King Pin in Spindle Tightness

C

Colonel

Senior Member
I cleaned the spindles and installed new bushings. Used the special reaming tool and made sure it was aligned right when I used it. To the best of my knowledge all should be in perfect alignment. When I tested it with the king pin it needed quite a bit of persuasion to get it through both the upper and lower bushing as it needs to work in the car. It took a wrench to turn the pin in the spindle. It was very tight. The pin moves smoothly through either bushing individually. Obviously the alignment is not perfect. My question is what level of tightness is the right amount for the king pin to be properly installed. I don't think I have it right and need some help. Any tricks to doing this?

Thanks for all comments and suggestions.
 
It is best to use the long reaming tool so you do both upper and lower bushings at the same time in order to get proper alienment.

Ron
 
Honing is better than reaming, and will align both bushings together. I did a set of spindles for a customer, and the pins would not go all the way in without binding. It turned out that the new king pins were slightly tapered, and were a tighter fit at the top. I had to dress down the pins with 400 paper to get the fit properly. Check with a micrometer to see if the pins are straight.
 
May i hijack this thread seeing it is no longer in use?

(Edit) So the outer wheel bearing is slide fit in the hub, i can slide it with my fingers, should it be a press fit?

i have annoying wheel shimmy on one side but only at low speed.
See this king pin? i cannot feel any ridge on it with my fingernail but i can see wear marks, is it still ok to use?
tumblr_mkyirxuvJ41s1rjt4o1_1280.jpg

This pin for retaining the king pin, is it worn or still perfectly fine? i have a feeling it would be perfectly usable..
tumblr_mkyirxuvJ41s1rjt4o2_1280.jpg

The axle has a bushing in it but the king pin still moves a tiny little bit, i see no movement but i can feel it. Is lock-tight ok or should i look for an oversized king pin? Is that even possible?
tumblr_mkyirxuvJ41s1rjt4o3_1280.jpg

From what i gather i need a reamer, which i do not have. Guess i will have to find a workshop that still has those things. Pretty difficult now that nobody works on old things anymore.
But i have some replacement bushes that were in a box of spare parts, they have steel liners with a bronze looking layer as the working face. Can i force the old bushes out while forcing in the new bushes using a bench vice or should i cut the old bushes out?
tumblr_mkyirxuvJ41s1rjt4o4_1280.jpg
 
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All but 3 people have me on their 'ignore' list so i can post on this thread every day & nobody will ever see it. Still have no idea where the shimmy/wobble in the front wheel is coming from.
 
You are not on my ignore list. Sometimes the wobble comes from incorrect toe in. You should have 1/8" toe in at the front of the front wheels CtoC.
 
dumb person said:
All but 3 people have me on their 'ignore' list so i can post on this thread every day & nobody will ever see it. Still have no idea where the shimmy/wobble in the front wheel is coming from.
Click to expand...

I don't know anything about an ignore list, but I can't believe all but 3 people could have you on it. I wouldn't think you could even know who has you on their list, but as I say I know nothing about it.:confused:

From your pictures the kingpins look good and so do the bushings. :)
I'm using a temporary front axle while I rebuild my original. I can jack the front axle off the ground and move the tops of both tires in and out a good 2" and the car has no wobble ever, and steers great. I'd look elsewhere for the cause of your wobble, starting with toe in as James said.
 
The steel bush on your axle is not an original fit, but a previous repair. I have five axles that I did this repair on, on eight of the ten ends. I made them so they were just a bit tight to push the pins through by hand, but would go through when gently warmed with a hot air gun.
Some other causes of shimmy could be a loose or damaged wheel bearing, loose or egg shaped steering balls. Also check the bolts through the steering column chassis mount, or the pitman arm clamp.
Like Tom, I didn't even know there was an ignore list, so I must be number three.
 
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