How much spindle wear before replacing?

[Big 86]

The steering in my Ford 640 has gotten to the point it needs some attention, so I am going to start with the spindles and bushings. The wear is so much that you can see the top of the spindles walk in the tube when turning. After removing both spindles and measuring the bushing contact area, here is the dimensions of my spindles:

Top: 1.225"-1.235"

Bottom: aprox 1.34"

The bottom dimension seems to be good, but the top are worn quite a bit. I suspect being a loader tractor contributed to the wear. Left is worn more than the right, not sure why.

My original intention was to replace the spindle bushings, but now I am wondering if i should replace the spindles as well?

I would appreciate any input from fellow Ford owners.
 

[Dean]

Whether to replace your worn spindles demends mostly upon how much of the clearance you wish to remove.

If you are patient, you can remove the old worn bushings and drive in two sets of new bushings. The inner set of bushings will contact unworn parts of your existing spindles.

Dean
 

[Hobo,NC]

If the spindles are worn and you want it dead nutz replace the spindles...
If you install new bushings on worn spindles you will ream the bushing to fit over the unworn section of the spindle so you are not going to accomplish much... Its still gonna be sloppy,,, your call...