so on my current side project the car has 4 bad tires...i have s14 se wheels with 4 new tires so i figured why not go 5 lug and just use my se wheels that are collecting dust.

simple right?wrong.

conversion hubs and lots of swapping and perhaps $400+ later I could effectively do this but then I'd still need to get discs for the brakes, not as cheap as I had thought.

enter junkyard and a few different cars.

WARNING! READ BEFORE ATTEMPTING SERIOUS INJURY COULD OCCUR!

So heres the deal and the parts list:new parts needed for purchase -Infiniti j30 front hubs (x2) [~16$ at my local yard]s13 front wheel bearings (x2) [78$ from http://www.rockauto.com]brake clean4 nissan lugnuts (any will fit so grab them while at the yard)1.25" cotter pins

tools for removal:19mm, 30mm, 32mm 1/2" drive sockets1/2" drive ratchetrubber malletflathead screwdriver1/2" drive torque wrench

torques of interest:wheel nut s13 75-87ft/lbsbrake caliper 65-75ft/lbslug nuts 80-85ft/lbs

Its a very simple fit to make this happen, just press out the j30 wheel bearings and press in the s13 bearings (seal side out!).You'll need to also remove the abs ring from the j30 hub unless you have abs which in that case it will be retained, you can press or slot it off.

be sure to get the j30 hub nut cover as you will have to use that vs the s13's due to different cover diamater.due to the different cover design of the j30 hub vs the s13 hub you will have to grind off the taper of the wheel spindle, use of a grinder with control and patience is reccomended...do not damage the spindle threads.clean spindle with brake clean and dry to clear machined surfaces of debris from grinding which could lead to premature bearing failure.

Here's the only caveat to this mod...you cannot use the factory wheelbearing retaining clip (the oem safety failsafe) however in all the wheel bearings I have ever seen or pressed bearings out of I have never seen the wheel bearing move from its seated position and it normally requires substantial force to get the old bearings out.When installing the new bearings into the hubs as per the FSM and using a 12 ton press it still required quite a bit of effort to seat the bearings so I have faith that it will not move but take this as a warning.

a few pictures to help...if you've done brakes then you know how to tear this stuff down.

unmodified wheel spindle assembly

modified wheel spindle assembly with modified backing plate for big brakes

overall spindle with modifications

completed product and q45/j30 brakes

since you've got all of this apart it would be prime time to upgrade the front brakes too, if you got to the j30 with the front suspention intact then grab the brakes...they're the same as the 1997-2001 q45 front brakes and have a rotor roughly the same size as a z32.calipers are twin piston sliding so wheel clearance is good and stock lines bolt on...gooooood stuff.

good stuff carl!

Does this work for the rear as well?

yes you can use j30 hubs on s13 rear wheel bearings.

Do you know if the infinity G35 caliper/rotors/hubs are able to be used on the S14 (96) platform?

Carl H wrote:yes you can use j30 hubs on s13 rear wheel bearings.

Looks like I'll be heading to the junkyard.

great r&d carl. as always. this one goes into the article archive.

doesn't seem like i can grasp the whole process here. anyone who has done it or will the OP break it down a bit more? seems like there has got to be some steps missing (excluding removal of the brakes, wheels, etc) 3 pics didn't quite get it for me...

aside from removing the axle nut cover from the bearing and removing the cotter...not much else to it.it literally took me about 45 minutes to do the complete swap.the simplified version is this:remove wheelremove caliperremove rotorremove hub nut coverremove cotter pinremove hub nutremove bearing assemblymodify spindlefit j30/s13 bearing assemblyfit cotterfit coverfit rotor (drilled for 5lug or s14 se fronts)fit caliperfit wheel

man thats pretty sweet, should be sticki'd

does this work for s14 as well... I'm one of the unlucky 4 lug S14s

Without seeing the two spindles, I dont understand why the taper on the S13 spindle must be removed.

BTW, J30 brakes are the same as 90-96 Q45. The 97-2001 rotors are 15mm bigger...

I had some time at work and all of the parts on hand soI performed this swap on the bench at work before I fit it to the car.

I found an issue and it's explained in the rest of this post. Everything said about this conversion works perfectly but the thing I found really should be done so basicly I'm adding to this awsome find.

When pressing in the S13 bearing I noticed that the original bearing retaining clip will not fit in the groove because the outer race of the S13 bearing is taller then the J30 bearing and now covers the groove in the hub.

In this picture the J30 hubs have a S13 bearing pressed in the left hub, you can't see the stock retaining groove.

So I took a few measurements and had to come up with a solution. I could cut the bearing race down and reuse the original groove but this would mean I would have to cut every bearing from this point on if I had to replace a bearing. I went with option 2 and I cut a new groove in the hub so any stock S13 bearing can be used from this point on. BTW: I own a lathe so this was not hard for me to do.

Taller S13 bearing on the right.

New retaining ring location right above the old one.

Retaining ring test fitted.

Front hubs have strong lateral forces put on them when in turns.Without the clip the bearing WILL shift in serious hard turns and this can cause you to wreck. This is the reason front hubs that have a pressed in bearing are equipted with a retaining clip.

Again this is my addition to this awsome find.

Z32 hubs bolt on without having to press any bearings in or out. Awesome right-up. I had trouble with my front hubs for the s13 5 lug swap. I got some ebay hubs I don't know how long they will last but I had to use s14 lug studs for the front. The hub came with studs but I put Nismo 60mm studs in. The new studs pressed in very easily, maybe too easily.

This is awesome, I've been wondering about that for so long!!!

i am trying to picture in my head how the hub could come apart from the bearing if they are both held by the big nut/cotterpin that goes at the end of the spindle shaft i think this is the route i will be taking for 5-lug up front:)

Hey guys does anybody know if this will work on 4 lug S14.

j30 hubs should bolt right onto the s14 with no modifications but you wil have to use the j30 bearing seal as it is a wet bearing not a sealed bearing.

Carl H wrote:j30 hubs should bolt right onto the s14 with no modifications but you wil have to use the j30 bearing seal as it is a wet bearing not a sealed bearing.

Care to elaborate a little morei have read remove the seal and have to place a washer in between the lock nut and bearing??

I need some help!

Hi.Him from Portugal and we dont have Infiniti´s in Europe, so no J30. Are the hubs from the S14 the same as in the J30? How can i get the part number?I have a S13 and i just got complet spindels and brakes from a Z32TT. I know i cant use the rear hubs but what about the fronts?

Thanks.

Can someone tell me, about how much does a J30 front hub weigh, with and/or w/o the bearings in? Would be nice to know for shipping costs... thanks!

i wouldnt really feel safe not using the retaining clip/snap ring. did u just not use it at all? i dont have access to a lathe so cutting the groove isnt really an option. any other retaining rings fit in there?

Can someone shed a little more light on what is needed for the rear conversion please... What parts are needed from the J30? And what about the parking brake... There are soooo many write ups on the front but no one really talks about what is needed in back... Thanx

Can someone explain why no one online has done the whole entire J30 spindle on the S13

I figure buy ball joints for the J30 press them into the S13 lower control arm (assuming its not the same length) and it is otherwise bolt on

But since nobody has done it (that I can find) I'm assuming there is a reason. If not one has tried it my local junk yards want an arm and a leg for parts even on this old stuff so I'd be looking at a min of $100 for a set of spindles with all parts on (brake etc.) which is fine if it works but I'm sure its no returns.

considering new hubs are now $150 plus I'll have to buy ball joints (which I need anyways) I won't be saving alot but my friend might buy the brakes for $50

Just get the whole rear spindle

There is a write up here on Nico somewhere and you can use a e brake cable from a Sentra or buy extensions or go to a local cable shop (prob in indust area) and have them crip a piece of the J30 cables onto the 240 cables (not sure how long yet just bought my rear subframe today and not gonna get it for a few days. ) but if you keep the entire cable from where they go to one cable you can't go wrong.

These are THE SAME as doing a q45 rear brakes on (posted on Nico) they are the same brakes check autozone's online parts nums

and best of all one day when you find a pair of skyline or Z calipers cheap they bolt on with the matching rotors NOTHING NEEDED

Thats why I paid $50 extra today just to get an entire subframe vs all I needed was a Diff

Edit: I say get the whole spindle if you want to go 5 its nearly a bolt on but be sure can get the bolt for the strut and all. there is infact a write up on just this. He didn't mention anything about the brakes but since the Q works and they are the same without any doubt they will work. as well as the same spline count as a stock axle

Gotta love Nissan

Hey Carl just wondering if there was a reason why you didn't use the whole spindle?

Just want to know before I go buy and try

Epic mega bump, but it's with good info. If you plan on doing this yourself and want to machine the new snap ring groove, you start the cut .16" from the back edge of the hub. You can go as far down as you want, you can even connect the new groove with the old one making a big single groove. I left a thin wall on mine due to the shape of the cutting bit I was using.

Arabrockermang wrote:Hey Carl just wondering if there was a reason why you didn't use the whole spindle?

Just want to know before I go buy and try

The knuckle is a completely different design, no way to bolt it up to the s chassis.