I am in the process of building a flatfender or early CJ5 for wheelin'. I have a semi floating flanged axle dana 60 rear with a five lug jeep pattern from a 70 something J4000 and a disk brake dana 44 6 lug from a 79 waggoneer, I would like to run these axles together but I dont want to carry 2 spares, Ive heard that moser axles has redrilled lug patterns before but I bet its kind of pricey. does anyone know how I can fix this problem, I have a five lug 44 front to match the 60, but its an early model closed knuckle, will the hubs swap? Could a local machine shop redrill one of them, will it weaken it alot?

theres a better way...
you can convert your front d-44 to 5 on 5.5 bolt pattern.. get chevy d-44 spindles, and put f-150 hubs and brakes on them.. poof.. 5 on 5.5 bolt pattern,,

I echo Elusive,
I have Wagoneer knuckles and spindles with Ford 5 on 5.5 rotors from a 1980 Bronco D44. I have yet to assemble everything but it all measures good. My waggie rotors, hubs, and spindles measured exactly the same as the bronco stuff with the exception of the lug pattern.

this does not really answer your question by there is someone else on this board runing that exact setup with the front changed to 5 on 5 1/2. sorry I do not remember who it was but they would likly be happy to help you.

bandhmo

As for redrilling, the best you can do will leave you two new lug holes VERY close to old holes. The center-to-center distance will be .575", so a 5/8" hole would certainly break through. But you could weld up those two original holes. Then you have to worry about heat warping.

Another choice often overlooked is Dodge hubs. I used a set from an '84 Ramcharger. The only disadvantage is that they use a slider type brake caliper, where I personally prefer a pin-type caliper.

If you use the complete outers from one vehicle it makes it a lot easier to remember what you need when you go to the parts house years from now.

jeepgod is the person that i got all this info from.. he has a great write up on his web site about it, but he's off defending democracy right now ...I could shoot you his e-mail and get all the years for all the parts is need be.

everything the others said and...

Moser and re-drilling - they charge between $50-$80 per hub depending if you need counterbore or the old holes filled etc. Plus shipping to and from the kinda Central Indiana area.

Check them out for more information - <a target="_blank" href=http://www.moserengineering.com/>http://www.moserengineering.com/</a>

The parts you need for a ford hub swap on a chevy/waggie rear are easy to come buy at most yards. You need a early chevy spindle not sure of the years but the bearings are close to the same size, unlike the newer ones where the inner bearing is bigger. You need a 79 and down ford rotor. I used an 80 rotor and had to modify the gm caliper bracket. I used the gm/waggie calipers. Wheel bearings are ford. Its a pretty easy swap.

All Dana 44s have the same yoke on the end of the axel tube. If you get everything - from the yoke out - from one donor vehicle you have no worries about getting the right spindle or right bearings or right rotor or right pads. And in the future you always know what you need from the parts house. Makes life a lot easier IMHO.

I got the entire front from the Ramcharger for $75, and gave the housing away because it was SOA and had the wrong gears in it. The FS Cherokee was another $75, and is SUA and had the right ratio. I shortened it and popped it in. It can't get much cheaper or easier than that.

Jim_Lou, where you able to use the Ramcharger outer axle shaft as well?