85 c10 new brake pads won't fit

[plaidpotato]

I'm a first time square body owner, I recently picked up a 85 c10 2wd that was airbagged by the previous owner. I've been working on rebuilding the front end, just freshening up all the bushings and balljoints, tie rods, etc. I've run into a couple of issues I'm hoping you guys can help me with.

First off, the truck has new looking front brake rotors on it and the previous owner had tried to put new pads on it but could not get the new inner pad to fit. I tried myself with a new set of pads and found the same problem, the pad is a perfect match but seems too thick to fit. The rotors on it are 1 1/4" wide so I tried to install the 1" rotors thinking this would solve the problem but now the diameter of the new inner bearing is too small to fit all the way back on the spindle and the bearing in the larger rotors is too large to fit in the new rotors. I think the truck has drop spindles on it but not sure how to tell for sure.

The other issue I'm having is I had to replace the lower control arm cross shafts that mount to the crossmember, the guide holes in the shafts are not linning up with the pins in the saddle brackets, I can get one side in but the other side seems to be off slightly, so i cant bolt the control arms in place.

Any help you guys can provide would be greatly appreciated.

[N2TRUX]

Welcome to the forum plaidpotato.

You cant mix and match the 1" and the 1.25" HD brakes, bearing, etc. If the pad is too thick, have you tried compressing the cup in the caliper? If not, use a large C-Clamp and slowly compress the cup back inside the caliper. Be aware that this might cause your fluid reservoir to overflow if its too full.

Regarding the cross shaft, it sound like you need to swap it with another one. There is no adjustment on those bolts to accommodate misaligned index holes.

[plaidpotato]

Originally Posted by N2TRUX

Welcome to the forum plaidpotato.

You cant mix and match the 1" and the 1.25" HD brakes, bearing, etc. If the pad is too thick, have you tried compressing the cup in the caliper? If not, use a large C-Clamp and slowly compress the cup back inside the caliper. Be aware that this might cause your fluid reservoir to overflow if its too full.

Regarding the cross shaft, it sound like you need to swap it with another one. There is no adjustment on those bolts to accommodate misaligned index holes.

I compressed the piston as far as i could with a large adjustable wrench, it looked like the piston was pretty flush with the inside of the caliper but maybe I need to compress it further.... i'm assuming now that the 1" rotor bearing would not fit the spindle then that must mean the the spindles are designed for the 1.25 rotor, but when i try to fit the inner pad without the caliper in place, it seems to barely fit, it looks like the pad would be ridding against the rotor, is that right?

the cross shafts are brand new moog shafts, the shafts, saddle brackets and u bolts had been removed from the truck and some poorly made aftermarket brackets were being used to bolt the lca's in, I'm trying to go back to the oe mounting design... if the shafts are made correctly, theres no reason why they shouldn't work, right?

[canadian trucker]

Do you have any pictures?