1950 Ford Custom King Pins

gary635g

Member
Am trying to install new Royal SS king pins in my 1950 but can not remove the lock pin from the Knucle 352655s the green book says to remove by moving it fwd meaning it would come out from the grease zirt side. I have moved it with a punch ~3/16" but it is locked up and I can not move it. Could the instructions be wrong? is it possible that it has to be removed to the rear? I could try to pound back in and see if that helps but thought some advice might be better than destroying the assembly. The new set uses split pins so I guess I could try to drill out if necessary. Thanks Gary
 
As I recall it's just a straight pin and should come out either way, provided that there is no mushrooming, bigger dia. punch, heavier hammer:)
 
Here's the pictorial shown for the 49-51 Mercury lock pin removal as shown in the 49-51 Mercury Repair Manual.. I bet Ford is the same. Just orient your spindle the same way in your vise and get your big hammer and a punch. Click on pic. to enlarge. I know the 40-48 spindle lock pins are tapered but can't remember for sure if the 49-51 are also tapered. I have a hunch they are, otherwise they wouldn't provide good "wedging" pressure against the king pin. Now, this assumes that the fellow who removed them before you also re- installed them correctly.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_4907b.jpg
    IMG_4907b.jpg
    93.8 KB · Views: 102
  • DSC05645 (Small)best.jpg
    DSC05645 (Small)best.jpg
    48.9 KB · Views: 45
Last edited:
Gary, I just went through the same process and installed the SS king pins a few months ago. As I recall the factory lock pins are tapered and will only go one way. I would say if you got them to move at all you are pushing in the right direction. I had a hard time getting them out as well but ended up increasing the hammer size until I got the job done. Also unless they have changed the directions for the Royal bearings and SS pin install beware that the instructions included in the kit are WRONG! The description and illustration are contradictory of each other when it comes to the orientation of the thrust bearing and the direction of the new king pin and after spending 30 minutes on the phone with tech support and talking to 3 different individuals they all agreed with me the instructions were contradictory but none had the correct answer to the solution. You will notice the illustration does not have the same spindle set up as a Shoebox Ford. Solution...after a little head scratching and the use of common sense all went together as designed. Basically the thrust bearing needs to go on top of the spindle NOT underneath (as described in the instructions.) Also you will notice the SS king pin will have 3 small relief passages for grease to pass through. The end with 2 holes should point UP (contrary to the illustration) to allow grease to enter the thrust bearing. All in all I think it's a great product with lacking instructions. Remember...thrust bearing goes on top of the spindle and the end of the king pin with 2 holes goes up (ignore the directions.) Good luck and I'm sure you will be pleased with the end results. Dennis
 
Take the spindles and the new king pins and bushings to a good machine shop before you damage them by beating. That way, you can get the bushings fitted to the new kingpins. Be sure to drill the grease holes once the bushing is in place, and before the reaming is done. The lock pins are tapered, with a nut on the end. If they were straight, the nut would not hold them in place. At our shop, we fit the pins with our wristpin hone machined.
 
I just finished doing a set on a '49. I drilled a hole thru the center of the lock pins to relieve the pressure. I could the drive them out with a hammer and flat end punch. They went out the front.
 
Take the spindles and the new king pins and bushings to a good machine shop before you damage them by beating. That way, you can get the bushings fitted to the new kingpins. Be sure to drill the grease holes once the bushing is in place, and before the reaming is done. The lock pins are tapered, with a nut on the end. If they were straight, the nut would not hold them in place. At our shop, we fit the pins with our wristpin hone machined.
I suspect that you are very confused, Royal king pins do not have bushings or require reaming.
 
I was born confused, I think. My advice is meant to be general. The "pins" mentioned in the last sentence refer to kingpins, not the lock pins. Last month we fitted a set of kingpins that a customer brought in after trying on his own to get them installed. In the process, he enlarged the spindle holes, and we had to sleeve the holes to hold the bushings and swedge them enough to allow reaming. Since most vehicles now use knuckles instead of kingpins, it is now a bolt on job anyway. Thanks for the critique.
 
Back
Top