Sliding Door w/ Wheel Spacers

[Motomind]

I just realized this is from a year ago. Did you ever get your answers?

[motovan_mn]

Originally Posted by Motomind

I just realized this is from a year ago. Did you ever get your answers?

Yup, see this post

[motovan_mn]

Originally Posted by mgmetalworks

If you're the DIY type...

http://mgmetalworks.com/hinge.pdf

Hi MG,

Any chance you still have these plans available? I know that you have closed up shop and thus your website is down, but thought maybe you'd still have this PDF kicking around somewhere

[mgmetalworks]

Originally Posted by motovan_mn

Hi MG,

Any chance you still have these plans available? I know that you have closed up shop and thus your website is down, but thought maybe you'd still have this PDF kicking around somewhere

I posted the pdf on expedition portal a couple months back. There should also be a step by step thread on that site (same info as pdf). Pretty old thread at this point 2013 or 2014 I think.

[motovan_mn]

Originally Posted by mgmetalworks

I posted the pdf on expedition portal a couple months back. There should also be a step by step thread on that site (same info as pdf). Pretty old thread at this point 2013 or 2014 I think.

Thanks very much!

Here is the ExPo link for anyone else who may be interested:
https://forum.expeditionportal.com/t.../#post-1675494

[dbhosttexas]

All I can say has nothing to do with the slding door, but rather to encourage you to NOT use wheel spacers. I have seen what happens when they loosen up on the freeway. DO NOT USE THEM! If you absoutely have to have the wider track, use different offset wheels / wider tires...

[motovan_mn]

I appreciate the word of caution!

I understand how they alter the load on the wheel bearings/hub/axle. Is a wheel spacer coming loose any different than a wheel coming loose on the highway? Are you suggesting that the presence of the wheel spacer increases the likelihood of one of the bolted interfaces (wheel to spacer, or spacer to hub) losing clamp load? Just trying to better understand your concern.

In our case we have a relatively light van (8k lbs) and I can check the spacer bolt torques whenever I rotate the tires. And UJOR seems to use them on almost every build that has a semi float Dana 60. So I'm not too concerned.

[deserteagle56]

Originally Posted by dbhosttexas

All I can say has nothing to do with the slding door, but rather to encourage you to NOT use wheel spacers. I have seen what happens when they loosen up on the freeway. DO NOT USE THEM! If you absoutely have to have the wider track, use different offset wheels / wider tires...

Been driving my E350, mainly on dirt roads, for the past 16 years. Never a problem with the wheel spacers. And- the spacers were installed not so much to get a wider stance but to match the 8x170mm bolt pattern in the front axle, since all E350s came with an 8x6.5" pattern. I believe most of the 4x4 conversions use rear wheel spacers to adapt the wheel bolt pattern, yet I don't see a lot of people complaining about them coming loose. So while yes, it can happen - it has to be pretty rare.

[1der]

For clarity and most know but .....

Wheel Adapters - used to change the lug pattern/threads eg 8x6.5in to 8x170mm. By necessity there will be some width change. And wheel adapters can be specified to change width.

Wheel Spacers - used to increase the width of the track but retain the same lug pattern/threads. The thinnest spacers can simply be slip over plates. The widest spacers will bolt to the existing studs and provide a new set of studs since the stock studs will be too short.

THE most common failure is using these and failing to recognize the ends of the stock studs may be just a shade proud of the adapter/spacers outboard (new) wheel mating surface. This can result in the wheel itself not fully seated against the face of the adapter but rather on the 8 tips of the stock studs. This creates a bunch of stress issues in the wheel and the adapter. When the stock studs protrusion is very apparent it is usually addressed by cutting the stock studs shorter. But sometimes the protrusion is just a very little bit, and that is all it takes for a failure. Proper torque of both the "attaching" lugs isnd the wheel lugs s also critical. I had three studs fail on a non-adapted/spaced mount wheel due to over torqued lug nuts. It stretched the stud to the point of failure. I carry a torque wrench and always watch, from the end of the bay, when the tire shop mount /rotate the wheels/tires.

[dbhosttexas]

Originally Posted by deserteagle56

Been driving my E350, mainly on dirt roads, for the past 16 years. Never a problem with the wheel spacers. And- the spacers were installed not so much to get a wider stance but to match the 8x170mm bolt pattern in the front axle, since all E350s came with an 8x6.5" pattern. I believe most of the 4x4 conversions use rear wheel spacers to adapt the wheel bolt pattern, yet I don't see a lot of people complaining about them coming loose. So while yes, it can happen - it has to be pretty rare.

It's been a long time since I ever thought about wheel spacers. but as I recall the issue was dissimilar metals expanding / contracting at different rates. Just like they tell you to re-check the torque on alloy wheels every so often, wheel spacers could come loose.

And you are right on the conversions, the E250 likewise has the 6.5 spacing as well, probably same rear end. And the conversions using the 99 up Super Duty Dana 60 use the 8x170mm spacing.

That is an issue I am looking into now is the bolt spacing and what it would take to get the backing plates, brakes, shafts etc... swapped over so no adapter / spacers needed, in no small part because I don't fully trust spacers, but also because i want to avoid interference with my sliding door...