Thread: flipping my front spindles

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I am in the process of flipping my front spindles in an attempt to lower my front end. So far i have removed all of the nuts connected to the spindle and the fluid cable going into the caliper, but i cant seem to get the upper A arm to release the bolt. Any suggestions?.. am i not yanking hard enough .. am i missing something.. I was thinking of putting the wheel back on and lowering the jack slowly until the spring allowed the lower bolt to release thus making it easier to drop the spindle off of the upper A arm.

Also when I flip the spindles I plan on switching the sides ( put the left one on the right side and vice versa) in order to keep the calipers in the rear position. Is this a good idea or should I remove the calipers and re-install them when i swap?? is there an up and a down to the brake calipers ??

I am new to this hands on work and cant stop messing with everthing on my car.. I got this idea for flipping the spindles from an old HopUP magazine i have.. and just thought i would give it a try..

Any help is greatly appreciated.

For help, ya gotta supply info. What kind of car, what year? Guessing won't help much.

Actually, I think you're talking about flipping the steering knuckle. The spindles are those round things that the wheel bearings mount on.

Did you happen to notice that the upper a-arms were shorter than the lower ones? Because of that, a line drawn through the center of the upper and lower ball joint mounting bosses in the steering knuckle is not vertical. It's "tilted" in towards the centerline of the car. That's an important part of the steering geometry. Now, if you flip them over, the spindles will not be parallel with the ground - they will be pointing up, and your front wheels will be knock-kneed.

Flipping spindles can also invoke the Law of Unintended Consequenses. Flip them over, and your steering goes to hell in a handbasket. Not a good thing . . .

Yes, calipers have an up and a down. The brake bleed fitting needs to be on top, or you can't bleed the air from the brakes.

Forgot to attach a drawing.

If you want to lower the front end, you should buy aftermarket "Dropped Spindles ".

Yep.

- oh, and when you want to separate the the ball joints from the knuckle . . . after you get your dropped spindles . . . borrow a "pickle fork" from your local auto supply big box store.

One other thing if i might add to the good advice Pro&henry rifle have given.

I noticed you mentioned "letting the spring push the bolt out" in your post.....Dont seperate anything on the front end without getting a spring compresser and removeing the coil springs!

Even then be very careful when you compress the springs,a spring under load can break fingers or even worse.

I have a '76 Mustang II with stock suspension. I have been trying to sell the car for the past year with no luck. so in an attempt to enjoy it, I have decided to learn about mechanics. I practice on the car but havent done anything hugely mechanical to the car .. Just simple stuff like taking off body paneling to see how it is put on .. doors, interior, carb, Just taking parts off and seeing how they work and putting them back on .. I really love cars and want to learn. Actually, I am going to UTI next week to see if i can sign up for classes and learn more..
I want to buy my first hot rod soon and do alot of the work myself. . or atleast what i can handle. I have welding and metal experience, but lack on the mechanical side. so bear with me as my terms may be a bit off , I am learning as i go along.

Thanks

Vino, ya can't just flip spindles they have a thing called axis inclination built into em.screw the steering geometry up and it'll drive like crap. plus the upper and lower ball joints are different size studs, you need a tool called a pickle fork to seperate the ball joints from the spindle and spring compressors too keep ya from taking a trip to the hospital when the spring pops loose, Ya need to invest in a set of dropped spindles and a good book to show ya how to install em before ya get hurt or waste a lotta time for nuthin cuzz what your wanting to do won't work....

Thanks for all the advise .. i guess i should get a ton of books and get into that class..

thanks