D150 drop spindles

Hello. I hate to post this because I know dropping a D150 has been discussed to death, but I have some questions. First some background: I have a '78 D150 with fabricated drop LCA's. It drives poorly. It rides rough (springs are 3/4 ton spec...), has bump steer and the upper lca's are adjusted outside of their normal range to get the camber near right. My aim is to maintain the stance, 2-3" drop, but make it drive the way it is supposed to. I have decided that I need to ditch the LCA's and go back to stock along with stock coils. I have pretty much decided to use X2 drop spindles, but am a bit hesitant because of possible tie rod location/ fit issues. Does anyone have input on these? Again, I like the look of the slight drop, but the way it was done is not acceptable to me. Thanks.

A new redesigned lowering spindle should have the same tie rod location as stock. They cast them to retain tie rod geometry along with relocation of the spindle mounting to lower the truck. Should not be an issue but call them to confirm.

Van lower control arms instead?

No. Altered (or van) lowers drop the entire truck down on them and ruin the suspension geometry. This is what I am trying to correct. Some people may be ok with the issues this causes but I am not. To keep the post on topic, I’m just looking for feedback on the drop spindles. Thanks.

Who makes drop spindles for the trucks

X2 drop spindles

https://www.x2industries.com/produc...150-charger-trailduster-2-drop-spindles/
Says that they fit 1978-93. Won't fit 72-77?

I have been considering this for my 92 D150 are these spindles a bolt in with no other mods needed ?

I believe they are supposed to be. That’s why I started the post to see if anyone had experience with them.

Thanks looking forward to the answers

I understand they require ‘84 and up rotors and bearings. I believe there was a bearing change that used a larger spindle that year. ‘84 and down was 4 1/2” BP ‘85 and up was 5”. My concern was that they may be Dakota spindles machined for a D-150 which placed the tie rod closer to the spindle axis. I guess not many here have used these to confirm. I plan to contact X2 and will post a reply.

99% guaranteed those are Dakota dropped spindles that have been around since the 1990s. The steering arm is cast into the assembly. The steering arm is shorter than a stock Dakota arm to clear the stock (then) 15" wheels. The stock steering arm for a Dakota is already shorter than the stock arm for a D100/150 so you are compounding the problem. I talked to the engineers at Bell Tech WAAAAY back when and they recommended I not attempt it. Steering response was going to be an issue they said. Although I did a ton of research and actually made a D100/150 drop chart with different options and pros/cons I don't recall all the specifics but tie rod placement (top/bottom) was an issue. I know some have gotten away with them but they may be living with the issues better than you or I would. I wound up having custom spindles made by a guy out of OR. Not sure if he's even around anymore.

Thanks for the info it was informative , I have been considering dropping my original owner 92 D150 but as I suspected there appear to be problems in doing it. I was going to do an axle flip and lowering spindles but I also bracket race the truck . I have already read that because of the pinion angle and traction problems its not a good idea to do the axle flip. The truck hooks the way I have it set up now ( traction bars , Rancho adjustable " B ' body shocks and the front section of the leaf springs are clamped ) and is very consistent . After reading your post I think I will just leave it alone

Thanks for the input guys. I’m going to “steer clear” of those spindles until a better option comes up.

I bought a set of the X2 spindles. It took forever to get them. They were machined for the Dakota bearing and rotors. I had them machined at a local shop to use the stock D150 parts. The tie rod location is in a bad place, the tie rods point down about 10degrees. I know that I am going to a bump stop problem. So now I have to come up with a way to make everything right. With this being said, if I had known about these problems I would have passed on buying them. Just my two cents.

If I remember correctly (big IF) '84 D100/150 rotors have the larger outer bearing needed for the Dakota spindles but maintain the 5x4.5 bolt pattern.

Perhaps somebody with more free time and a better understanding of suspension geometry than I have (Ackerman, bump steer, scrub etc) could get their hands on a set of the drop spindles for the A/B/C/E/F/J/M/R bodies and see if there is any workaround to using those. Even if a custom lower ball joint/steering arm had to be fabbed it might be a better alternative to what is currently available for the D series trucks.

I kind of looked into car spindles since there are drop spindles available. I have seen some dwgs made by some folks comparing the different body spindles and there are many differences. I believe the closest ones are from “C” bodies and there are a few variations of those. A few “C” body guys were looking to use them but the drop spindles available are a single casting for late A, B, E, F, M, J, R bodies as noted. The ball joints are smaller and no one I could find had used them successfully.