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King pin removal


pflaming

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I removed the front back plates and spindles today. When I went to drive out the king pins, the metal moved about 1/8" then was SOLID. So I went to search and found these, but had to read alot to find so I will relate them so the next novice finds them sooner.

(1) there is a grease cap above and below the king pin. Those removed and the pins drove out. I used a 9/16' socket to drive. Take out the top one and the king pin can drive out the bottom one. Drill a hole in the top one, then insert a small punch in the hole and out it comes.

(2) next time I would remove the tie rod ends before I removed the steering arms, to the experienced this may seem obvious but I'm just learning.

(3) lots of old grease, under it were cotter pins, and 'lock washers' (metal pieces which had bent up tabs to lock the nuts (news to me)

(4) There is a roller bearing spacer on the king pin that the axle frame rests on so that the spindle turns on this bearing not on the bushings in the axle frame. Nice.

Will take the spindles and steering arms to a shop and have them drilled tapped and bushings pressed in. Now I need new tie rod ends. MORE $$$$$$$. OPS !!!!

Wonder what I'll learn tomorrow?

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I am working on truck '52 1/2 ton. Mine does not have any shims on the king pin, but rather a roller bearing.

My spindle has some wobble. Now the king pin goes through two bushings on the spindle and one on the axle. It would seem to me that the wear would be on the axle not the spindle. I would hate to replace the kingpin and the two bushings and still have a wobble. The king pin and bushing are not cheap plus the $$ to have a machine shop remove the old and press in new ones.

Am I thinking correctly?

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I don't recall if the axle had a bushing or not (the new pin did not have any abnormal movement when I installed it in the axle). There is a roller bearing between the spindle & the top of the axle, also, a shim between the spindle & the bottom of the axle. The rebuild kit had 2 bushings & 2 needle bearings(besides the shims, roller bearings, pins, etc.)-the bushings for the bottom of the spindles, needle bearings for the top of the spindles. Though this is for a 38 Ply Coupe, just my experience.

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I'm assuming you removed the lockbolt in the front of the axle on each king pin. Usually once they start moving you can go the rest of the way with either a BFH or a press. I just did a front axle swap in my 52, and had new pins put in the axle. I removed the steering knuckles-you've got to pull the bottom 2 bolts that go through the spindle and backing plate anyway. When you get your new pins, measure their fit in the axle eyes. If they're loose, you'll have to go oversized pins, and have the eyes reamed so that they fit snugly within the axle. On both of my axles there were bearings on the botton side, and shims on the top side. Hope this helps. Mike

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I'm assuming you removed the lockbolt in the front of the axle on each king pin. Usually once they start moving you can go the rest of the way with either a BFH or a press. I just did a front axle swap in my 52, and had new pins put in the axle. I removed the steering knuckles-you've got to pull the bottom 2 bolts that go through the spindle and backing plate anyway. When you get your new pins, measure their fit in the axle eyes. If they're loose, you'll have to go oversized pins, and have the eyes reamed so that they fit snugly within the axle. On both of my axles there were bearings on the botton side, and shims on the top side. Hope this helps. Mike

ditto what he said for my truck. But I only had shims on one side, no space on the other side for them.

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The shims are used to remove any vertical movement after the thrust bearing is installed. This is why some vehicles have them and some don't. They account for manufactuing tolerances.

There should be a few shims in your king pin kit. When you're reassembling it, set the spindle in place with the thrust bearing and then see if you can slide a shim into the other side. When you can't get any more shims in, it's tight enough.

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I did remove the bolt. Once I realized there was a 'grease cap' and removed it, the pins drove out very easily. So I now have the spindles and the steering arms on the work bench. There were no shims. I just looked at Charlies webb page and his kit includes the bearing, bolts, etc. I'm about ready to order. Thank you for the added advice.

Do I have to remove the axle to get it reamed out?

Wish I had a lift and a good steam cleaner. It's easy to go to the floor but a chore to get back up, so I make sure I have all my tools. :D

Edited by pflaming
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Just clean the bore in the axle with a soft cloth and solvent. Don't use any abrasives, as they could make the bore oversized and make the new pins not fit snugly as they should. However, after the new bushings are installed they will need to be reamed to size, to fit the pins.

Merle

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Napa makes a nice set of king pins and they're fairly cheap. They have two to chose from, one with a washer based thrust bearing and the more expensive set that has ball-bearing thrust washers. If you're going to do the job, I would suggest the ball-bearing thrust washer version. i just replaced mine and was very impressed. I think the kit cost about $70. PM me if you need a part number.

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I don't recall if the axle had a bushing or not (the new pin did not have any abnormal movement when I installed it in the axle). There is a roller bearing between the spindle & the top of the axle, also, a shim between the spindle & the bottom of the axle. The rebuild kit had 2 bushings & 2 needle bearings(besides the shims, roller bearings, pins, etc.)-the bushings for the bottom of the spindles, needle bearings for the top of the spindles. Though this is for a 38 Ply Coupe, just my experience.

I was mistaken, the roller bearing is between the spindle & the bottom of the axle. Pic is from my front disc conversion.

post-7340-13585365647245_thumb.jpg

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  • 6 years later...
1 hour ago, 54 c1 said:

is there a direction to drive these king pins out ? drive down if its still in vehicle didn't know if there tapered

thank you 

No taper...just pound them straight down.  If they move a bit, then stick, you can drive them back up to work them back and forth a bit...almost a guarantee you will need a lot of heat/penetrating oil to get them out.

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  • 2 months later...
2 hours ago, 4mula-dlx said:

There supposed to be a bolt there, no pin...if you removed the bolt, you need a lot of heat, penetrating oil and a really big hammer

I have to hit the king pin whit hammer ? 

Because the pin that I see through that hole has no outlet 

Thanks

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The pin you see through that hole is the king pin. That should be a threaded hole. There should be a bolt there to retain the king pin. Drill a hole in the top welsh plug and pop it out. Then use a hammer and drift to drive the king pin out the bottom. 

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30 minutes ago, Merle Coggins said:

The pin you see through that hole is the king pin. That should be a threaded hole. There should be a bolt there to retain the king pin. Drill a hole in the top welsh plug and pop it out. Then use a hammer and drift to drive the king pin out the bottom. 

 

and that hole should line up with a flat on the king pin to keep it from rotating in the main body of the axle.

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This was the first project I did with my ‘52......what a learning experience it was ....i had lots of slop in the old king pins but did not have to go oversized. I removed the whole axl to take to a machine shop to have the new king pins put in , my truck no longer wanders and the steering is spot on. These systems in these trucks are so simple i catch myself overthinking everything. The biggest pain is the shacklebushings IMO.

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  • 3 months later...

Very helpful thread as I'm about to do my king pins. One thing I keep reading about is heat though...the manual clearly states not to heat up your axle or spindle. These components are tempered steel and should not be heated with a torch. It can weaken the steel. I'm going to try like heck to avoid having to put heat to my spindles or axle.

Edited by '36 Glasstruck
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6 hours ago, '36 Glasstruck said:

Very helpful thread as I'm about to do my king pins. One thing I keep reading about is heat though...the manual clearly states not to heat up your axle or spindle. These components are tempered steel and should not be heated with a torch. It can weaken the steel. I'm going to try like heck to avoid having to put heat to my spindles or axle.

 

They weren't likely expecting the  truck  to be still in service 70-80 years down the line, but many an axle has been heated and seem to come out just fine.  I would be more concerned about the amount of force needed to remove the pin without heat.

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Using the right tools when needed on frozen stuck pin situations............"IE a quality king pin press tool"... the tightest of pins can be pushed out in a proper safe way.

No damage is done pressing the toughest pins out.

I realize the hobbyist DIY'er won't have this tool or even have a shop press them out to save $$$

A OA torch could apply enough heat to weaken a component... a home owner propane torch I doubt it. 

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