Spindle and steering knuckle for our race truck

[JasonHutter]

We have been talking about doing new spindles for our race truck for some time now and want to get it done before Laughlin if we can. I'm sure some have noticed we haven't flown the leap in our truck and the biggest reason is we are on stock Toyota 2wd spindles and the knuckles have been gusseted. Even without flying the leap we have been cracking the spindles on the shoulder right next to the bearing surface. I have a couple of questions. (I really haven't looked into anything yet, just thought I would put it on here for some ideas) If we took just the spindle from a stock Toyota 4wd and built the steering knuckle for it. Will it be strong enough for one, and two, can we buy hubs and something maybe from Willwood for breaks on the front that will all work together? Or, should we call Sandy Cone and get a spindle from him and build our knuckles off of that and get hubs and breaks to match? Any ideas would help on top of the ones I have or an idea about my conclusions.

Thanks,
Jason

This is what we are running now and want something more stout!

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[curt]

I always like the idea of trying to build a set of 4 runner spindles to go on ours. I assume they have to be stronger to carry the weight and forces of the 4wd heavy truck/station wagon...Patty's 4-runner has 4 piston calipers so they would better match the metric GM calipers we put on the back as well giving us improved braking balance and power, since we took off the power brakes and went with Willwood pedals our brakes have been a bit lacking even with a couple of master cylinder changes to get it right.

With a uniball upper and lower adapting to our a-arms should be fairly easy, just have to chech the steering geometry to see how to make it work. If your hot on using Willwood, check out their website and see which vehicles they offer the kits for and start looking at the spindles to see what's the best donor to use. As overbuilt as Toyota's are you should be able to find something that works Tundra or T100 maybe...Curt

[YotaWhoopRunner]

Jason just a thought, but wouldn't a 4wd spindle be weaker since it's hollow to allow for the 4wd axle shaft and hub?

[drtdevil93]

im doing that same thing on my truck right now. 2wd 4runner spindle, i just cut an inch around the snout, and the spindle is all chromoly plate, with the snout welded on to it. the 4runner assembly is very strong. it has big wheel bearings, a much bigger snout, and the stock brakes that are on there are about the strongest out there (4 piston calipers and the rotor is like 12 or 13"). i like that idea better than using an aftermarket spindle/hub setup, as i can go get parts for mine at any autozone or salvage yard.

erik

[curt]

Erik, "I cut an inch around the snout" I haven't looked at a 2wd 4runner spindle...What's the cut for? How about posting a pic? BTW, are the 2WD's using a 5 lug or a 6 lug?Thx, Curt

[drtdevil93]

the cut is because i was going with a custom boxed spindle. i just cut a big square around it, but kept the caliper mounts in place. the 2wd is basically the same as the 4wd, only difference is there are caps on the front and back of the snout, where on the 4wd there is an axle running through it. the 2wd just meant i wouldnt have to make caps to block it off.

erik

[Dave_G]

Jason,
Running a bolt on spindle like the one in the attached pic is really a good way to go if you can work it out on your vehicle. This allows you to fabricate from scratch the upright and weld it together without killing the heat treat in the spindle. This also allows you to make the spindle out of some killer material that you can't otherwise make an upright out of or weld on. The ones in the pic I just did for a customer here on Race-dez and they fit into a stock ford 4X4 upright that has been beefed up and converted to 2wd. They are 300M heat treated to Rc 53 and finish machined after heat treat. These spindles when assembled with a sleeve between the bearing races will last a life time. Many of the top TT teams like Herbst, Enduro, Vortec etc. have used this type of setup.

Dave

[CRAIG_HALL]

Dave those look solid why not hollow or a tapered bore?

Kartek has some bolt on 2" snouts 8-3/8"bolts- 3.75 B.C. mounting surface is machined to leave the center to register on your spindle.Probable need a custom hub to work though.

[ntsqd]

The LA 4WD yota spindles are pretty stout parts & I suspect that the IFS parts are similar. If you opt to use either I would leave them as bolt-on parts for the reasons Dave G gave. There is an advantage to having a hollow center beyond the obvious weight savings. I believe the sectional transistion from spindle pin to flange is actually better (stronger) with a hollow pin than with a solid pin. Reason being that the change in section is more gradual which is less of a stress riser. Radiusing the transition from the ID to the flange would help this further. The middle third of any shaft doesn't offer you much in the way of strength, so unless you're on the ragged edge with a solid pin I would core the spindle pins and polish the bores smooth.
The LA spindles have an 8 bolt, 5.100" BC asymetric pattern with a 4.325" pilot register. Don't know about the IFS spindles.

You can plug the center hole with a freeze plug. I would NOT tack them in. If you're concerned about them coming out, use some sort of an epoxy during their install.

Brakes, the LA (& I believe the IFS) rotors are just at 12" OD and both the LA & IFS calipers are 4 piston fixed iron bodies. Those on the Taco PreRunner's are aluminum bodies and appear to have the same mounting bolt pattern. Using the IFS package nets you a vented rotor, the LA rotors are solid (bleah!!!). You can use FJ60 rotors on the LA wheel hubs to get vented rotors. Since you're not limited with where the caliper mounting ears are, you may also be able to use the IFS rotors on the LA wheel hubs.

[JasonHutter]

Hey, thanks for the replies. I really like the idea of the bolt-on spindle. The ones pictured look really nice. Do all spindles like that need to be custom made for us, or does one of the manufactures/fabricators out there have something that you can buy that works with a certain hub?

Thanks,
Jason