yes

That area was machined - just not to a fine finish. Usually looked like fine threads because the cutter ran down that area at a higher feed rate.

Stress risers ... seriously ?!?!?!

Would I use it?

After polishing the seal surface...yep.

i have used spindles like that in the past, but i first taped off the bearing and seal areas with a few layers of duct tape, then blasted the center area with steel shot. i don't know if that "improved" the pitted area, ie. stress riser prone, but said spindles are still in use after many, many years with no issues.

No but not because of the rust. The A body knuckles are stronger and the late model rotors are a lot cheaper so I'd switch to the later model stuff.

Un
Sarcasm is cool, no

It doesn't spin but it does move. As to stress risers, they are more of a concern with cyclical stresses. I'd run it.

"stress risers"

Boy do we know the terms.

You actually think that someone who had the car before you de-rusted the spindle? Seriously? Even cars that sit in scrapyards have the hubs on, most of the time. How do the knuckles get rusty? And if you are in a scrapyard that has a rusty knuckle lying there, wouldn't you pass it by and get a different one? So this derusting talk is all nonsense to me.

Does it have original ball joints? Did the previous owner do all his own mechanic work? Because no shop worker is going to do anything more than clean with a rag and maybe some solvent before adding new grease and bearings and reassembling. Even in the 0.1% of the time that it's rusty. It just wouldn't happen. They're all trying to beat the flat rate, not that there's anything wrong with that.

Then add to that the fact that I've taken apart hubs and seen that exact surface texture, many times. Under the grease. My conclusion is that hundreds of millions of cars left Detroit with that same surface texture in that area.

Now on to how the member is stressed. The spindle is a cantilever beam and the maximum moment is at the root of the spindle, tapering off to zero at the point where the outer wheel bearing exerts a force on the spindle. If the vehicle is rolling straight the upper side of the member is in compression, which does not affect the "stress risers". It's only where the tire is trying to tuck under the car that there is a possibility of this area being in tension, and that tension is opposed by the weight of the car. So the amount of tensile stress in that area may be quite a bit less than imagined.

So what happens IF all the planets line up and the spindle fails? It bends. Yes, that would probably lock up the wheel, but in such an extreme case there would be warnings as the spindle bends through its elastic region before going into the plastic (yielding) region.

So I'd certainly use that spindle and not give it another thought. On my daughter's car.

R.

As the others say , use it.

But...But, this is Moparts, someone has to come up with the crazy answers. Didn't we all sleep at the Holiday Inn?

"Now on to how the member is stressed. The spindle is a cantilever beam and the maximum moment is at the root of the spindle, tapering off to zero at the point where the outer wheel bearing exerts a force on the spindle. If the vehicle is rolling straight the upper side of the member is in compression, which does not affect the "stress risers". It's only where the tire is trying to tuck under the car that there is a possibility of this area being in tension, and that tension is opposed by the weight of the car. So the amount of tensile stress in that area may be quite a bit less than imagined."

That tuck under you mention, in a high performance application can occur under braking, in a high g turn, and depending on other suspension variables, could be 70%? of the weight of the car, and then add the potential dynamics of bumps, etc, I think the loads can be higher then imagined. Failure will likely be at a point of maximum stress, not over time, when subject to only the rolling weight of the car you brought up. Are we also assuming all the rust the OP is asking about is only on the upper surface pictured that under ideal normal conditions as you described iis n compression, and not underneath? We are also assuming, I believe safely, the COG on the car is above the centerline of the spindle, and therefore the "tuck under" mention helps to reverse load the spindle.

Bottom line ANY surface irregularity is a potential stress riser, all should be avoided, the consensus here so far, which I agree with, in the OP's case, its an insignificant stress riser. Why are beating this to death again?

If you plan on using it for serious corner burning or wheels up drag racing, get it shot peened.l If not put it on and sleep easy.

Once you've been on Moparts,you have all the stress rises you need !!