Overview

This is a swap kit to install 2014+ aluminum spindles as easily and with as few modifications as possible into 99-06 GM 1500 trucks. The spindle saves roughly 10lb per side. This kit consists of the following:

• 4x Tapered steel inserts for the upper and lower balljoints
• 4x Low profile castle nuts for the balljoints
• 2x Tie rod adapter for stock inner tie rods (2WD)
• 2x Jam nuts for tie rods (2WD)

This allows you to use your stock 99-06 control arms with no modifications to the balljoints or spindle. No more drilling out the tie rod hole and having to use a bolt that will slop around, and no need to change balljoints on the control arms. There is no need to use aftermarket control arms as they do not typically offer any sort of performance advantage. The inserts are specially designed in Solidworks to keep the balljoint at the proper depth to allow the use of stock caste nuts and cotter pins while still allowing full joint articulation. You will reuse your factory 99-06 hub.

There are a few options for tie rods depending on if you are 2wd or 4wd as detailed below.

2 Wheel Drive Tie Rod Options

The outer tie rod ends that fit the aluminum spindles use a larger balljoint and different threading than the 99-06 ends. The 99-06 and 07-13 ends do not fit the aluminum spindles properly. You will need to purchase stock 2015 or later outer tie rod ends (any brand will work) to properly fit the tapered hole in the spindle. You will need to cut your factory inner tie rod so there is roughly 3/4″ of thread remaining and thread on the include adapter (use red loctite). That’s it. Factory off the shelf inner and outer tie rods with only minor modifications needed. If you don’t want to cut your existing inner tie rod new ones are about $20 from rock auto. The stock style outer tie rod balljoint ends offer the same amount of articulation as a heim-style joint, so there is no advantage as far as travel to change.

4 Wheel Drive Tie Rod Options

The outer tie rod ends that fit the aluminum spindles use a larger balljoint and different threading than the 99-06 ends. The 99-06 and 07-13 ends do not fit the aluminum spindles properly. Typically anyone interested in this modification is focused on racing and as such it is a good idea to upgrade the tie rods to handle more power. There are 3 ways to go about this typically:

1. You can use the thread adapter like the 2wd guys, however I do not recommend this because it still uses the factory inner tie rod which is a weak point.
2. If you have Kryptonite tie rods already you can simply purchase their 2011-2025 outer tie rod ends and thread onto your existing kit and have the proper fitment
3. I am working on custom tie rods using 1-3/8″ outer tubing with heim joints on both ends and custom tapered pins for the spindle. These are massive and very heavy duty, larger than the kryptonites.

Other Details

The spindles are not included as part of this kit. The outer tie rods for the 2wd trucks are also not included. This kit only includes the extra pieces you need to make the swap simple. You will need to purchase the spindles separately. They can be found on rockauto or ebay relatively cheaply. The GM part numbers are 22842315 and 22842314 for the spindles.