King pin fit

If the king pins turned like a shaft I could see honing, but they only turn a few degrees each way. Reaming works just fine for us.
 
Thanks to everyone who replied.


I decided to take my car's spindles to a local machine shop, where they removed the old bushings, pressed in new ones & reamed them out so there was .001 of an inch clearance around new king pins.


Worked perfectly! King pins slid in easily but are just snug enough.
 
I don't hone soft phosphor bronze bushings. The silicon carbine particles embed themselves into the soft metal and cause premature wear. I use align reamers for the size I need. 7/8" for Ford & 15/16" for Mercury generally. These reamers only have a small amount of adjustability to do the job. I get a light press fit that can easily be done by hand with just enough stiffness that they will stay in the bore under their own weight.

If you hone them, I would recommend brushing the bearings out with a stiff tooth brush and soap & water after the hone job. At least some of the particles will be removed that way. I hone steel bushings for the Bell 47s but it sure isn't soft metal.
 
Hello you would think that some of the larger vendors would offer rebuilt spindles reamed and fitted similar to the steering arms .MGB ,s also use kingpins and rebuilt sets are standard catalog item .
 
rotorwrench said:
I don't hone soft phosphor bronze bushings. The silicon carbine particles embed themselves into the soft metal and cause premature wear. I use align reamers for the size I need. 7/8" for Ford & 15/16" for Mercury generally. These reamers only have a small amount of adjustability to do the job. I get a light press fit that can easily be done by hand with just enough stiffness that they will stay in the bore under their own weight.

If you hone them, I would recommend brushing the bearings out with a stiff tooth brush and soap & water after the hone job. At least some of the particles will be removed that way. I hone steel bushings for the Bell 47s but it sure isn't soft metal.
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Ewww, ...I think this is very misleading. To begin with, most commercially manufactured Spindle Bolt (King Pin) Bushings are manufactured from a 660 bronze with tin added for strength. These are not soft, ...unless you are comparing them to steel I suppose. :rolleyes: Phosphor Bronze as a whole may, -or may not be the right material depending on the composition. The only bronze material that I know of that does not hone well is the 841 that is sintered from powder. It is what many refer to as Oilite Bronze which is self oiling. Sunnen manufactures many machines specifically for sizing bronze bushings.



Something I think is often overlooked in the reaming vs. honing debate is a reamer can do a good job on bringing a bushing to a finish size too however most reamers are not designed to ream both bushing simultaneously, -often times they are dull, ...and most reamers are not used correctly by the mechanic with a continuous motion to avoid chatter and ridges. Because the Honing machines that we use are adjustable during the process, use a flooding lubricant to keep the stones lubricated and clean during the process, and the mandrels are designed specifically to hone all the bushings simultaneously, they tend to do a slightly better job over the reamer. That is why I use a hone to size the bushings, but in reality a hone is not required.
 
Phosphor bronze is common in nearly all bushing materials for the type used in transmissions and other load bearing hinges. There is nothing misleading about what I stated. I choose not to hone the stuff but I don't dictate what others should do. That's why I recommended that folks brush out a honed bearing surface if they choose to go that route. That will at least remove any loose particles that may be lightly embedded in the surfaces.

I have purpose made reamers just for king pins and I don't use them very often so they are still very sharp even though they are pretty old. They align with a pilot for both sides and go all the way through in alignment. I keep them well oiled and store them in their original boxes when not in use.
 
I have honed hundreds of them. It’s common sense to clean them and lube them prior to assembly. amazing the comments. I’m with Brent on this. I’ll take a hone fit over a reamer any day.
 
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