Rally wheel / 2.5 spindle clearance (unhappy camper)

[1986swb]

Originally Posted by LEEVON

Just finished up with McGaughy's 2.5" drop spindles and a single coil cut on my '87. I was expecting to have to clear the lower control arm lip, but to my surprise the tie rod end hits the wheel. These are standard 15x8 rally wheels, with 4.25" backspacing and the boot is tight enough the wheel won't spin freely. No grinding will fix this. I've never had this problem with 2.5 spindles. I guess I'm going to have to get different wheels. That's not so exciting...

As an added bonus the lower ball joint taper on one of the spindles was not complete and I had to drill it out myself. This drop has been a real pain and I've done a bunch of them.

Anybody else have tie rod clearance issues?

I have Western Chassis brand 2.5" drop front spindles on my 1986 GMC Sierra SWB with 15" x 8" rallies and no issues. I've replaced all my suspension parts as well without issues. Maybe it's McGaughy's spindles.

See pics in my album via link under my signature line.

[LEEVON]

I've heard (never confirmed) that some of the spindles advertised at 2.5" are actually 3". That would explain the differences. Nice truck BTW!

[slimneverdies]

Originally Posted by LEEVON

Rich84 that looks perfect!



Not sure, did you remove the factory bumpstop brackets?



I would have done that, but the boots are hitting the rims first, really no way to move those.

I cut the lip off the bumpstop bracket but I didn't take the entire bracket off. What did you do?
Posted via Mobile Device

[LEEVON]

I removed all the rivets and knocked the brackets off. Clearance is tight, that last 1.5" makes all the difference. I bet that is your noise.

[slimneverdies]

Originally Posted by LEEVON

I removed all the rivets and knocked the brackets off. Clearance is tight, that last 1.5" makes all the difference. I bet that is your noise.

Ok. Cool. Hopefully that's what it is. Ill get back to you once it's done. Thanks
Posted via Mobile Device

[lolife99]

These look like they might be 15x7's,...
http://loz.craigslist.org/pts/3740657006.html

[LEEVON]

If anybody is watching, just wanted to report that the 15x7's solved all of my clearance problems and I've since located several more. Looked at a set of 4 that the owner was way too proud of, and another set of 2 that I'm going to grab soon. That way I'll have two complete sets of staggered rally wheels. Keep your eyes open for these and grab them when you can!

Remember 7" bead-to-bead and 3 5/8" backspacing. NOT 6.5"!!! If you're lucky there will be a stamp on the inside. One of mine has it, the other doesn't and neither did the set of 4 I found. Go figure.

Happy trucking!

[lolife99]

Congrats on the new wheels.
I've always run 7's and 8's when I run rally wheels,... but those 15x7's are getting alot harder to find.
Your truck looks great!

[LEEVON]

Originally Posted by lolife99

Congrats on the new wheels.
I've always run 7's and 8's when I run rally wheels,... but those 15x7's are getting alot harder to find.
Your truck looks great!

Thanks! It was a learning experience for me, that's the truth.

[jrblanke]

What type of vehicle did the 15x7" rally wheels come on?