A 73-87 Drop Spindle Questions

[Conundrum]

I found a set of drop spindles the other day, that a guy took off his truck.





3" drop, 1" rotors and he said they take the big bearings.

What are the big bearings on these trucks?
Are the 73-80 & 81-87 bearings different?
If so which ones are the big bearings?



All I knew was a real difference was the rotor thickness.


Also, he said that they are Trailmaster brand. Anyone heard of these or have them, are they a good quality spindle?

I didn't think I could beat the deal of $150 shipped.

[low86c10]

i think 73-87 are all the same but some trucks had the different size brakes which is the only thing that should matter with drop spindles i would think, may be wrong though

[JohnC]

I haven't heard of trailmaster spindles. That and I have never seen a difference between spindles except for the 1" and 1-1/4" thickness like you stated. Sorry I couldn't be more help.

[thrtsxchambers]

I am not sure of the difference but when I bought the new bearings for my new rotors when I put in the drop spindles they gave me the wrong bearings twice. We checked the numbers and they were for my truck but I had to take my old ones to compare and the computer at oreillys showed 4 different bearings for my truck. i also think the inner and outer are also different sizes.
I have heard of trailmaster suspension for 4x4 lift kits and work well. For $150 you can't beat it.

[Conundrum]

Yeah, I figured that Trailmaster was probably more off a 4wd company.

Thanks for the input guys, so it may just be a trial an error type of deal on getting the right bearings. I got my rotors in with a trade for some wheels I got from a friend, they have been redrilled to a dodge 5x5.5 pattern top run the 20" steel ram spare wheels.

[slipkorn34]

inner and outer are different and theres two different inners i think its hd and non hd brakes

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by Conundrum

..... I got my rotors in with a trade for some wheels I got from a friend, they have been redrilled to a dodge 5x5.5 pattern top run the 20" steel ram spare wheels.

You have any pics? I would love to see how that was done.

[Slonaker]

Originally Posted by Conundrum

Yeah, I figured that Trailmaster was probably more off a 4wd company.

Since they are from an offroad company, could they be spindles to raise the front end? I think I have seen info here about a company that used to make those for lifting 2WD pickups.

Slonaker

[Damien]

If they are lift spindles, I would grab them. There are a number of guys on this site that are trying to give their trucks a pre-runner look.

[Conundrum]

Originally Posted by Slonaker

Since they are from an offroad company, could they be spindles to raise the front end? I think I have seen info here about a company that used to make those for lifting 2WD pickups.

Slonaker

They are supposed to be drop spindles, I will find out for sure when I get them in a couple days. They were shipped out yesterday.

Originally Posted by N2TRUX

You have any pics? I would love to see how that was done.

I will get some pics up soon.

[Driveway Dreams]

I too will be watching for the pics. I have thought about doing the same thing to mine.

[87 STEPPER]

Ok he told you correctly his truck was equiped with the HeavyDuty brakes option like mine is the brake rotor is thicker and the axle is also larger thats why the bearings are larger the brake caliper is also mounted a little bit lower on the spindle but to look at it you wont really see it so if you use them you may need to replace the brake lines as well cuz they will probably be too short to reach.

If they do mount up make sure you check that they will be able to streach when you steer from lock to lock if theres any tension get longer brake lines!

Also if they are 3" drop spindles then expect to have rubbing issues with the wheel and LCA this is why you can only buy 2.5" lower spindles today.

I have 3" BellTech spindles that i got in 1987 on mine and i had to cut the LCA lip to clear the wheel.

BTW i have never heard of the Trailmaster brand either but thats not to say that is a bad thing, If he had 'em on his truck and had no problems then id say there ok.

Good luck.

[lolife99]

The 73-87 trucks came with two different size rotors.
The 1.25" wide rotors are more common,... but around 1981 they offered a Light Duty version that was only a 1" wide rotor.

I still haven't figured out which years came with what, for sure,...
(my 1983 frame had 1.25" wide, my 1986 frame had 1" wide).

Anyway,... one of the bearings is the same, one is different.
(I think the outer bearing is diffferent)
The calipers are also different.

So depending on what the OP had on his truck originally,... he may have to change calipers to make the 1" rotor/drop spindle combo work.
I just did this swap to 1" wide rotors recently.

[Conundrum]

Originally Posted by N2TRUX

You have any pics? I would love to see how that was done.

I don't know who did them, but I do know that he bought them off a board member a few months back.

Originally Posted by 87 STEPPER

Ok he told you correctly his truck was equiped with the HeavyDuty brakes option like mine is the brake rotor is thicker and the axle is also larger thats why the bearings are larger the brake caliper is also mounted a little bit lower on the spindle but to look at it you wont really see it so if you use them you may need to replace the brake lines as well cuz they will probably be too short to reach.

If they do mount up make sure you check that they will be able to streach when you steer from lock to lock if theres any tension get longer brake lines!

Also if they are 3" drop spindles then expect to have rubbing issues with the wheel and LCA this is why you can only buy 2.5" lower spindles today.

I have 3" BellTech spindles that i got in 1987 on mine and i had to cut the LCA lip to clear the wheel.

BTW i have never heard of the Trailmaster brand either but thats not to say that is a bad thing, If he had 'em on his truck and had no problems then id say there ok.

Good luck.

I will be running 20" wheels so I don't see any problems with hittin the LCAs.

Originally Posted by lolife99

The 73-87 trucks came with two different size rotors.
The 1.25" wide rotors are more common,... but around 1981 they offered a Light Duty version that was only a 1" wide rotor.

I still haven't figured out which years came with what, for sure,...
(my 1983 frame had 1.25" wide, my 1986 frame had 1" wide).

Anyway,... one of the bearings is the same, one is different.
(I think the outer bearing is diffferent)
The calipers are also different.

So depending on what the OP had on his truck originally,... he may have to change calipers to make the 1" rotor/drop spindle combo work.
I just did this swap to 1" wide rotors recently.

They are 1" rotors, and I plan to buy new if I don't already have a pair around.

[JohnC]

Originally Posted by lolife99

The 73-87 trucks came with two different size rotors.
The 1.25" wide rotors are more common,... but around 1981 they offered a Light Duty version that was only a 1" wide rotor.

I still haven't figured out which years came with what, for sure,...
(my 1983 frame had 1.25" wide, my 1986 frame had 1" wide).

Anyway,... one of the bearings is the same, one is different.
(I think the outer bearing is diffferent)
The calipers are also different.

So depending on what the OP had on his truck originally,... he may have to change calipers to make the 1" rotor/drop spindle combo work.
I just did this swap to 1" wide rotors recently.

It was just with the suspension package the truck was built with. I don't think it was year specific as much as a light duty suspension, vs a heavy duty suspension package. My current 84 swb has the 1" rotors, and my old 84 swb had the 1-1/4" rotors.

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by Conundrum

I don't know who did them, but I do know that he bought them off a board member a few months back.

What are you going to do in the rear? I have been playing with this idea for a while now. I knew you could redrill the front, just wasn't sure about the rear. I know you can have the axles drilled, but what about the drums?

[3r!c84]

damnnn this is going to look good!!!!!!!! and i had no need to cut my lca with my 3in djm

[J_PEPIN87]

I think 73-80 came with the 1.25 rotor and 81-87 came with the 1.0 rotor.when i ordered my spindles for my '74 i ordered for 1.25 rotor.I DIDN'T HAVE TO CUT MY LCA BUT I DID HAVE TO GRIND THE BRAKE CALIPER BRACKET A LITTLE AND BEND THE BRAKE LINE DOWN TOO.

[87 STEPPER]

Originally Posted by J_PEPIN87

I think 73-80 came with the 1.25 rotor and 81-87 came with the 1.0 rotor.

Well the ones on my '87 were 1.25 and i bought my truck new soooooooo????who know's.

[3r!c84]

you got the HD upgrade

[87 STEPPER]

Originally Posted by 3r!c84

you got the HD upgrade

Yep, I ordered my truck with the "Towing package" that gives you the HD brakes and HD cooling system.

[Conundrum]

So are the ball joints the same between the light duty and heavy duty option trucks?

[Conundrum]

I don't know why you couldn't have the drums redrilled, I would think that a shop capable of redrilling the rotors could also do the drums.

But I got adapters for the rear with the wheels and rotors, haven't decided on wether or not i'm going to use them.

[Conundrum]

Fedex dropped off the spindles today, they are definitely drop spindles.

Is there an easy way to tell if they are 2.5" or 3" drop?

[3r!c84]

measure your stock spindles and drop spindles ?