Drop Spindle and Tie Rod Question

[Jayschevy]

I came across a set of drop spindles for my 71 C10. I'm not sure who made them. The only problem with them is the diameter of the hole that holds the outer tie rod. The hole is a little bigger than the tapered tie rod bolt.
Has anyone else had this issue and what can I do to fix it? Is there a shim I could use? Hopefully I'm not the only one who has had this issue.
Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks

[KMC3420]

The man to ask about this directly would be lolife99, shoot him a PM.

[lolife99]

Originally Posted by Jayschevy

I came across a set of drop spindles for my 71 C10. I'm not sure who made them. The only problem with them is the diameter of the hole that holds the outer tie rod. The hole is a little bigger than the tapered tie rod bolt.
Has anyone else had this issue and what can I do to fix it? Is there a shim I could use? Hopefully I'm not the only one who has had this issue.
Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks

What YEAR truck are you working on?

Here is a true statement about spindles:
EVERYTHING has to match the YEAR of spindle you are using.
That means:
Balljoints and outer tie rods.


If your truck is a 63-70 I HIGHLY suggest using 63-70 conversion spindles.
They can be purchased for $229 almost everywhere.
No need to change any steering parts or balljoints.

[KMC3420]

Thanks Keith. Your fast.

[lolife99]

Originally Posted by KMC3420

I have read where some drop spindles only utilize the 73+ up tie rods. This may solve your problem as I do believe the 73+ up tie rods are larger in Diameter where you need it to be larger. The man to ask about this directly would be lolife99, shoot him a PM.

Not true any more.
Back in the 1980's all you could buy were 73-87 drop spindles.

NOW,... you can buy them for all the years of the C10 trucks.
They break down by the following years:
60-62
63-70
71-72
73-87 Light duty 1" rotors
73-87 HD 1.25" rotors.

[KMC3420]

Thanks for the correction Keith, I went back and edited my 1st post so their isn't any false info on here.

[Jayschevy]

Originally Posted by lolife99

What YEAR truck are you working on?

Here is a true statement about spindles:
EVERYTHING has to match the YEAR of spindle you are using.
That means:
Balljoints and outer tie rods.


If your truck is a 63-70 I HIGHLY suggest using 63-70 conversion spindles.
They can be purchased for $229 almost everywhere.
No need to change any steering parts or balljoints.

My truck is a 1971 C10 and it does have the 1.25" rotors. Could the spindle be for a 73-87 truck? Are the tie rod ends bigger on the 73-87's?

[lolife99]

Originally Posted by Jayschevy

My truck is a 1971 C10. Could the spindle be from a 73-87 truck? Are the tie rod ends bigger on the 73-87's?

Yes.
They could be the Light Duty version or the HD version.
71-72 and 73-87 trucks use the SAME lower ball joint.
But the upper balljoint and outer tie rod is different.

Since your truck is a 71-72 model,... you could swap the upper ball joint and outer tie rod,... that is,... if they are in fact 73-87 spindles.
If they are the light duty version,... you will need new light duty rotors and calipers.

Sometimes cheap spindles aren't always a DEAL.
Buy a set of 71-72 drop spindles and save yourself alot of headaches.

[Jayschevy]

Everything fit perfect on these spindles except the outer tie rod. the bigger calipers and rotors all fit great. I may just need the HD outter tie rods.

[Jayschevy]

Problem solved. Used 73-87 outer tie rods

[hdixon]

if you use a 73-87 ball joints and outer tie rod to fit the spindle will it fit the fit the 63-70 center link correctly

[lolife99]

Originally Posted by hdixon

if you use a 73-87 ball joints and outer tie rod to fit the spindle will it fit the fit the 63-70 center link correctly

Only if you use a 63-70 outer tie rod at the INNER location.
This also requires a conversion tie rod sleeve that adapts a 5/8” tie rod (63-70) to the 11/16” tie rod (73-87).