Technical no cotter key hole

I've got a speedway dropped axle front end ford spindles with gm disc brakes.....the spindles don't have a hole for a cotter key anyone else ever see or have this?

 

If the spindles have a keyway groove you may find a retainer that fit over the nut with a tab in the keyway. I have seen them, not on a car though.

 

Send back to Speedway for exchange. Do not attempt to drill holes in spindles. If you bought the complete kit from Speedway they will exchange the spindles. They are manufactured offshore and should have holes for cotter keys. DO NOT listen to others and try to drill them

 

if you can't drill a hole you shouldn't install that axle go out and buy one a car already built

 

same here....drill the hole and you'll be fine

 

i must be reading a different thread than you guys...... the way i read it , he never said he couldn't or wouldn't drill a hole if needed , just wanted to know if anyone else had gotten spindles from Speedway with no holes.

 

OK , I'll bite. If he is capable of drilling the holes himself, why shouldn't he?

 

The way I would handle it is call Speedway and see if they intended for the hole to be drilled. They may make it right.

I personally would not hand drill it. It needs to be on center and perpendicular.

 

I have never seen a spindle without a hole for a cotter pin and I certainly wouldn't drive a car without them, if you feel confident in drilling the spindle do it,if not call call Speedway and arrange to return them for a pair that are prepared correctly.HRP

 

That should have been your first call, to Speedway. I agree that there should be a hole there, and, yes, you could successfully drill one yourself, but at least confirm it with them first that it should have one.

All you are going to get on here are opinions and Speedway is the one who sold it to you and who are in the best position to advise you. If you don't want to drill them they will make it right, they always do. There is a remote danger that if you drill them you might screw them up and then you are screwed as far as returning them.

Don

 

I personally don't think it's critical... all the cotter key does is make sure that the axle nut can't back off. It's not a precision location. JMO It's just me but we are raising a bunch of scaredy cats due to the interweb. Common sense isn't so common any more. The hole is critical just not the location. IMHO

 

Some spindles are made with a groove to accommodate a washer with tabs. You bend one or more tabs over the nut to keep it locked on.

There are numerous types, here is one example;

 

Well its gotta be close enough.
Get it Too deep towards the knucke and no go. Too shallow and it doesn't engage the castle nut, Off center and it won't pass thru the castle nut.

Anyway, I don't see any questions like -
Should I drill it ?
Can I drill it ?
How to drill it ?
Where to drill it ?
Who should drill it ?
Does it even need a hole?

All is see is "anyone else ...?"
my answer is short - no

But every tapered roller bearing spindle has a groove. So the lock tab is a viable option. Ford spindles have a hole 90* to the groove and After markets seem to have the hole parallel with the grove. Some of the better ones have 2 holes so your bearing adjustment is better and closer to optimal instead of too loose or too tight.

 

Yep, I had one that was drilled for a cotter pin hole and the other wasn't. Just drilled a hole, as far as I know the wheel still is on the car. NBD

 

Call or drill, either one would work.

 

I had a spindle with a hole once.

Also had adog named cracker jack

 

In answer to the original question NO I have not bought any speedway junk at all.

I am going out on a limb here and say that if there is a keyway it is not supposed to have a hole and that a locking washer like the one that uncle daddy posted is the way to go. But I would call Speedway first and see if you got crappy spindles or why the kit was not complete with the locking washer.

 

The fact is the parts should be correct. Contact Speedway we have enough Chinese crap getting thrown away daily because it is useless so something as critical as a spindle should be right on.

 

Thanks to all......I had forgotten about the tab style washer....

 

Beano-
Ease back off that limb
Those key ways keep the flat adjusting washer from spinning under the nut.

 

How about call AND drill. You get what you want and Speedway learns they had better increase their inspection or change suppliers. I wonder if anything else is wrong with them? We deserve what we get if we don't complain.

Charlie Stephens

 

A 'Precision Chevrolet Mechanic' once showed me a spindle with two holes, 30 degrees apart..."One can get a precise adjustment with this choice of hole placements," he stated.
I told him my Ford spindle had one hole, and it came to be 'close enough' with adjustment to the nearest notch. "Just use the washer as a 'feeler gauge'," I said.

He then countered with, "The precise nut can be ordered, with the threads beginning 30 degrees sooner in relation to the first notch..."

I didn't hear the rest, I was walking out the door.

 

I'm up for "Drill Baby Drill, but not in this case.

 

I wouldn't pay for good parts and settle for defective parts. I would send them back. If everyone did this, it might cut down on the cheap Chinese crap.

 

The photo on their website shows the hole.

I'd send them back.

 

I seen German cars with a nut and a bolt that pinches the threads tight on the spindle, no cotter pin. I would prefer a cotter pin. But I guess the German way works, They been doing it for years and you don't hear about them loosing wheels and hubs. Maybe me old school, but a cotter pin or safety wire makes me feel more safe. I don't like nylocks on tie rods.


Ago

 

Normally, if I have something that needs a hole, I figure out where it should go then I put a hole in it. But, in this case I would send them back just because it's not right and who wants to pay big bucks for parts that ain't right? Right?

 

All Ford spindles and just about any make I can think of have a grove. A washer with a tab goes in after the bearing followed by the nut. The nut is not under any rotational pressure. It can be vibrated loose but it is not going to screw off. In the unlikely case where the nut does back off you will have inner wheel bearing wobble long before the nut wiggles off. The cotter key and castle nut are a good, positive way to keep the nut from rotating. A nyloc or other friction locking nut should be just as effective but doesn't put out the same, warm. friendly vibes. So, I say "Send the spindle back and insist on getting what you paid for." If it ain't right it ain't good enough.

 

You know, if I bought some cheap junkyard parts and they didn't fit I wouldn't think twice about modifying them. But not if I shell out for new parts.

On the other hand, if you bought 70 year old Ford spindles out of a junkyard, they would have the hole.

 

mine did not have the holes, they might leave them out because they are used with different rotors and have a spacer mounted where the rear seal goes.
mine has '54 chevy spindles and mustang rotors.