55.2-59 Axle King pins

[2001convertable]

Hi, Im looking to change out the king pins on my front axle as there is play on the passenger side. I figured that I would remove the axle and do it. I was wondering what kit I should buy and the procedure that I would take? If someone has done this before please give me some insight.I have a 1959 3100 1/2 ton. thanks

[Wrenchbender Ret]

Buy a reputable brand king pin set. All the necessary parts come with it. If you have a repair manual or shop manual follow the directions. It is pretty basic mechanicking. The biggest problem that may come up is the old pins froze in the axle. Sometimes a good hammer & drift will knock them out. Other times it will take a strong press. The bushings on this model float in the spindle so they don't have to be reamed.
George

[MiraclePieCo]

Is the kingpin and bushing set you're getting pre-fitted? If not, you'll have to have a machine shop turn the bushings to fit. If they are pre-fitted it's simple to install them yourself. Make sure the bearing goes in open side down so it doesn't trap water, and don't forget to align the grease holes!

[mick53]

Originally Posted by Wrenchbender Ret

Buy a reputable brand king pin set. All the necessary parts come with it. If you have a repair manual or shop manual follow the directions. It is pretty basic mechanicking. The biggest problem that may come up is the old pins froze in the axle. Sometimes a good hammer & drift will knock them out. Other times it will take a strong press. The bushings on this model float in the spindle so they don't have to be reamed.
George

I like the roller bearing king pins. They say no machining is required.

[dsraven]

when you dissassemble the spindles check to ensure the pins haven't worn through the bushings and oblonged the bores in the spindles or that the bushings haven't spun in their bores and damaged the bores. if this has happened the new bushing will be loose in the bore. this may have happened previously to the set of pins/bushings that are currently in the axle.guys have used jbweld type products or "staked" the bushing bores with a center punch to tighten up the fit in order to "backyard repair" things like this over the years so you never know until it is down to that stage of the tear down. the spindle is not junk yet and can be built up with some industrial chrome and then machined down to the correct size again. not gonna be cheap but all is not lost at least. there is no guarantee that the bores will be exactly where they were to begin with either. another thing to check is to try a new kingpin in the clean bore of the beam, there should be very little play. if there is play don't think the tapered jam pin will just "suck it up" because the weight of the truck will easily overcome that. if excessive play is found in this spot then looking for a new axle may be the best option. also check the area where the thrust bearing sits because it may have become siezed and "spun" on the surface of the spindle or the beam. these areas can be cleaned up with a sharp flat file as long as the wear is not excessive. when diss-assembling it is easy to get gung ho and end up marking the bores with the removal tools. if possible find a bushing driver that fits properly when it comes to assembly especially. t
for pins and bushing sets there are a number of types and styles. some will be prefit and others require the bushings be pressed in and then custom fit to the pin. personally I like these better because they fit the pin properly and then you start with a nice tight front end. some of the ones I have seen over the years that are press in and require no pin fitment seem to come out sloppy. you have gained some but the spindle is by no means a "tight" fit. any play in the pin fitment is accentuated at the wheel because it is further from the center line of the axle. the bigger the tire diameter the bigger that "little bit of play" at the kingpin fitment will feel. some kits come with brass bushings that have teflon liners. the liners have little bumps on the wear surface and if the bushing is a tight fit in the spindle sometimes the pin won't fit into the new bushing. if a reamer is used to knock off the high spots sometimes the teflon coating comes off and a new bushing is then required. a hone on the teflon doesn't work.
when installing the bushings ensure to line up the grease holes in the new bushings with the zerk holes in the spindle. the zerks should have been removed and their bores cleaned so when the new bushings get lubed it is clean fresh lube that they get, not old dirty grease from in the zerk bores. new grease zerks should come in the kit. the bushings should also have some grooves formed into them and lined up with the zerk hole so when the lube is squeezed in through the zerk it is directed down these grooves and through the whole length of the bushing and also out into the thrust washer. this is where knowing where the "O" ring fits becomes important. you don't want to seal the lube OUT of the thrust bearing. try not to hammer in the new bushings because they are soft and can distort from the hammer blows. pressing them in is usually best. a vice will likely work but ensure to keep them parallel to the bore and use some lube so the bushings don't gall. use a bushing driver that fits the bushing properly, some will simply use a socket but I have seen that go sideways when guys use a socket that has too large of a tapered edge and the socket slips a little sideways and distorts the inside bore of the new bushing.
when greasing use enough grease to ensure the whole unit sees nice clean fresh lube and also pick the axle up with the floor jack so the wheels are off the ground,otherwise the kingpin is forced to one side of the bushing set and that area sometimes doesn't get greased well enough.
when re-assmembling the parts ensure to pack the thrust bearing with grease before install and make sure to install the small "O" ring in the right place so when you grease the kingpins the grease stays in and the dirt/moisture stays out. there are also shims that would go above the axle beam to take up any slack between the beam and the spindle. some thrust bearings have a purge hole to allow grease to exit so you know when the new grease has reached that far through the system. you would want to align that hole correctly so it is easy to wipe off after a grease job and also so the road dirt doesn't find an easy way in. the back side is usually where I place those. some sets also come with dual lip seals so check the quality of the set you actually purchase.

long story short, use what you want but but understand what it is you are doing and trying to accomplish as an end result. a reputable machine shop would likely be able to supply and install a kingpin set and then custom fit each one to the respective pin. nice fit and not THAT much cash outlay plus no "chatter" marks from a reamer with a novice operator. the hone machine is likely going to be the same unit used for connecting rods, if using an engine shop for the work, and is long enough to do both bushings in the spindle at the same time so the bushing fit is parallel and the same in each bushing. a good shop would even tank the parts overnight and possibly blast them so they are nice and clean and ready for paint when you pick them up. they don't want the dirty old parts in their nice clean hone machine. that would be a question to ask, are the bushings being honed or reamed. the other thing that could be done is to purchase the correct adjustable reamer and guide set so you could do your own king pin fitment. sell the reamer set when done.the reamer is a separate component to the guide and screws onto the end of the reamer. here is a couple of links with pics

straight flute adjustable reamer

http://www.championcuttingtool.com/a...d-reamers.html


extension pilot for adjustable reamer

http://www.championcuttingtool.com/e...e-reamers.html

engine shop rod hone pic

http://www.gessford.com/wp-content/u...hine-04407.jpg

[mr48chev]

I can't add much to what Dsraven said. There is the quickie slap it together way with the bushings that don't need to be fitted and there is the has to be fitted way that seems to last a lot longer.

I will say that the last two ties I did my 48 I ended up gettng the kits with the teflon bushings and about 40 K later replaced them again. Maybe it's the rough roads I drove on or the conditions as I greased it regularly but they do wear out a lot faster.

GREASED REGULARLY that means every thousand miles even if you are on a road trip that is over a thousand miles. These suspensons have to be greased and often if you expect them to last.

I'm not familiar with the needle bearing king pin sets. On some other boards on OT rigs guys didn't seem to be too impressed with them but I have no experience there and probably never will.

[dsraven]

possibly the needle bearing kits are also only for the trucks with a good round bore in the spindle. I would have to think it would be like a u joint needle bearing on the trunion of the ujoint in that if it rides on the same place on the trunion, like there isn't much movement, then the needles would tend to wear a groove in the shaft on their contact point. if you do a lot of highway driving with long straight roads it may be something to consider. around town with lots of lock to lock operation of the steering it may be just fine. haven't seen too many of the needle bearing kingpins. haven't really been working as a heavy duty guy for years though. again, unload the suspension so the wheels are hanging and grease the kingpins until fresh clean grease comes out, turn the wheels side to side to ensure the whole cavity has the opportunity to see fresh grease, wipe off the mess and carry on. do this LOTS. this is why the old timers had grease guns and coveralls instead of cool pictures, tiled floors and car wash kits hanging in their garages. also the reason why there were lots of corner garages. the old stuff just needed servicing more often. as a heavy duty mechanic working on highway trucks I can tell you grease it or keep changing worn out stuff. a reason why lots of highway trucks also have self greasers nowadays.
does anubody know someone with needle bearing kingpins that drives the truck daily? any opinions on how they like them?

[2001convertable]

I spoke to the personI bought the truck from today. He said the truck had new king pins installed when the owner before him did a frame off resto. Now Im wondering why there is slight play on the passenger side.It only has 4000 mile since restore.

[Wrenchbender Ret]

Originally Posted by 2001convertable

I spoke to the personI bought the truck from today. He said the truck had new king pins installed when the owner before him did a frame off resto. Now Im wondering why there is slight play on the passenger side.It only has 4000 mile since restore.

The king pin might be loose in the axle or the bushing is loose in the spindle.
George

[mick53]

I have never used them. I talked to a couple drag racers That run straight axles and they said they were much stronger. I will have all new parts. I'm no expert just thought I would throw it out there. They are a little pricey.

[2001convertable]

Im going to check tomorrow. All I have to do is tighten the pin?

[Wrenchbender Ret]

Originally Posted by 2001convertable

Im going to check tomorrow. All I have to do is tighten the pin?

No. If the pin is loose in the axle you have to get an o-size king pin set & have the axle reamed.
George

[mr48chev]

The pin shouldn't be loose in the axle at all. Normally you have to drive them out of the axle and somewhat drive the new ones in the axle.

According to what I have read on Sid's axle site they do get wallowed out for one reason or another and he reworks them so they are a tight fit.

I've run into some spindles that were run well past the bushings being worn out and that were beat out so bad that they wouldn't hold a bushing.

Like anything else you may get an axle that was well cared for in it's past lives or you may get the one on the vehicle that never got serviced or cared for.

[59_Apache]

I am doing the same job on my 59 1/2 ton. I have looked everywhere and not been able to come up with a source of new spindles. There are new re-makes of the car spindles by Speedway but the angle is different. I have a nice set of spindles that the holes are all screwy and a beat up set of spindles that the holes are perfect.

For kingpins I got a really nice set from classic for $54. Everything is there at stock sizing. There are some places that will sell larger kingpin sets but the pin is larger not the bushing. When you get the larger kingpin set the bushing then needs to be reamed (kinda defeats the purpose of going with a larger set in my opinion). I was reading on another forum that folks have used loctite to lock the loose bushings into place.

I wonder if the speedway spindles can be bent by a machinist to the proper angle? Not trying to hijack your threat but maybe a viable option for guys like us doing this type of thing.

[dsraven]

If you gotta get oversized k pin set plus get bushings resized to fit then look for another axle or go with SIDS. Prolly gonna even out in the end for price.