88-91 light duty to heavy duty drop spindle swap

[Richie]

Ok first off let me say this is my experiance doing this swap based on info I was given.If you have done it and had no problems,sweet.Me on the other hand........... Ok first off I bought a set of 2" drop spindles from a guy on craigslist(Belltechs,not that I think it matters).The part # for this brand spindle that would fit my truck(1990 regular cab 1/2 ton 2wd) are #2400.The heavy duty spindle that is for 88 and up extended cab 1/2 ton is #2500.This spindle is also the standard half ton spindle for 92 to '98.It has the larger diameter spindle shaft.It also has a #2400 cast on the back of the spindle body.I called belltech after finding out they didn't fit my truck and they said that both spindle bodies are casted from the same mold.The holes are drilled out bigger for the larger shaft.So if you find a killer deal on a set of drop spindles for your '88-'91 1/2 ton,measure the spindle shaft.If it is 1.378" then it is the heavy duty spindle version.It will work but you have to use '92 and up rotors,inner and outer bearings,calipers and pads.The heavy duty calipers are like 1/4" wider across the rotor pocket and the cup is 2-15/16" inside diameter.I hope this helps someone else so they do not go through this.I made 5 trips to napa.I even had the counter guy confused more than I was.

[ChevLoRay]

You confused a counter guy at a NAPA store?

I once had a Brand F truck. It was an '83 F-100. I had a brake caliper that was sticking so I decided that swapping both of them for new/rebuilt was a good thing. The new calipers fell through and out of the brackets. I took 'em back, and found that my old calipers were what was on the F-150, not normally found on F-100 SWB trucks.

After a trip to pick up the other correct caliper in Little Rock (about 25 miles away), I went to my local Ford dealer and let them run my VIN. Everything showed that it shouldn't have had the suspension that it did, but that's okay. I sold it to my oldest son for a song that he sang and he can't carry a tune in a No.3 washtub if it had 10 pallbearers holding it up.