Belltech or Mcgaughy's for the 2 inch drop spindle? and why, list what you guys have for your lowering setup! i have an 06 rcsb 4x4 and want to lower the front with a spindle, i already did a little torsion untwist, but i want more than that... so which one is better?

 

I read (like 3 years ago) that the McG drop spindles really messed with turning geometry. There was also an email circulating from the pres. of the company that showed less than appealing customer service BUT they may have changed the design since then...?

 

For the 4x4, Mcgaughy or Belltech is fine for a drop spindle. Both are good. I run all Mcgaughy parts and quality is top notch and customer service is top notch (called direct a few times). Pick whicever one is easiest to get and cheapest for advice.

 

I had both units side by side and they look almost identical. I bought Bell Techs for my Tahoe and McGaughys for my both of my trucks. I would have a hard time telling the two apart if they didn't have their names cast into them. Go with the best deal you can find.

 

Both are good, I had the McGaughys 2" drop spindles on my Avalanche and they worked fine. Be aware, you will lose some turning radius with either spindle.

 

wow you arent kiddin they do look pretty identical i did some diggin and found a pic of each from summits

 

Both are good. There are a few minor differences. Belltech: need to remember to put the hub bolt in the top hole before seating the upper and/or lower ball joint. If you forget, you won't be able to get the bolt in later, then you'll have to tear it apart all over; don't ask me how I know. McGaughy's: need to install stud for upper hub bolt (its in the directions), and need to drill/tap screw/bolt for brake line bracket. Both will require cutting of brake dust shield, and cutting of lower ball joint for use of 17" wheels. Other than those few differences, they're pretty much the same thing. My cousin has the McGaughy's and his truck is bagged on 22's, he says the ball joint angle is better with the McGaughy's, but you have to grind some metal off of the spindle, the Belltech gave a bad upper ball joing angle.

 

oh i see what your talking about the mcgaughys spindles come with a stud and a nut to do the job, while belltech uses a bolt. ok thats cool both ways work, i didnt see that before, and i bet that bolt got left out once and after all was done it was the second time followed by lots of beer and swearing! but i think my main concern was balljoint angle, bumpsteer, and alignment issues, and no one has mentioned anything about those things.

 

My truck started out with eibach drop coils in the back and torsion keys (stock, I think) turned all the way down in the front. The bump stops were trimmed so there was about 3/4 of an inch between them and the suspension when at rest on level ground.

Then due to a wreck I had to get a realignment, so I decided to do a spindle install to hopefully get a closer-to-stock alignment and ride even though the ride has been acceptable for the last couple of years this way. I got a used mcgaughy kit for $250 plus shipping which I thought was a good deal. I installed the spindles and the rear coils with shock extenders. I turned the front torsions up bout 25% higher than they were (totally bottomed out). The ride height is about the same all around, maybe 1/2" lower if that much.

Well, I think the ride actually got slightly worse for some reason. The bumps weren't quite as harsh of a shock when you hit them, but the front end is really a lot more bouncy now, and the back end is a lot harsher when hitting bumps (feels like the axle hitting the frame).

I thought it might be the bumpstops, so I bought new ones and then trimmed about 1/2" off of each of them. The suspension now rests on them on level ground, but I read somewhere that it is supposed to do that.

After the new bumpstops the ride is slightly less bouncy and I dont think the back end is as bad. But I still think it rode better before with the old setup, even though logic tells us that it should ride better now.

Oh, and the spindles do SIGNIFICANTLY effect the turning radius. I now find myself turning, backing up, turning more to make turns that I used to just be able to make in one turn before. It feels really odd when it is raining, as if the tires are sliding across the pavement when trying to move into or out of a parking space or other tight spot.

I was able to get a better alignment out of the deal, though.

If your truck has more than about 75k miles or is from up north, let me give you some advice. Go ahead and spend $120 on ebay for an entire front end kit for the suspension. All the ball joints, inner and outer tie rod ends, pitman arms, etc. If you wind up needing to replace one while doing the job, these parts cost $30-50 EACH locally in many cases, as I found out when I had to replace a lower ball joint.

One of mine would NOT seperate from the spindle, no matter how hard I beat on the spindle, pried/wedged with the pickle fork, or heated with the torch. I eventually had to take a big angle grinder and grind through the top of it level with the LCA, so I could force it (and the spindle) off of the LCA, and then I was able to put the spindle upside down on the driveway and beat the remnant of the joint out of it.

Also, before starting the job, jack up the front wheels and check for wheel bearing play. My truck has about 97k on it and one wheel bearing went bad last year while on a road trip (I replaced it when I got back) and the other was starting to have a bit of play in it when I checked it before beginning the job. The wheel bearing/hub comes as an assembly and is about $150 from auto parts stores. I went ahead and replaced the other wheel bearing while it was apart.

I have mine back together already, but I went ahead and bought one of those joint/suspension kits and plan to install it soon just because some of my joints were a little looser than I'd like.

 

I forgot to add, check your brake line fitting on the caliper when you're done. You might have to bend it slightly so the hose doesn't bind/stretch/break.