[RYU]

I'd like to get a sense of how strong the stock drum brake spindles are? I know the front LCAs are breakage prone (i've been a victim myself) but I haven't heard any spindle failures.

The reason I ask is because i'd like to upgrade to a set of big brakes (don't we all!) and using the old drum spindles is a good way to save some money. I'm not one to save money at the expense of safety though and from a stopping perspective, i'm definitely going to be hard on my car.

I'll inspect for any visual cracks or other stress problem areas visible to the naked eye and if all is good i'd really like to use them.

Thoughts?

 

[Bad66Chevelle454]

I just went on your webpage there. I would say hold off on those brakes. You already have power disc brakes. I don't think you'll see a huge improvement over those discs by buying the Baer brand. Now I'm sure there are people that will disagree with me on that too. Do you have rear discs? That might be money better spent.

Just my opinion, of course.

 

[GenPac]

It was recommended to me, when I was moving to 325mm C6 brakes, to have the OEM spindles and steering arms magnafluxed for hidden problems. I neglected to, but wish I had for piece of mind.

 

[RYU]

Anyone else hear of any spindle failures?

I just went on your webpage there. I would say hold off on those brakes. You already have power disc brakes. I don't think you'll see a huge improvement over those discs by buying the Baer brand. Now I'm sure there are people that will disagree with me on that too. Do you have rear discs? That might be money better spent.

Just my opinion, of course.

I've definitely debated for a while. Both my truck and the chevelle has drum rear brakes and front disc; loosely comparable setups. The truck stops very confidently but i've never been able to get acceptable braking performance from the chevelle. I just don't feel very confident with the factory 11" disc and drum combo.

It was recommended to me, when I was moving to 325mm C6 brakes, to have the OEM spindles and steering arms magnafluxed for hidden problems. I neglected to, but wish I had for piece of mind.

That's a good great idea. They've been off the car for a while now so it should not be a problem.

 

[buddyholly]

I have never heard of a stock spindle failing. I have seen some take terrible abuse in dirt track racing only to have "a" arms and ball joints fail first.
I went from factory disk to C5 front brakes and it made a world of difference. I was the same way, never was happy with the way the factory disk worked. They stopped well....once...if you were not going too fast. Ask them to stop twice and you may as well throw out an anchor. Now with my C5's I beat on them repeatedly and they never fuss.

 

[Mark SC&C]

We`ve seen a few over the years that were ruined by being run with terribly worn out wheel bearings or ball joints so that either the spindle pin was scored and worn or the tapers were egg shaped but I`ve never seen a GM factory A body spindle that physically broke. That said magnafluxing is cheap and it can`t hurt. Mark SC&C