Drop gone bad?

[big steve-o]

So I went for a 4/6 drop today. Used a flip kit out back and was going to add shackles, and 3" djm spindles up front and was going to cut half a coil. Long story short, the flip should have gotten me 5" by itself, and it looks like it got me about 7, without swapping shackles, this can't be right. Then the spindles gave me the advertised 3", but my front wheels are toed way out and the tops of the tires are leaning way out too. I thought with a straight spindle drop, nothing was supposed to be out of whack like that. And I had to grind the **** out of the top caliper mount to get my wheels on. What the hell?

[bdiamond]

I had to grind the hell out of one of my DJM spindles too. Not real happy with DJM quality.

[1981Stepside]

Maybe your leafs are sagging?

[bbbc10]

grinding the spindles is nothing new one using stock rallys

[big steve-o]

Well, I sure am glad I didn't put those shackles on. The leaves must be sagging in a serious way. Now I have to cut those front coils to even it out. I am pretty worried about my wheels pointing in crazy directions, though.

[superwade57]

Go get an alignment.

[big steve-o]

Yeah, I'm gonna get in there and cut the coils, make it worth my while to get that alignment. Bang for the buck and all.

[INSIDIOUS '86]

Originally Posted by bdiamond

I had to grind the hell out of one of my DJM spindles too. Not real happy with DJM quality.

Trust me your not the first or last

[SCOTI]

With dropped spindles, the steering arm is not in the same place so re-aligning is necessary. The drop from a flip kit varies depending on how many leaves are in the spring pack.

[Reziel_1983]

Originally Posted by big steve-o

So I went for a 4/6 drop today. Used a flip kit out back and was going to add shackles, and 3" djm spindles up front and was going to cut half a coil. Long story short, the flip should have gotten me 5" by itself, and it looks like it got me about 7, without swapping shackles, this can't be right. Then the spindles gave me the advertised 3", but my front wheels are toed way out and the tops of the tires are leaning way out too. I thought with a straight spindle drop, nothing was supposed to be out of whack like that. And I had to grind the **** out of the top caliper mount to get my wheels on. What the hell?

Had the exact same issues as you, I bought spindles and a flip kit. The flip gave WAY more than advertised, and had to grind the hell out of the spindles as well. Spindles were DJM and the flip kit was Western Chassis. I was happy with the flip, but I just figured my leaf springs were worn out. First picture is the one with only spindles and flip kit. 2nd picture is after I cut a coil and changed to shorter tires.

[INSIDIOUS '86]

I think longbed springs being longer and flatter will get more drop than most flips on say swb trucks

[mongoose]

the spring is loaded the same regardless if it's on the top or bottom.... so if should be 5-6 inches.. on either spring..


but yeah djm has some dodgey stuff.. my first flip kit was a djm.. not a single thing fit, relocators nor the u bracket, but a spindles are fine?.. might have to do the 3" drop and the fact you're using a smaller wheel with them.

[Reziel_1983]

Originally Posted by mongoose

the spring is loaded the same regardless if it's on the top or bottom.... so if should be 5-6 inches.. on either spring..


but yeah djm has some dodgey stuff.. my first flip kit was a djm.. not a single thing fit, relocators nor the u bracket, but a spindles are fine?.. might have to do the 3" drop and the fact you're using a smaller wheel with them.

Yeah, I expected to have to grind with 15" wheels so I wasn't upset.

[INSIDIOUS '86]

Originally Posted by mongoose

the spring is loaded the same regardless if it's on the top or bottom.... so if should be 5-6 inches.. on either spring..


but yeah djm has some dodgey stuff.. my first flip kit was a djm.. not a single thing fit, relocators nor the u bracket, but a spindles are fine?.. might have to do the 3" drop and the fact you're using a smaller wheel with them.

Loaded the same but here's my reasoning. A 52 inch spring is more arched since it has less leafs so when the axle is on the bottom of the leaf pack it isn't so low but the longer flatter 56 inch packs have more leafs which is like lifting the truck when the axle is below the leaf.

In my stepside it's got the heavy duty susp and when I look at it if I was to flip the axle it would drop the truck way more than 5in. My light duty truck was only a 5in drop though. It's kinda hard to explain with out a physical example.

[big steve-o]

Originally Posted by Reziel_1983

Had the exact same issues as you, I bought spindles and a flip kit. The flip gave WAY more than advertised, and had to grind the hell out of the spindles as well. Spindles were DJM and the flip kit was Western Chassis. I was happy with the flip, but I just figured my leaf springs were worn out. First picture is the one with only spindles and flip kit. 2nd picture is after I cut a coil and changed to shorter tires.

That looks great!

[bdiamond]

I was expecting to grind the lower arm. The spindle caught me by surprise. I would have expected to have to grind BOTH spindles, but only had issues on the driver side. As for 52 vs. 56 drops, the 56" leaves are usually heavier/have more leaves and therefore they are a thicker pack. I would estimate flip drop to be the pack thickness + the thickness of the axletube including saddle.

[big steve-o]

Well, I went back in and cut the coils. It actually straightened my wheels out some, which seems like the opposite of what should have happened. In the pic it's sitting on an incline, when it's flat it's level. The 4/6 drop ended up turning into about 5/7. Had to grind the top caliper mount as most people with 15s do, but there's no rub on the lca, so that's a win. Now, to find some 20s I like... By which I mean "that I can afford".

[BONUSCAB]

Why buy wheels you don't like? I'd roll the **** out of them rallys.

[cory d]

they have 2.5" spindles for 15" wheels

[big steve-o]

Originally Posted by BONUSCAB

Why buy wheels you don't like? I'd roll the **** out of them rallys.

Don't take me wrong, I like these wheels. (theyr'e actually sport wheels) I wouldn't get rid of them, but lateley I've been digging the "hot wheels" look, and I like to have options.

[Blackpony]

I ended up with a djm flip kit along with djm front 3'' lower control arms, then cut a coil out of the stock springs. I will try and get a picture tomorrow of the ride height, but i am happy with the quality of the djm parts. Everything fit just fine with no modifications. I am looking at adding caltracs, converting to a mono leaf and adding a set of air bags. I also cut the factory rear bumpstop brackets off. I plan to add a set of the flat urethane stops to the frame rails should it ever go that far. Hoping with that rear setup it will eliminate the wheel hop I have, along with giving good ride and the ability to haul a load without issue.

[KrazyRay]

I'm right in the middle of doing a 3/5 drop with DJM spindles and a rear flip kit from specialty retail here on the forum. So far I'm having trouble with moving the brake hoses as they hit the DJM. I will have to grind a flat spot on my caliper for the brake hose to seat properly when turned about 60* to miss the spindle. I plan on grinding the lower control arm and from what I hear maybe the top of the DJM. I'm going with 8" ralleys.

[INSIDIOUS '86]

You can just bend the hose. They do that as well. Most of us with spindles had to

[KrazyRay]

The spindles are installed and the flip kit is in, but I have about a 1 inch sled. I want to drop the front another 2". I had to do a bunch of grinding on the DJM spindles to clear the 8" ralleys, but they cleared the lower control arm with room to spare. The other problem is that the driver side sits 1" lower than the passenger side. Overall, the DJM spindles should work well. It doesn't make sense that I had to do a bunch of grinding.

[INSIDIOUS '86]

It's a normal thing for rallies actually as for the side to side difference make sure your springs are seated in the upper cups