McGaughy's Spindles > Questions/Concerns After Install...

[Clean07Burb]

About two weeks ago I installed a McGaughy 2/3 kit on my '07 Suburban. 2" drop spindles up front and 3" drop springs along with shock extenders out back. I noticed a couple things during installation, and after installation, of the spindles while out on the first drive. I'd like to know if these two things are the norm with all drop spindles or just the McGaughy's.


#1: The tapered recess in the top "arm" of the spindle isn't cut or reamed deep and/or wide enough for the whole upper ball joint stud to seat flush with the machined surface of the spindle. In other words, the upper ball joint's tapered shaft doesn't go all the way down into the spindle because the taper in the spindle isn't machined properly to allow for it. Make note that this was the case with both the left and right spindles, but the shaft still protrudes plenty deep enough through the spindle to install and torque the nut on the bottom side, so I'm not sure if this is really a problem or not, but figured it was worth getting opinions about. Is this normal? If so, are all quality drop spindles made this way, including BellTech's?


#2: I also noticed that I've lost a considerable amount of turning radius after installing the drop spindles. Places that I previously was able to make easy u-turns are now two point turnaround spots. I've owned and lowered many vehicles in the past, but this is my first experience with lowering a truck, so maybe this is just a side effect of lowering via drop spindles. Can anyone elaborate?


Thanks in advance for any facts and/or experiences you guys can offer!

 

[NathanJax]

#1: The tapered recess in the top "arm" of the spindle isn't cut or reamed deep and/or wide enough for the whole upper ball joint stud to seat flush with the machined surface of the spindle. In other words, the upper ball joint's tapered shaft doesn't go all the way down into the spindle because the taper in the spindle isn't machined properly to allow for it. Make note that this was the case with both the left and right spindles, but the shaft still protrudes plenty deep enough through the spindle to install and torque the nut on the bottom side, so I'm not sure if this is really a problem or not, but figured it was worth getting opinions about. Is this normal? If so, are all quality drop spindles made this way, including BellTech's?

Pics? I'm sure this is fine if you were able to thread the nut on plenty. I honestly don't remember on my Belltech spindles.

#2: I also noticed that I've lost a considerable amount of turning radius after installing the drop spindles. Places that I previously was able to make easy u-turns are now two point turnaround spots. I've owned and lowered many vehicles in the past, but this is my first experience with lowering a truck, so maybe this is just a side effect of lowering via drop spindles. Can anyone elaborate?

I lost turning radius with McGaughy spindles on my 01 Tahoe. Since then, I've gone with Belltech and had no issues. Supposedly you can grind down where the spindle hit's the stopping point... but I'm not sure if I would do that. Google "McGaughy lost turning radius" for more info...

 

[Clean07Burb]

Pics? I'm sure this is fine if you were able to thread the nut on plenty. I honestly don't remember on my Belltech spindles.




I lost turning radius with McGaughy spindles on my 01 Tahoe. Since then, I've gone with Belltech and had no issues. Supposedly you can grind down where the spindle hit's the stopping point... but I'm not sure if I would do that. Google "McGaughy lost turning radius" for more info...

I'll have to pop a wheel off and snap a couple pics of exactly what I'm talking about. Like you, I'm thinking it isn't really a real problem, just something I took notice of. Its been a couple weeks and almost 1k miles since the install and alignment without issue, so hopefully it'll continue that way. The only thing I can think of is the possibility of premature upper ball joint wear/failure, since the shaft isn't fully seated into the spindle and with suspension travel the pivoting force of the joint is coming from a lower point on the shaft than originally designed. That may be unlikely, but still a possibility. I'm planning on ordering a set of coil relocators to get the front down another inch, so I'll post a couple pics of the UBJ's when I install them.


And I was pleasantly surprised with how good the turning radius of these trucks was when I first drove mine before purchase. Unfortunately, it kinda sucks losing some of that radius with the McGaughy spindles. I thought about modifying the stopping point as you also mentioned, but I'll live with it before considering that. Its not that big of a deal, just a small downside. Maybe one day I'll swap out these for a set of BellTech's since you say there's zero loss of radius with them.


Thanks for the input so far. Anyone else feel free to chime in...

 

[NeverSatisfied]

There's a thread somewhere on here about fixing the turning radius if I find it I will add it on here. I run Mcgaughy's spindles and did lose some turning radius but doesn't really bother me. I like the spindles for the fact of getting better alignment from them.

Here it is
http://www.tahoeyukonforum.com/forum/showthread.php?p=704760

 

[Clean07Burb]

There's a thread somewhere on here about fixing the turning radius if I find it I will add it on here. I run Mcgaughy's spindles and did lose some turning radius but doesn't really bother me. I like the spindles for the fact of getting better alignment from them.

Here it is
http://www.tahoeyukonforum.com/forum/showthread.php?p=704760

Awesome! Thanks for the link, man. I'll give it a read in the morning. And I didn't realize that the McGaughy spindles make for an easier/better alignment specs. Did you notice anything different when installing your's? Any trouble getting the upper ball joints to fully seat?

---------- Post added at 12:04 AM ---------- Previous post was Yesterday at 11:50 PM ----------

Just went through the turning radius fix thread. Pretty short and to the point. Lol. It actually doesn't appear to need as much material removed as I had originally assumed, which is good. I didn't want to modify the new spindles, but now I'm considering it with such a small amount of removal necessary. I was very happy with the stock turning radius prior to the McGaughy's install and I'd like to maintain that with the new configuration. As stated in the fix thread, why McGaughy's doesn't cast their spindles with the proper allowances to maintain a tight turning radius, I have no idea. Seems like that would just be another selling point, especially when their competitor makes this allowance right out of the box. Shouldn't take much more than 30-40 minutes at most to get the job done...