and if I change my upper ball joints can I just change the ball joint and put a taller one in the original upper control arm or do I need aftermarket upper control arms
Lowering question
- Thread starter Irishspring46
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You'll need shorter upper arms if going the tall BJ (or tall spindle) swap. Dialing in alignment will be a possible issue w/o them & the Camber curve might put things in a bind. This is one of those scenarios where one change requires other changes for everything to play together nicely.
Last year I removed S-10 drop spindle from my T-type Regal and went to Lowering Springs in the front instead. It drives SO MUCH BETTER now. I would never go back to those things.
Im interested in the drop spindles if youre willing to get rid of them now. PM me if so?
I've done multiple vehicles using dropped spindles & haven't had a single issue w/them impacting the driving experience.
If the alignment is correct, there should be zero issues as far as drivability. Interference can be an issue w/dropped spindles. That can also be eliminated (or minimized) w/due diligence.
I don't know why they were an issue. Had the car aligned multiple times, but that didn't help. There were multiple issues with the spindles. Going over bumps one of the tires was always hitting the wheel well.... even after changing all the body bushings and shocks. Also, steering wasn't right. The wheel wouldn't 100% return to center after a turn. (Again, alignment and changing out the steering box didn't help). All problems went away after replacing the spindles for lowering springs.
That was my experience also, put them on, drove about 3 miles, tires hit the fenders about 5 times, drove home and put the stock spindles back on. This was with stock springs, so stiffer springs might have helped.
I didn't notice any difference when I put my drop spindles in. When I did the swap I replaced the a-arm bushings, ball joints, springs/shocks, bump stops and brakes.
While this is adding some detail regarding what you were dealing with.... It's not specifics.
I'm not suggesting that your experience was false since you're obviously happy w/the changes. I'm more interested in trying to determine the 'why' before blaming just the spindles as the culprit.
What size/how tall were the tires? Same wheels & tires from start to finish?
What was the condition of the old/removed body bushings vs. the new units when comparing?
Changed shocks from what to what (brands/models)?
What were the alignment specs used for each set-up (stock spindle/'lowering' spring vs. drop spindle/stock spring)?
Same place/guy doing the alignments?
Investigating the answers of those specifics might help shed some light.
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