Problems w/ Spindles

[calvinator]

I'm wanting to lower my truck using drop spindles. Currently it has spindles from a 84 gmc with the 1" rotors. All I switched was new upper and lower ball joints and the spindles from 73-87. Everything else is 70. This has given me a headache though. The wheels are tilted. The top of the wheels needs to go in, and the bottom needs to go out. Is there something I did wrong?

Is there any reason why these 3" drop spindles will not work with my truck?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/73-87...Q5fAccessories

I am guessing they will fit with no problems, but the wheels will still be slanted when you look at them head on. Can anybody help me and tell me what I did wrong?

[Longhorn Man]

you need shims behind the shaft where the upper a arm bolts to the frame.

[lolife99]

Can you post any pics of your suspension? I'm not sure why the top of the spindles would be too far out. Normally you need to shim the upper a-arm to move it out. Is the front end "toed out" too far?

[calvinator]

What do you mean by "toed out" ?
I'll get some pictures up tomorrow with the wheel removed.

[lolife99]

Originally Posted by calvinator

What do you mean by "toed out" ?
I'll get some pictures up tomorrow with the wheel removed.

Do you need to adjust the tie rods in,... so both wheels point straight ahead.

[calvinator]

Here is a picture of my front brakes with the wheel off. From the front view the entire rotor is angled (in the same direction as the red line but I made the red line more obvious). I realise the picture doesnt make it very clear and obvious, but with skinny tires on the front its quite noticeable. Is there anything I can do to fix this problem? Thanks

[Longhorn Man]

oops, i read that backwards

[Tx Firefighter]

That's too much for drop spindles. Summit spindles are a bit cheaper and name brand stuff.

[Boog]

Bud have you put the truck on the ground since the spindle install? Or are you just noticing the tires leaning inward while jacked up? They will lean in a bit when jacked up but straighten up when sitting on the ground. It may only be a few shims off at ride height.

[calvinator]

Yeah I have had the truck sitting on its wheels with no jack. Its quite noticeable when you look at it head on. I'm sorry but I still don't understand where exactly you put shims in order to push the bottom of the spindle outwards.

[70k52wd]

Looks like if anything, you need to remove upper control arm shims. That would pull your upper arm in closer to frame.

[RW71]

I would take it to a Alignment shop.

[lolife99]

Originally Posted by calvinator

Yeah I have had the truck sitting on its wheels with no jack. Its quite noticeable when you look at it head on. I'm sorry but I still don't understand where exactly you put shims in order to push the bottom of the spindle outwards.

There is NO shim to push the bottom outward. Only the upper a-arm.
I agree with taking it to the alignment shop first.

[Tx Firefighter]

I'd imagine your old ball joints were very worn and correspondingly, the alignment was for them. Now, with the new, tight ball joints, you need to re-align it and will wind up removing shims from the shim packs.

[HuggerCST]

I did a similar conversion recently and had the same problem. I put 73-87 2.5" drop spindles on my '70, and my wheels leaned out at the top.(too much positive camber) I had to take out 3 shims in the front and back of the control arm just to make it look right, and I will probably have to remove the 1/4" spacers for the final alignment. The alignment shims are located between the upper control arm shaft and the frame. Make sure that your outer tie rods are correct too, 73-87 are different than 67-70. Those shims look like this.

[calvinator]

Originally Posted by HuggerCST

I did a similar conversion recently and had the same problem. I put 73-87 2.5" drop spindles on my '70, and my wheels leaned out at the top.(too much positive camber) I had to take out 3 shims in the front and back of the control arm just to make it look right, and I will probably have to remove the 1/4" spacers for the final alignment. The alignment shims are located between the upper control arm shaft and the frame. Make sure that your outer tie rods are correct too, 73-87 are different than 67-70. Those shims look like this.

Thank you, that sounds very helpful. I'll have to look into that whenever I get the chance.