Will drop spindles bring me closer to the bumpstops?

[team39763]

I'm wanting to buy some drop spindles for my truck, but I'm already pretty close to the bumpstops as it is.  I don't mind riding on the bumpstops since it's a race only vehicle.  I just would like to know before I get myself into a situation that can't be easily fixed.  I'm not sure how much the front is dropped, but my fender is about  30 inches from the ground and I have a 27 inch tire.  I'd like to close that gap a bit.


One more question - What do you do about the locator pin in the leafsprings when you add shims?  My pin falls into the shim, but doesn't extend into the perch(axle flipped).  Will I be ok to just bolt the springs on and drive it? Or does the whole assembly(springs, shims, and perch) need to be held in place by the pin?

[eventhorizon66]

Drop spindles do not affect the distance between the frame and lower a-arm; drop springs do.

I wouldn't drive a truck that didn't have the springs locked in position on the perch.

[HAULIN IT]

Team, The drop spindles will not change your bump stop gap. Think of it this way...The tire/wheel hold up the vehicle. The pin on the spindle is in the center of the wheel, all that is done with the dropped spindle is the pin is higher up, so ALL of the suspension moves down together, understand? If you change the weight on the spring or the height of the spring or the mounting point (lower spring pocket) this changes the distance between the snubber because the spring is what holds up the frame.
 As for the center pin, yes the pin should go into the axle. It is the locating device to keep the axle in the truck straight. Lorne 

[frogman68]

For the Leaf Pin can't ya just bring it to a spring shop to add a longer pin ? (been awhile since I looked at my leafs) I thought that pin went through all the leaves ?

[Captkaos]

If you have a flip kit and a 3 degree shim that will be a LONG pin.
I have never used a longer pin on trucks that got shimmed.

[got2haul]

I wouldn't drive a truck that didn't have the springs locked in position on the perch.

I'm with eventhorizon66 on this one.

Here's a couple of suggestions:
1.  Make sure you really need the shim.  Quality flip kits should be engineered to account for the changed pinion angle by building the angle correction into the removable perch/saddle they provide with their kit.
2.  If you must use the shim, you can buy a new bolt the correct length from your local hardware store; however, you will likely need to remove some of the material around the bolt head in order for it to fit into the hole in the new spring perch/saddle, OR you can enlarge the hole in the perch to accommodate the bolt head (or nut, whichever way you need to mount it.), OR you can use a nut meant for a threaded rod (coupling nut).  These are typically longer and narrower than standard nuts.  This is the type nut that Belltech provides in their kits.  When you use a coupling nut, you'll likely need to tighten it down then trim the end of it to the proper length.  Additionally, when using this method, you need to make sure the new bolt or nut will clear any part of the clamping plate, or go through any hole that's in the center of it, as well.  To replace the factory bolt, you need to first clamp the spring pack together near the existing bolt (before loosening the bolt) to ensure the pack stays together and aligned so you can get the bolt through all the springs; then tighten it down prior to releasing the clamps.

[team39763]

I went and bought a 3/8" bolt, but the head is too small and it is very loose in the hole of the perch, so I'm gonna go look for one that has a bigger head. 

Thanks for the info on the spindles.

[406 Q-ship]

What everyone here is saying is good information on the bumpstop and how it is effected by drop spindles.  One thing you said that scares the heck outta me, never have a vehicle on the bumpstops all the time.  Even a race only vehicle is extremely dangerous, you would effectively make the suspension SOLID allowing the only give to be the sidewalls of the tires.  By doing this you make a vehicle that is unstable when it hits any irregular pavement, what happens if the truck happens to lift the front tire on a hard launch, what goes up must come down and when it contacts the frame it will be violent upsetting the suspension with a good possiblity of lose of control.......next come the wall and the BIG boom.

[team39763]

Yeah, that makes sense 406-Q-ship...I'm glad you pointed that out.  I had no idea it was that dangerous to be on the bumpstops all the time.

[rockable]

What 406 Q said.  Unless you've experienced it, you'd never guess how badly that will make a vehicle behave.  Scary doesn't even come close to the what you'd experience.  "Out of control" comes closer and it wouldn't take you long to get to that point.