed the drum. For the love of god people, if your not going to do it right...dont touch it !!! Sorry, I had to vent......:bigthumb

[TooFast98Cobra]

FYI if you didn't know already,

fox thru 98 have same axle housings just different axle lengths. 99-04 totally different all together. Hope this helps.

[akagreg3]

personally i would get a rear end out of a ford explorer as they already have 3.73 gears from the factory and well bolt right up, but make sure you check the tag on anyone you get as the 7.5 are not as strong as the 8.8, as for the smashed brake lines that's a old hillbilly trick to save money by not fixing correctly and replacing the lines -they just either cut the bakes completely off to the back or just the one wheel. and abs is not a problem just leave that abe senor out -lol no big deal your car/computer wont care hehee

gl FYI all 1994 thro 1998 will bolt up to your car, like anything somethings you will have to make it work IE fabricated

[Walter]

personally i would get a rear end out of a ford explorer as they already have 3.73 gears from the factory and well bolt right up, but make sure you check the tag on anyone you get as the 7.5 are not as strong as the 8.8, as for the smashed brake lines that's a old hillbilly trick to save money by not fixing correctly and replacing the lines -they just either cut the bakes completely off to the back or just the one wheel. and abs is not a problem just leave that abe senor out -lol no big deal your car/computer wont care hehee

gl FYI all 1994 thro 1998 will bolt up to your car, like anything somethings you will have to make it work IE fabricated

No, it wont.....

[Stangman]

94 GT rearend will work fine. Bolts right in. Brakes come in at the same place. Will have to figure out how to get the ebrake to work and that's about it.

Only usable parts out of an explorer rearend are the ring/pinion and the diff once you knock the giant abs/speed sensor off. And their typically 31 spline. But no, the housing will not work.... unless you plan to put it in a ranger :lol: the axles are different length from one side to the other, the pinion flange is too big...... and it doesn't even bolt to the car the same way..... it uses those old things called leaf springs lol

[Stangman]

Read

http://home.comcast.net/~mjbobbitt/mustang/page1.html

[akagreg3]

:lol: duh never said i was a expert, but i could of swore i read that somewhere after i had installed my 3.73 cause i remenber thinking dam i could of saved a lot of time and money, but ooh well thanks for info

i used the ebake cable off the 94 worked fine, i think the foxbody one might work also but idk i naver had the fox one so.

[Adams89]

Well since the hillbilly that owned this car already cut the ebrake cables, ill need to figure out something with those anyway. Sounds like a 94 rear end is the way to go. The search is on. All of you guys have an incredible knowledge when it comes to these cars, thanks for passing it on.:D

[Walter]

Well since the hillbilly that owned this car already cut the ebrake cables, ill need to figure out something with those anyway. Sounds like a 94 rear end is the way to go. The search is on. All of you guys have an incredible knowledge when it comes to these cars, thanks for passing it on.:D

94-98 rearend/axles is a wider unit than a fox. Wheels will come out farther.

[akagreg3]

94-98 rearend/axles is a wider unit than a fox. Wheels will come out farther.

Walter:
If you look at my picture, my rear end is out of a 1997 mustang gt, the 3/4 longer axles are barely enough to notice and are only sticking out of the quarters a little bit, even with the 18x10 inch tires.

Adam:
whatever one you buy try and get one with low miles

[Walter]

Walter:
If you look at my picture, my rear end is out of a 1997 mustang gt, the 3/4 longer axles are barely enough to notice and are only sticking out of the quarters a little bit, even with the 18x10 inch tires.

Adam:
whatever one you buy try and get one with low miles

That makes a big difference if his wheels fit perfectly now.

[Adams89]

I will be getting new wheels anyway so I can play with the backspacing. If anybody needs some pony wheels with decent rubber on them let me know. Do the 95 rear ends come with limited slip ? Ain't nothing worse than the 1 wheel peel ! Now that I really started looking at all of the options it's mindboggeling ! There are almost too many Avenues to take. My brain hurts. Just when I think I have set my path, the next website shows you a completely different way you can go. I have never complained about options.....but Damn !!!:confused:

[akagreg3]

7.5 & 8.8 -both have the same traction lockers its called a limited slip, the reason for the one wheel spin is that the clutch packs on both side of the spider gears get wore out and wont grab

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GsLDg3C6Hc

http://www.americanmuscle.com/ford-88-traclok-kit.html

but that's why i said try and find one with low miles on it, that way more then likely it will have a good traction locker.

[Walter]

I will be getting new wheels anyway so I can play with the backspacing. If anybody needs some pony wheels with decent rubber on them let me know. Do the 95 rear ends come with limited slip ? Ain't nothing worse than the 1 wheel peel ! Now that I really started looking at all of the options it's mindboggeling ! There are almost too many Avenues to take. My brain hurts. Just when I think I have set my path, the next website shows you a completely different way you can go. I have never complained about options.....but Damn !!!:confused:

Wider rear will require a higher offset. That will limit your wheel selection. Stay with fox width if possible.

[Adams89]

Thanks Walter. I think I will. I figure once I find and buy a 95 rear-end I will have to put new gears, clutches, axles and brakes on the damn thing anyway. Why not take the stock one out of my car and buy that brackets to convert to discs. When I'm done I have a stock length rear end without the cost of purchasing the 95 unit. I'll start pulling that puppy today. Thanks

[Walter]

Buy the NRC disc brackets, they adapt 94-04 brakes to fox axle. Then get 5lug axles.

[Adams89]

Will do Walt, thanks !