help with western chassis spindles!!!!!
 

we got the spindles and springs on, but when we try to put the calipers back on, they wont fit. whats the deal. i got the 2.5" drop spindles and we really have no clue what the problem is.

I say you have spindles for 1-1/4" rotors and your old ones are 1". Sucks, but if you keep the spindles, you will need new rotors and calipers.

Just a real good guess.

check your break lines. i had the same problem with mine. the hard metal part of the break line that comes out of the back of the caliper was keeping the caliper from sliding on. i just carefully rebent them so they would fit. i can't remember exactly but i think the break line on the back of the caliper was hitting the upper ball joint bolt and thats what was keeping it from going on.

if the problem is just that the pads are to close together to allow it to slip over the caliper, take the pads off, put a peice of wood or metal across the piston in the caliper and use a c-clamp to press the piston into the caliper to give you more room to slide the calipers on. be aware though that when you are pressing the piston back into the caliper it will force more break fluid into the master cylinder resevor so you will need to dish some out if you don't want it to over flow.


if mikes idea is right i would try to find a number on the spindles and call western and have them confirm they are the right ones.

wrong!!! we got them on with a sledge hammer:D

but now my passanger side is leaning a lot more than the drivers side. i made sure to put the springs in the correct way also.

c/mon man i know you have a digi cam. where are the pics?

I guess a sledge hammer is one way of installing calipers. Although, I don't think I'll be trying it anytime soon. Do the rotors turn?

For the body lean, drive it. The spriings will seat and it will be even, or at least it should anyway.

yeah. actually, the brakes seem a lot more responsive now. but we are having trouble getting the shock extenders on the back now. we're gonna take a break until tommorow and then finish it up.

and you leave us PICTURELESS??!?!?!?! WTF?! i suppose you're gonna use some lame excuse like "i'm sick, and i dont feel good" crybaby. :D:D:D

mike, thats what we thought they were suppose to look like.. did you have to pry at it to get them on? the extention and the current shock mount on the same width and such.

okay guys, the hardest part of today was the drivers side tie rod end, it took me 1 hour to get it out of the spindle and after that i had to replace it because the only way i could get it out of the spindle was to hit the threaded area with the sledge hammer, which therefore smushed the threads.

oh, and the coils springs where NO problem, i lowered the LCA down all the way and the spring wouldnt fall out, i had to pull the control arm down and then pull the spring out with my hand. it never jumped out at me. oh, and the ball joints where EASY;)

oh, and what is the best way to get the bump stop off of the back?

The extensions were tight, but not overly so. I didn't need to pry them apart if this is what you are asking. Sort of lined them up and pecked them in place with a hammer.

Oh and Eric, why not delete the other posts? :D

hmm.... well, the current mount, and the extenders are the same width, so the only way to get it on would be to pry the extenders apart

well crap, i guess i just didnt know how to before! i'm tired, so i have an excuse

i'm glad the ball joints came off easy for you, they can be a real pain.

sometimes you can take a nut and thread it halfway on to the tie rod joint and the hit the nut with the hammer and as long as you don't have to really lay into it with the hammer it can pop it loose and save the threads. :bowtie:

What are these shock extenders?? Why didn't you just use a shorter shock!!!

i will when i get the money;) right now i'm not using the shock extenders because i couldnt get them on there:rolleyes: when i come into the money a c notch and shocks are next