Model A kingpin locking bolt removal

T

The Austrian

Junior Member
Hello,

since the kingpin bushings on my 1929 Tudor Sedan are badly worn on both sides I have to disassemble the front axle.
During the process I found that the locking bolts for the king pins are different from what I would have expected to see on a stock Model A (see pictures). There is a castle nut on the front side and some kind of long wheel nut on the rear side. I was able to remove both castle nuts but the wheel nuts on the rear side are sitting solidly in place (even after heating them up with a torch).
What kind of locking bolt arrangement is this and what would be the best way to get it out of the front axle. Any help is highly appreciated.

Cheers,
Mirko
 

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Something weird is going on there. The cotter pin that holds the king pin goes in from the front and the nut at the back. The nut is also the stop that prevents the steering going too far. I hope you post pictures of that after you get it out. I suspect the cotter pin has been put in backwards.
Many people make the mistake of driving the cotter pin in too hard and ruin the axle by stretching the eye.
 
I've never seen one like that (even on my '28) and I guess that is because the vendors don't offer them. If that is so, they will gradually disappear.
 
The Austrian said:
Hello,

since the kingpin bushings on my 1929 Tudor Sedan are badly worn on both sides I have to disassemble the front axle.
During the process I found that the locking bolts for the king pins are different from what I would have expected to see on a stock Model A (see pictures). There is a castle nut on the front side and some kind of long wheel nut on the rear side. I was able to remove both castle nuts but the wheel nuts on the rear side are sitting solidly in place (even after heating them up with a torch).
What kind of locking bolt arrangement is this and what would be the best way to get it out of the front axle. Any help is highly appreciated.

Cheers,
Mirko
Click to expand...

Knock that out with an impact gun and see what you have as far as using one that the current vendors supply. You will be no worse off than trying to save it.

John
 
Hi Guys,
thanks for your replies. Before I get the impact gun / air chisel out I would like to confirm to which side I have to knock the lockingpin out. The usual direction would be from rear to front but to do this I will have to get the lock nuts off on the rear side. Is my understanding correct?
Cheers,
Mirko
 
Hello,
I was able to get the lockpins removed from the axle. Here is how it went:
After hitting the locking pins with an air chisel from the front side nothing moved. That led me to think that the nut on the rear side needed to be removed first. Out came the impact wrench but first I had to cut off the extensions from the nuts to get access for the socket.
Once the impact wrench got to work the locking pin slowly started rotating in the axle. After some more blasts with the impact wrench the pin was loose enough to push it out with the air chisel from the front side of the axle.
In the pictures you can see the locking pins after I removed them (one of the nuts got split into three parts during the air chisel operation).
Now I need to find out what kind of locking pins these are and where to get new ones. As oposed to any locking pin I have seen so far they are round without any flat spot. They are inserted into the axle from the rear side and then locked with a castle nut and a cotter pin on the front side.
Cheers,
Mirko
 

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What Katy and daren said.


But, there were I think 3 'upgrades' thru the years. And replacements are readily available.
 
The Austrian said:
Hello,
.......
They are inserted into the axle from the rear side and then locked with a castle nut and a cotter pin on the front side.
Cheers,
Mirko
Click to expand...

Using a cotter pin to secure a cotter pin. Interesting concept.
Here is a dictionary definition:

A cotter is a pin or wedge passing through a hole to fix parts tightly together. In English usage cotter pin has the same meaning.
Typical applications are in fixing a crank to its crankshaft, as in a bicycle, or a piston rod to a crosshead, as in a steam engine. Note: the angle of the wedge determines the position of the parts being held, therefore on a bicycle the pedal arms will only be at 180 degrees to each other if the angle of the cotter pin's wedge is the same on both pins.

cotter (n.)

"wedge-shaped piece or bolt which fits into a hole used in fastening or tightening," 1640s, of uncertain origin; perhaps a shortened form of cotterel, a dialectal word for "cotter pin or bolt, bracket to hang a pot over a fire" (1560s), itself of uncertain origin. Cotter-pin is attested by 1849.

And another:

NOUN
1. any part, such as a pin, wedge, key, etc, that is used to secure two other parts so that relative motion between them is prevented
2. short for cotter pin
VERB
3. (transitive)
to secure (two parts) with a cotter
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
 
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