Grinding McGaughy 16" spindles and notching control arm for lower bj

[Jared]

So I couldn't really find much on this, so I figured I would try to get some info and pics up. I will be grinding a bit more off later, I can tell there needs to be a bit more trimmed, but I think we did a good job, considering we had nothing to go off of besides sketchy online info and what little I could get from a few phone calls late last night.

First we noticed that a notch needed to be cut in order for the protrusion on the bj to fit properly on top of the LCA

we did clean it up some, we actually ended up grinding down right to the aluminum blocks that go inside the LCA.

Once we got the spindle mocked up, I couldn't see where and why people were needed to grind down right were the bj shaft goes into the spindle, mine completely cleared. I think guys were putting the bolts in wrong and needed clearance. That's the only think I can think of, or their bj was different...

as you can see we ground down the "valleys", or what I like to call them anyway. Basically we cut some down, cleaned it up, mocked it back up, swung it around, then did more until we felt comfortable. I DID NOT cut the steering stops off on my LCA. I was told to do it by a few, and a few said no. I decided to leave them for now just to be safe.

Nothing fancy, just Rustoleum. Guy at Road Armor actually told me they use it for touch-ups on powdercoatings...so I just used a can I had laying around.

 

[bgray]

Good call on the write yup

 

[baldd86]

is this for the 17 inch or 16 inch spindle?

 

[bgray]

16"+

 

[Jimmy]

Good write up! Yeah my bj bolt hit on a 16" rim. There grinded down.

 

[Low01silveradO]

Where are the steering stops on the 17+ spindles?

I need to do something because I cannot make a U-turn at all, ever.

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[Jared]

Should be similar. I'll try to verify.

 

[Low01silveradO]

Aaight lemme know

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[Jared]

I haven't found any more info. My advice is to try to compare both spindles side by side. I didn't really have anything to go off of when I did mine. I just eye-balled it and went after it.

The whole "measure twice and cut once" will become a key statement here!

 

[Low01silveradO]

Alright, I'll have to turn the wheel and take a gander at it

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[Jared]

That's pretty much what we did, and eye-balled it as we mocked it up.

 

[An Bro]

I called McG. And they verified that you do loose turning radius. I asked why they designed it this way and that particular rep couldn't explain why.

Since this piece is cast. Wouldn't shaving material from it make it weaker?

 

[Jared]

Well, seeing as many have people have been doing it for years and I have not seen any reports of fatigue, stress, or failure, I'd say you grinding some material is ok.

But please, make your own assumption and do it at your own risk.

 

[An Bro]

Oh I see. I thought this was something new. I went by the date this thread was started.

I hear you.

 

[Jared]

I'm just the first to make a thread on it. Plenty of other forums have vague threads so I made my own.

 

[Edubbcity1]

Nice post

 

[2005_Silverado]

Lil thread digging. I installed these spindles last week and the fgt steering stop on the LCA wasnt centered on the spot where it should hit the spindle. Then the lca stop hits the > area...it hits the lower portion of the > and it pulls the BJ down. Im having to grind that area down to the lca steering stop tab hits a flat surface and doesnt want to slide up on the > shaped area of the spindle. Kinda hard to explain. When id turn my wheel full lock...the last 1/8 turn on the steering wheel would make the suspension rise a lil...dnw.

 

[BOO5TED]

Need pics Eddeh.

 

[2005_Silverado]

Ill get pics later....gonna grind some more in a bit. I also noticed that the 2 closes bolts for the LBJ are hitting the spindle. At first I had dropped the bolt in from up top so the nut was hitting the spindle at some point....ive now put the bolt in from the bottom in hopes of fixing the problem. These fucking spindles better be worth it.

 

[2005_Silverado]

So maybe this will help explain. When I turn to full lock, the bolt heads are digging into the spindle, around the LBJ mount as seen here

when it does that, it pushes the spindle down and I can feel the truck lift up a bit. The damn bolts are wedging themselves between the spi dle and LBJ. I got to either grind some more on the spindle or get some button allen heads and hope they clear. Ill probabky take the washer out and gain some clearance.