Spindle HELP

[TheSaint]

Hello All, I ordered some chrome spindles online. They came in except the driver side spindle axle is about 5/16th’s shorter. I was told one is 78-80 and the other is 81-88. The shorter one was first Gen. And I just needed to change the bearing/rotor to make it work. I did that and it still didn’t look right. I got a part number for the shorter spindle (459755) but can’t find anything online as far as a bearing/rotor combo that’s compatible. Can anyone here point me in the right direction?

 

[Rt Jam]

The critical part is the bearing surfaces. Are they the same? The rotor position in relation to the ball joints is the important part. If it is ONLY the threaded part it may be okay.

 

[Wraith]

78 are different than the 79-88 spindles, I don't know the lengths but the bearings are smaller than the later model spindles.

 

[scoti]

I recall inner bearings are the same, outer are different. SET34 for the later metric spindle & A3 I believe for the 78-80 (?) A-body version.

Beyond that..... They won't resolve the issue by sending you a matched pair? Seems jacked up to have to use 2 different versions. Just a maint headache come service time. The rotors will have to match the bearing/spindle so 2 different rotors as well.

 

[ck80]

I recall inner bearings are the same, outer are different. SET34 for the later metric spindle & A3 I believe for the 78-80 (?) A-body version.

Beyond that..... They won't resolve the issue by sending you a matched pair? Seems jacked up to have to use 2 different versions. Just a maint headache come service time. The rotors will have to match the bearing/spindle so 2 different rotors as well.

Just thinking out loud here but would that booger up how the wheel sits tucked in the wheelwell as well?

 

[scoti]

Just thinking out loud here but would that booger up how the wheel sits tucked in the wheelwell as well?

I don't think so. The rotor would seat on the inner bearing similarly. The outer bearing is where it's kept in place. The difference in the rotors will be the seating area for the different bearings. The spindle 'snout/pin' is similar in length but not exact. The OD where the bearing sits are different per the rotor & bearing race.

A couple years ago when I swapped to drop spindles on my '78, I had to use the Metric outer bearings & later/Metric rotors w/the new drop spindles. My calipers worked w/o issue.

When I started accumulating parts for bigger front brakes more recently, I modded my original spindles vs. taking the car apart as one of the other changes was to minimize the variance between the spindle pin height vs outer TRE location (2" drop spindles are more sensitive to aggressive back-space related interference). I modded the spindles to use the abutment adapter brackets & when I assembled everything, I couldn't get the cotter-pin in because the castle nut was blocking the hole. That's where I figured out the set-ups are based on the 'Metric' spindles. I had to purchase a set of the Metric spindles & modify them for everything to work together.

 

[Streetbu]

IIRC, the physical rotor is the same, only the races and bearings are different. In other words, you can just pound the race out and swap it for the correct one that matches the bearing size you need. Unfortunately I don't know if any of that will help with a shorter spindle. Something I've never run into before. :/

 

[Ribbedroof]

I'll be THAT guy.....I'd be concerned with chroming suspension parts. It is known to weaken parts through hydrogen embrittlement.

And as said, 78 is a stand-alone year, whereas 79-88 are the same to each other.

 

[TheSaint]

IIRC, the physical rotor is the same, only the races and bearings are different. In other words, you can just pound the race out and swap it for the correct one that matches the bearing size you need. Unfortunately I don't know if any of that will help with a shorter spindle. Something I've never run into before. :

So I think that’s why they suggested a different rotor because the outer is a different size. All dimensions of the rotor still would match up with 84. So the inner seal and bearing remain the same but the outer changes, but finding the correct bearing to sit properly with enough room to tighten castle nut to spec with cotter pin in place has been the issue. I was basically told it’s an easy fix. But it’s become rocket science to me lol

 

[Ribbedroof]

TheSaint : Why will they not just provide a matching set of knuckles? Personally, I would not want a hodge-podge of parts with one side different than the other.

Don't know what you're working on, but there are no "early" rotors with metric studs, so if the vehicle is an 82+ that's another issue, as the studs were changed to metric in 82.

It appears from the pics in your first post, you already have one SAE stud rotor, and one Metric stud rotor.