I just happened to see an old Bronco in the freeway this morning, and it had a version of the trim part you like. It also had the 5 on 5.5 rims and all the other stuff. And, it had the 6-bolt style of hubs. Maybe you can do the
6-bolt upgrade and use a different trim piece and retain the Look that you like. I guess that if I was sheering the 5-bolt style as much as you do, I would be looking for a fix, and maybe even give up on the visual appeal in order to get the function that I needed. But, even with the trim pieces, the 6 bolt style of hubs are impossible to service the bolts without taking the tires off; the trim parts fit too tightly.I mentioned in another post that the Bronco uses the same D30 hubs, but with
6 bolts instead of 5 to hold the hub locks on. There is a slight difference in the bearings as well, but this was easy to figure out. And, Jeeps use the 6 bolt style in earlier years, maybe around '79 or '80 is when they stopped using them. My '81 is supposed to have 5 bolt hubs, OR it is the last year of the 6 bolt. I forget. I do remember the seller pointed them out to me when I bought the Jeep. It went over my head until my brother came over the first time, and I noticed his were 5 bolt.
You have it pegged, it's the trim cones that get in the way of the 6
> bolt and in the way of an easy snug down of the bolts.
>
> I only had 3 bolts in it, 2 were sheared off when I got the Jeep. The 3
> were still tight holding the ear tabs down, the rest of the case just
> exploded right where the two missing bolts were. When I blew the other
> side, all 5 bolts were tight, I did the same and shattered the case. >
> I am planning on cleaning out the holes really good and using loctite or
> RTV on it for sure! I have to drill out the two of them.
>
> Mike
>
> CRWLR wrote:
> >
> > I don't think so Mike.
> >
> > The center hole on the rims should be the same whether 5 hole hubs or 6
> > hole. (I am not talking about lug bolts, I am talking about the bolts that
> > hold the hub locks on.)
> >
> > I think you can make the switch to the 6 hole hubs and not give up anything
> > from the Laredo package. The bolt pattern for the rims is still 5 on 5.5.
> >
> > I think the hubs/rotors you need are common to the old Ford Bronco. The
> > bearings are a little bit different, but it is pretty easy to
crossreference
> them. I have the 6 bolt hubs on my CJ, and a guy in my club gave me some
> > rotors that came from a D30 equipped Bronco. I recall some issues relative
> > to getting the bearings, but the problem was one that was solved with two
> > trips to the parts counter instead of just one. Of course, the hubs/rotors
> > also come from earlier CJs.
> >
> > In any case, I am 99% certain that you can keep your Laredo trim fully
> > intact, and improve your hubs at the same time. You _might_ have to take the
> > chrome trim thingies off, but they allow the nuts to come loose that you
> > keep sheering, so maybe they are not much of a help. If you really really
> > need to keep those covers, then maybe some lock tite on the bolts is needed.
> > I had trouble with my bolts coming loose, so I got a full set of Grade 8
> > bolts and washers, and a drop of lock tite on each to hold them in. I am not
> > sure about the trim rings, and if this is what you want to keep,then maybe
> > the 6 bolt hubs won't work for you. I can take a look at my brother's CJ, he
> > has those trim pieces and the 5 bolt hubs.
> >
> > > My CJ7 is a Laredo and I want to keep that look.
> > >
> > > I could put any hubs on it if I wanted to toss away my rims. I 'like'
> > > my Laredo package.
> > >
> > > Mike
> > >
> > > CRWLR wrote:
> > > >
> > > > The 6-bolt hubs are better than the 5-bolt that you have. You will need
> > to
> > > > replace the hubs/rotors to make the change though. But, since you have
> > bolts
> > > > that need to be drilled out, maybe this is a good time to make the > > change.
> > > >
> > > > Having said that, I have Superwinch hub locks on my CJ, and I haven't
> > ever
> > > > had any trouble. I have the 6-bolt hubs though ...
> > > >
> > > > > So I managed to explode one of my hub locks on my last off road trip
> > and
> > > > > I want to fix it so I can get out again.
> > > > >
> > > > > This is the second one I have exploded on my 86 CJ7 Laredo and I am
> > > > > kinda tired of it so I wanted to upgrade from the stock lock. I have
> > to
> > > > > drill out 4 of the 5 bolts on this one because they sheared off... > > > > >
> > > > > Does anyone know of a company that makes one/them for a CJ7 Laredo?
> > > > >
> > > > > Warn makes sweet ones, but they don't make them for the CJ7 Laredo,
> > just
> > > > > for the regular CJ7. :-(
> > > > >
> > > > > A shop said they could machine and mill down a set of warn ones to > > make
> > > > > them fit, but I Really don't like the idea of making it weak while
> > > > > voiding the warranty.
> > > > >
> > > > > Does anyone else make the things or am I stuck getting a set of OEM
> > > > > ones? If OEM, I will look for a used one.
> > > > >
> > > > > Thanks,
> > > > >
> > > > > Mike
> > > > > 86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
> > > > > 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's