Drop Spindles - lower ball joint rubbing on wheel

I would think that would affect alignment geometry???? Would a 1/2" (13mm) spacer work?  There always seems to be extra space in front wheel wheels.  You have standard VW steel wheels?

I have std disc brakes with Porsche 2L Fuchs.  I had to use 1/4" to clear calipers then discovered even aftermarket polished aluminum hub covers would not clear axel nut without 1/2" spacers (CIP1).  Fortunately the OEM alloy wheel bolts are very long. An advantage is a wider front stance without too much extra stress on wheel bearings.

does it rub on the outside of the rim?

what kind of wheel are you using?

brakes/spacers should not affect the position of the lower balljoint in relation to the rim - unless they are some special wheel.

what kind of spindles?  Are they custom 3" or the standard 2.5"

"brakes/spacers should not affect the position of the lower balljoint in relation to the rim"

The inside center of the rim is maybe 12" diameter and expands out to 15" by the outside of the rim so if you get ball joint farther to outside of rim then less chance of interference. 

Imstead off disturing the ball and stud  How much could you safely grind off the trailing arm the ball joint fits in?/ or is it to much of a variance. Its eather that or try both spacesr on the wheel see what ya get and see what spacers you might need,

 But the bad news with that is it will hurt your handling with more under steer

The easiest and safest way to solve your problem is to buy wheels with a different offset.  In my opinion grinding down suspension parts so your wheels will not rub is asking for trouble down the road (part failure or alignment problems).

I had a similar rubbing problem when I installed drop spindles on my IM.  I ended up replacing them with used stock spindles.

Thank you all for your replies.

I have 15" Mangel type chrome wheels. I would rather not buy 4 new wheels. Also, I have a lot invested in new tires so I'd rather not change diameter.

As I said I am already using 10 mm spacers. If I go thicker I would have to change the pressed in studs on my disks and I don't know how this would work with my fenders.

I don't need much additional clearance - maybe 1/16". I have been driving the car and it only rubs slightly at times.

On another site in a discussion about drop spindles I read about others doing this. I have also read that some CB drop spindles didn't have the tapered hole as deep as it should be.

It doesn't seem like opening the hole up a slight amount would radically alter the suspension characteristics.

I have already ground a little off the edge of the ball joints.

The rubbing is where the bright spot is below the upper dark recess.

Spacers 1/2" thick would work but I didn't find any in my searching today. Also, I would rather not change the studs.

My concern with trying that is that by sinking the balljoint further into the arm, you might reduce the range of motion enough to cause the balljoint to bind against the arm. That could damage the balljoint or even cause separation. However, if you verify the full range of motion at full compression and droop after doing the mod you should be ok. You'd also want a realignment afterwards since this will slightly change caster and camber. Worse case, you have to get new lower arms.

Samba says they're a 7 degree taper. Yes you can use a drill and plenty of cutting fluid or WD40, but you should have the arm secured somehow (vise) so you don't oval out the hole. Tough to brace the arm if it's on the car, but possible.

http://www.speedwaymotors.com/...r-7-Degree,2918.html

About as low as you'll find, but probably cheaper to take to a machine shop to have them do it. Parts stores might rent one, no idea on that.

I hate to see you mess up a pair of costly spindles for 1/16" rubbing.  HD/Lowes has pieces of aluminum that is 1/16" thick - use your current spacers for template and using a sabre saw cut 2 out of the 1/16" aluminum and double up the new spacer with your old.  All the 1/2' spacers I could find are the ones with the universal elongated holes - guess you could buy 2 pairs of 1/4" ones but 1/2 is probably more than reqd.

Ha, if you had issue on alloy wheels - it would solve itself in 100 miles of spirited twisty driving.

Fixed because I'm too tired to remember the hole is in the damn spindle not the arm.

I was thinking of putting drop spindles on my car and was wondering if the ball joint rub is a common problem?  What is the typical fix for it because it seems like it could be a real headache based on this post.

I've just about decided to use thicker spacers instead of reaming the hole.

I ordered longer studs so I'll have to pull off the disks and swap them.

I haven't been able to find 1/2" spacers so I will probably have to use Wolfgang's suggestion or stack 1/4" spacers.

hbkmat, whether of not you would have difficulties may in part depend on the offset of your wheels. My 5 1/2" wheels have all the offset beyond the 4 1/2" wheels all toward the center of the car.

Hmm so is it safe to say having the 4 1/2 wheels would not have this issue? 

 You wouldn't think so. Even with 5 1/2" wheels it only comes up once in a while.

I wonder if some dropped (actually the spindle is raised) spindles are different?  Most advertise that they increase the front wheel base by 1/2" (not sure if that is total or each side).  There are some that don't say they increase stance.  Perhaps the wider stance is designed in (so you don't have issue Mike has) vs just part of a cutting and welding process? 

On the ones I've seen, the 1/2 or 5/8" plate becomes the caliper mount as well as (as you say) providing ball joint clearance. I was under the impression that all offset spindles, whether for drum or disc, added some spacing to the front end. It's common practice in the VW world to narrow the front end 2-3" in this situation, and this gets the wheel/tire back to about where they would sit in the wheelwell normally. If you don't you get varying amounts of fender/tire interference, depending on tire height/width and wheel offset. I've heard about front beams cut as much as 7" each side, but this is done more for looks (some guys really like the look of the wheel/tire way inside the fender with the car slammed) and I'm guessing these cars are never driven really hard, as it really messes with the handling characteristics (as well as having a really poor turning radius).

I'm a regular on the Samba (about 4 1/2 years) and as I said before, wheel interference with lowered spindles only comes up once in a while (once a year?) and the common fixes are to modify the ball joint for clearance (if it doesn't take much) or spacing the wheel out a little. I've never heard of a modified ball joint failing.  

Right, to be fair, I don't recall ever reading of anyone actually reaming the spindle mounts to fix this before, but it's a good idea given that you only need a very small amount of extra room. Grinding on the trailing arm/balljoint and wheel spacers or different wheels altogether are the usual fixes.

I was looking at a lot of posts on thesamba and it seems like this happens to enough people based on the depth of the wheels (offset? Backspacing?) I agree it seems like the best approach is reaming the spindle to get it up there a little bit further.  Not sure how much a machine shop would charge for this but I imagine it cant be too much. I plan on getting some new ball joints put in and at that time will take my dropped spindles to see if they can make them sit up there a little bit more. I am hoping CoolRyde Kevin can do it as he seems to know everything about suspension and does very clean work. 

 If thats all id  grind a little off the lower arm at the ball joint  and RIDE!!!