King pin question

[Denee007]

Hi all! I had nothing better to do than look at my front suspension, and don't know much about king pins! When I turn the spindle where the rotor or drum goes, like turning a wheel left to right, does the center of the king pin turn or is it stationary, or does it turn in the clamped bracket? As it is right now, when I move the spindle the center stays stationary and the outside parts goes with the spindle. This is difficult to explain~ am I explaining it well enough? There's no noticeble slack, but looks like it's never been greased, so when greased, the grease would come out the top?
dne'

[T Hilde]

Sounds like you have it right. There is a bolt that goes through the axle that holds the king pin in place, so the spindle pivots on it. The grease just squirts out at the top and around the axle.

[Denee007]

ok, just wondering, thought maybe the center part seized! I'm ok! nasty looking thing isn't i! One day it will all be shiny and nice!
dne'

[tmoble]

there's bronze bushings in the spindle that turn on the pin.

[mknittle]

see that bolt that goes through the axle next to the king pin?
It has a flat wedge milled into it, there is a flat that on the pin that is what holds the pin tight.
The rest is as Tmoble said

[tmoble]

Denee, looks like smebody put a disc brake setup on your truck. they may have done the kingpins then. grab the end of the spindle and try to move it up and down. There's really supposed to be only the tiniest bit of slop. Really shouldn't be able to feel it.

[Denee007]

Yes, I tried that over and over again, and it doesn't move regarding slop; moves easily enough like when turning, but "someone" said I may not be able to feel the slop by manually trying to see if it's sloppy. Funny, it looks as though it's never been greased!
I posted the photo before I pulled out the 6cyl~ for some reason, I really like the way it sits! It sits like a 4x4! I like that look vs a low rider.
With stock suspension, except for the upgrades of new modern tie rods and power steering, will it ride like a buckboard? Will stock leaf springs on the front make every bump on the road radiate through the cab and knock my moms dentures out of her mouth? I am just torn on the options when in fact, it may be best for me to keep it leaf springs and the same height(maybe take a leaf out) with power steering, new shocks, updated tie rods, maybe even a steering stabilizer, and get this darned truck back on the ground!
; )

Originally Posted by tmoble

Denee, looks like smebody put a disc brake setup on your truck. they may have done the kingpins then. grab the end of the spindle and try to move it up and down. There's really supposed to be only the tiniest bit of slop. Really shouldn't be able to feel it.

[Rude Dude]

[QUOTE=Denee007;4903792]Yes, I tried that over and over again, and it doesn't move regarding slop; moves easily enough like when turning, but "someone" said I may not be able to feel the slop by manually trying to see if it's sloppy. Funny, it looks as though it's never been greased!
I posted the photo before I pulled out the 6cyl~ for some reason, I really like the way it sits! It sits like a 4x4! I like that look vs a low rider.
With stock suspension, except for the upgrades of new modern tie rods and power steering, will it ride like a buckboard? Will stock leaf springs on the front make every bump on the road radiate through the cab and knock my moms dentures out of her mouth? I am just torn on the options when in fact, it may be best for me to keep it leaf springs and the same height(maybe take a leaf out) with power steering, new shocks, updated tie rods, maybe even a steering stabilizer, and get this darned truck back on the ground!
; )


The straight axle will never ride like an IFS, but with good rebuild, polyliner between springs, and some really good gas shocks it will give a good ride.

[Rude Dude]

http://www.classicparts.com/Chassis/products/143/

These guys prices aren't bad

[Denee007]

good! I bought some of that poly liner, didn't realize at the time how much work it was to install, but since I have the suspension all torn apart, should be easy!
Now that I have your attention, my old leaf springs have a pretty good arch, ,but are kind of rusty~ would they be more bouncy that new leaf springs, or will new leaf springs take a while to break in and allow suspension travel?


[quote=Rude Dude;4903838]

Originally Posted by Denee007

Yes, I tried that over and over again, and it doesn't move regarding slop; moves easily enough like when turning, but "someone" said I may not be able to feel the slop by manually trying to see if it's sloppy. Funny, it looks as though it's never been greased!
I posted the photo before I pulled out the 6cyl~ for some reason, I really like the way it sits! It sits like a 4x4! I like that look vs a low rider.
With stock suspension, except for the upgrades of new modern tie rods and power steering, will it ride like a buckboard? Will stock leaf springs on the front make every bump on the road radiate through the cab and knock my moms dentures out of her mouth? I am just torn on the options when in fact, it may be best for me to keep it leaf springs and the same height(maybe take a leaf out) with power steering, new shocks, updated tie rods, maybe even a steering stabilizer, and get this darned truck back on the ground!
; )


The straight axle will never ride like an IFS, but with good rebuild, polyliner between springs, and some really good gas shocks it will give a good ride.

[Rude Dude]

No your springs would be just as good as new ones. I had a model A ford coupe with stock spring running a dropped axle with polyliner installed and had a Chev V8. What I did was sand blast the rust off and grind the the tips of the springs (like looking at the tip your finger) This helps with each spring not digging into each other and not cutting into polylinear. Takes a few hours but well worth the effort. The leaf springs are hardened steel and if they aren't sagging they are still good. Good luck

[Denee007]

Neato! My little sandblaster should work well enough; maybe I can take the Ibeam part somewhere to have the kingpins ok'd or replaced. Kind of excites me about refurbishing stuff, and modernizing where I can.! ; )
thanks,
dne'

Originally Posted by Rude Dude

No your springs would be just as good as new ones. I had a model A ford coupe with stock spring running a dropped axle with polyliner installed and had a Chev V8. What I did was sand blast the rust off and grind the the tips of the springs (like looking at the tip your finger) This helps with each spring not digging into each other and not cutting into polylinear. Takes a few hours but well worth the effort. The leaf springs are hardened steel and if they aren't sagging they are still good. Good luck

[dwcsr]

[quote=Denee007;4903844]good! I bought some of that poly liner, didn't realize at the time how much work it was to install, but since I have the suspension all torn apart, should be easy!
Now that I have your attention, my old leaf springs have a pretty good arch, ,but are kind of rusty~ would they be more bouncy that new leaf springs, or will new leaf springs take a while to break in and allow suspension travel?



I have a tool to spread the leafs if you want to borrow it. I can also look at the pins for you. If they need to come apart I do have the pin press as well.

[Denee007]

Hi Dave!! Can I or should I just disassemble the leaves totally? The other thing I was wondering, The rubber bushings inside the ends of the leaf's; are they replaceable; they look really tough to get out!








[quote=dwcsr;4904080]

Originally Posted by Denee007

good! I bought some of that poly liner, didn't realize at the time how much work it was to install, but since I have the suspension all torn apart, should be easy!
Now that I have your attention, my old leaf springs have a pretty good arch, ,but are kind of rusty~ would they be more bouncy that new leaf springs, or will new leaf springs take a while to break in and allow suspension travel?





I have a tool to spread the leafs if you want to borrow it. I can also look at the pins for you. If they need to come apart I do have the pin press as well.