Identifying spindles ?

[mlrailguy]

I just purchased a nice set of spindles for 66-67, but they are not even close to what I currently have on mine. How do I determine the year I need for replacement?

[69yellowbug]

Start by showing us what you have. Vws are so interchangeable with just small tweeks its crazy.

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[mlrailguy]

The one on left is what I need

[Ol'fogasaurus]

On the left is king and link (pre '66), the other is '66 and later.

The spacing between king & link and BJ tubes are different and so are the shock mounts so the beams are not easily interchangeable.

[mlrailguy]

thanks Ol'fogasaurus . Need to resale the 66-67's and find some 65's. Is it possible to straighten out the steering arm and then gusset it?
Or can I get the carriers for the 67's and bolt them in?

[Ol'fogasaurus]

The two styles of suspension systems are not interchangeable as far as I know. The K&L (King pin and link-pin) system is totally different than the BJ (Ball-joint) system.

The King pin is the pivot point and it is a bushed then reamed fit. The link pins use a stack of washers (the numbers of washers on each side can be changed but the stack must remain the same as given in the kits) on each link-pin to change the angle of the camber (as I remember. http://www2.cip1.com/ProductDetails.asp ... D498%2D041) while the Ball-joints press into the upper and lower trailing arms with an off-set piece on the upper arm to adjust the caster and camber. The spindle's spuds are of a different diameter also. One of the reasons the brakes hubs don't interchange well. The BJ's have their weak spots especially on how the lower BJ is set but the K&L spindles have a weakness also.

While I have done heat bent suspension pieces on old Ford beam axles, I am not a big fan of heating and bending any parts of the suspension. I know that people have done it with the VWs for what that is worth. You just have to be careful and get it right the first time and use the right amount of heat.

If you look at spindles for hard off-road use you often see them with webbing added for strength.

[Piledriver]

A common setup is link pin knuckle with the sturdier BJ spindle, or other HD spindle.

From my notes, here are some spindle dimensions, hopefully useful for IDing as you shop.
(These are for the spindle part, not the steering knuckle, those should be obvious save for the Things)

Link pin:
outer 20mm
inner 25mm

Ball joint: (approximate)
outer 17.45mm
inner 1.97mm
The BJ spindles are a bit beefier than LP due to how they are made.

HD "Combo" spindles, fit KP hubs with metric adapter bearings
outer 25.5mm
inner 32 mm
seal 44mm?

King Kong spindles:No idea what hubs are used. (Ford? Chevy metric?)
Dimensions:
Diameter of shaft where seal rides: 48mm
Diameter of shaft where inner bearing rides: 38mm
Diameter of shaft where outer bearing rides: 30mm

[Ol'fogasaurus]

Thanks 'Pile, good information. I wasn't sure where he was going with this but to have all this information is a good start. If he was going to play with the BJs then there is other info but the K&L is probably best for him assuming he was playing with the early beam.

Lee

[mlrailguy]

Yea, no desire to do a bunch of mixing, I like simple, so looking for the correct k&l spindle. Saw an ad on Samba, I think he has correct one. Any body want to buy some ball joint spindles?
If I bend the steering arm again, then I may go for the Empi forged units

[bikesndbugs]

They sell a gusset kit for spindles

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[mlrailguy]

I've seen these, have debated doing this. Has any body on this site done this? Was wondering if this process took the temper out of the units, but I guess the gussets would hold them together?

[Ol'fogasaurus]

Yeah, I think it is a "Catch 22" (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/catch-22). Depending on how much heat you put into the welds one would think you need to re-temper but people seem to get away with it... for a while. With the way I weld I am sure than the spindle would end up being a blob of melted steel on the floor before I was done.

[dustymojave]

Mine have taken quite a bit of serious pounding. Longer wheel travel lets spindles pass on hits better than a short travel that hits the stops.

[dustymojave]

Mine have taken quite a bit of serious pounding. Longer wheel travel lets spindles pass on hits better than a short travel that hits the stops.

My spindles are original 1958 spindles with over 800,000 miles on them, over 450,000 as a Baja Bug.


I welded on the reinforcement gussets on the steering arm and on the link with a MIG welder and no heat treat before or after weld.

[dustymojave]

Oh...and if the steering arm is bent, don't try to fix it. Just replace it.

And I'm not sure what Pile was suggesting above

A common setup is link pin knuckle with the sturdier BJ spindle, or other HD spindle.

Yeah ball joint spindles have beefier spindle shanks than link pin spindles (stock vs stock). But there are aftermarket link pin spindles with beefier still shanks. Like Combo Link spindles. But those are for pretty serious offroad use. Don't think you have to spend lots of $$ for those. I have about $15 invested in beefing my spindles. If you don't have a good MIG welder, you probably need somebody else who knows what they're doing to weld them for you.

I get the idea that you're doing pretty well with stock stuff so far. Adding gussets to stock spindles and maybe increasing the wheel travel a bit will help a lot.