5-lug Doetsch spindles : Problem Solved

Ok so I finally bought and installed the Doetsch 3" spindle kit. Haven't reinstalled the sway bar yet and the alignment is a little off. Anyway I decided to drive around the block once before taking her in for an alignment but before I could finish backing out into the street, I realized the front end of the truck sank down a couple inches. So I got out and jacked it up to normal height, not knowing what else to do. It stayed at that height UNTIL I backed out again……… but the weird thing is, as I drove back up the driveway the front end raised up to where it was originally!!


Anybody familiar with this type of problem? Any ideas?

 

I'll see if correcting toe makes a difference.

 

Didn't fix the problem. Anyone have any ideas? I don't want to really drive her until I can fix this.

 

Spindles shouldnt have any effect like this. The only geometry change should be where the wheel bearing and caliper is mounted.

Should take some pics or a video to help show what your tryna say.

 

Sway bar reinstalled, didn't seem to fix the problem either. Video coming soon.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52bDpfW0HtQ

This video shows the front end lowering. The truck doesn't seem to be rising on its own anymore. May have just happened the first time.

If you can't see a height difference, go to the beginning of the video after the truck is parked.


edit: Beginning to think this is a camber problem...

 

^^^ partly because I've noticed my camber change from + to - when the truck "lowers" and partly because I saw these videos... The guy said camber angle changed once he backed it in. You can even see a slight height difference if you look at the wheel wells before and after.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBM5v41IfUA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9V9JngZr7Vs
Taking her in for an alignment tomorrow, hopefully that'll fix the problem.

 

So the wheels can't be properly aligned because of the front end "droop". The tech said my coils might just be too old and weak.. so I stopped by a local mechanic for some insight and the only possible cause he suggested was loose hardware. Other than that he couldn't really say without $eeing it. So I'm gonna stop by a local offroad shop tomorrow for advice before I shell out $70 to a mechanic.

Here's a video of the front end drooping in sync with the camber changing from slightly + to -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EO45E-rJUSM
Still open to suggestions.

 

Weird. It might be possible that alignment is off and tires are point inward. In reverse they'd want to pull out. But it would take a whole lot of force to get what your getting.

 

Ok, a little advice to whoever might be installing lift spindles in the future: lower ball joint sits on top of spindle mounting holes. LBJ mounts underneath for stock spindles. I accidentally followed these two pics I found searching the internet. Haha this thing was such a headache for like a week! Shout out to Desert Rat for helping me out.

 

This calls for a

 

Doh!

 

So now that have them installed correctly, how do you like them

 

I love em! Great cheap investment compared to other truck spindles. Ultimately I was most concerned with how high the truck was going to sit and I'm definitely satisfied. They're a lot thicker than stock spindles too. Only thing I don't really care for is how far they extend out but it's not that bad.

 

Where'd you get your spindles from? Looking at getting a pair myself once the $ comes in.

 

I bought mine straight off the Doetsch website. $333.10 + shipping

 

Got a picture of how the truck sits? Going to hopefully be installing spindles on my 5-lug soon. Id love to see the results.

 

I found most of the pics on the internet to be confusing as well, and the Doestch instructions don't have photos to help demonstrate the written steps.

I ended up relying on the following threads (in addition to this one) for viable information:

http://www.customtacos.com/forum/54-1995-5-2004/133871-5-lug-spindles.html
http://www.customtacos.com/forum/14-2wd-suspension/60114-official-lifted-5-lug-mini-thread-60.html


The thing that gave me the most trouble was the metal sleeves in the LBJ.

So.. from what I am figuring out... I guess the Fabtech kit comes with the new metal sleeves (inserts,spacers,dowel pins,etc...) My kit did not have these included, and I think the Doestch instructions call them "washers". I tried briefly to pry the old ones out before realizing that I was probably going to damage them in the process and I didn't have replacements.

My solution was to get a cutting tool and "take some off the top".




tacomatt602, What was your experience with these inserts aside from the mounting orientation of the spindle?

 

Good idea I should have went that route too... but no after wrestling with them for a couple minutes with vice grips and pliers I realized they weren't gonna budge so I just said screw it and sent the bolts through & started tightening. It turns out the sleeve metal is pretty soft because under enough weight, the tops of the sleeves just pancake underneath the bolt head. I managed to get the bolts torqued down to spec and the sleeves are acting as a form of crush washer.

Sorry man, I must have missed this way back when. FWIW truck looks great with the lift and KOs.

 

Sounds good to me! (..says the guy who installed his shocks upside-down)

In all seriousness, thanks for the information. I was curious to see what others had done.

If you are still interested... here's a photo:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/official-5-lug-picture-thread.120284/page-135#post-15757099