front spindle reaming for larger ball joint? - The 1947 - Present Chevrolet & GMC Truck Message Board Network

Rod · 05-26-2004, 11:53 AM

Anyone ever try reaming a front spindle taper to accept larger ball joints. Had a call about a 64 3/4 ton truck being converted to 1 ton and the taper of the spindle was not tapered deep enough to accept a larger ball joint.

One option the mechaic was thinking about was reaming the spindle to accept the larger tapered ball joint... lots of meat on the spndle to play with. It may be cheaper cost to do it that way then to swap everything.
Thought I'd ask the mebers if they had any experience with this.

JimKshortstep4x4 · 05-26-2004, 12:45 PM

If the spindle is not hard, reaming with the right reamer should work very well. It would take a good machinest to fixture the part during reaming so that the newly reamed hole is in the right location. If it were reamed off center there would be problems with alignment.

Jim

*Shane* · 05-26-2004, 12:49 PM

The problem with this is gonna be finding the correct Taper Reamer. I would suspect, from my experience as a machinist, that ball joint tapers are not offered as a standard for taper-reamers.

Just a thought to consider because custom made tooling is very very expensive.

Primed67 · 05-26-2004, 01:38 PM

We have customers do it all the time on the circle track cars. I know there has to be several different reamers out there but all we sale are the 1-1/2" Taper per foot.

Rod · 05-26-2004, 11:56 PM

OK.. thanks for the tips... I'll see what he comes up with.

Erl · 05-27-2004, 09:56 AM

www.goodson.com has the reamer you are looking for. You can sometimes find a ball joint from another type of vehicle. I am using an 80's blazer tie rod end on my 68 4x4 power steering conversion. I was going to ream the steering arm, but found a drop-in replacement.
Erl

Ole Blue · 05-27-2004, 11:17 AM

Yes circle track guys do it all the time. Check with some of the circle track vendors for the reamer. Very easy mod to do yourself. No fixture needed as you already have a hole to start with. No problem with alignment. I can't count the number of times I've done this. If you need help with details or vendor let me know.

05-26-2004, 11:53 AM	#1
Rod Join Date: Dec 1999 Location: Eastern - Manitoba Canada, Winnipeg Posts: 4,369	front spindle reaming for larger ball joint? Anyone ever try reaming a front spindle taper to accept larger ball joints. Had a call about a 64 3/4 ton truck being converted to 1 ton and the taper of the spindle was not tapered deep enough to accept a larger ball joint. One option the mechaic was thinking about was reaming the spindle to accept the larger tapered ball joint... lots of meat on the spndle to play with. It may be cheaper cost to do it that way then to swap everything. Thought I'd ask the mebers if they had any experience with this. __________________ Senior active founding member. 70 3/4 ton GMC Suburban 4x4 250/4 spd. 71 1/2 ton Suburban Chevy 4x4, 350/350 72 Chev 1 ton tow truck 402BB w/Holmes 440 wrecker on propane 2005 FLSTSCI Harley Springer 85 FXSB Harley Lowrider 72 Triumph 650 Bonneville 5spd "Poor people don't have hobbies" Quote from wife.

05-26-2004, 01:38 PM	#4
Primed67 Registered User Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Tyler Posts: 575	We have customers do it all the time on the circle track cars. I know there has to be several different reamers out there but all we sale are the 1-1/2" Taper per foot. __________________ 1969 Chevrolet SWB Stepside 1959 Chevrolet apache * Sold 1967 Prostreet Chevy SWB Fleetside *Sold 2014 1/2 ton Crew Cab Chevrolet 4x4

05-26-2004, 11:56 PM	#5
Rod Join Date: Dec 1999 Location: Eastern - Manitoba Canada, Winnipeg Posts: 4,369	OK.. thanks for the tips... I'll see what he comes up with. __________________ Senior active founding member. 70 3/4 ton GMC Suburban 4x4 250/4 spd. 71 1/2 ton Suburban Chevy 4x4, 350/350 72 Chev 1 ton tow truck 402BB w/Holmes 440 wrecker on propane 2005 FLSTSCI Harley Springer 85 FXSB Harley Lowrider 72 Triumph 650 Bonneville 5spd "Poor people don't have hobbies" Quote from wife.

05-27-2004, 09:56 AM	#6
Erl Registered User Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 555	www.goodson.com has the reamer you are looking for. You can sometimes find a ball joint from another type of vehicle. I am using an 80's blazer tie rod end on my 68 4x4 power steering conversion. I was going to ream the steering arm, but found a drop-in replacement. Erl __________________ 1968 GMC 305 V6 3/4 4x4 Stepside 06 Corvette Daily Driver Dallas TX

05-27-2004, 11:17 AM	#7
Ole Blue Registered User Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Holts Summit, Mo. Posts: 58	Yes circle track guys do it all the time. Check with some of the circle track vendors for the reamer. Very easy mod to do yourself. No fixture needed as you already have a hole to start with. No problem with alignment. I can't count the number of times I've done this. If you need help with details or vendor let me know. Last edited by Ole Blue; 05-27-2004 at 11:19 AM.

05-26-2004, 12:45 PM	#2
JimKshortstep4x4 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Muskegon,MI,USA Posts: 6,026	If the spindle is not hard, reaming with the right reamer should work very well. It would take a good machinest to fixture the part during reaming so that the newly reamed hole is in the right location. If it were reamed off center there would be problems with alignment. Jim

05-26-2004, 12:49 PM	#3
Shane Account Suspended Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: over yonder Posts: 14,270	The problem with this is gonna be finding the correct Taper Reamer. I would suspect, from my experience as a machinist, that ball joint tapers are not offered as a standard for taper-reamers. Just a thought to consider because custom made tooling is very very expensive.



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