Summershandy

CPR are sending out some "welch" plugs (thanks for the word of the day Tinindian) for me today! I can rip the old ones out and put those arms back where they belong. As alway, thanks for your comments and thoughts. I always learn or gain knowledge from these brainstorms. Y'all have a great weekend. Cheers!

Thanks for the tip!

Cool, thanks for making me dig for information. Apparently the steering knuckle is one part # for both sides. 1940-1954 p/n 503576. '55's started LH and RH sides. Good to know.

Picture in the shop manual shows the zerks facing forward towards the front of the car. Mine are facing the rear now. I'd like to put them back even though they seem to work.

I'll give it a shot. My concern is it's part of a kit and may not be separate. Nothing interferes lock to lock and zerks still accessible. Guess my concern is, here are pieces that have been mated for 60 some odd years. Now is not the time to mismatch.

Yup, I marked my drums before they went in for machining and have the rest of my brake components separate left from right.....what good is that now? haha. I take pictures of things before disassembly to help when the time comes to put things back. If CPR can supply just caps from their repair kits, I should put things back where they belong. I replaced the tie rods so an alignment is required. Don't know about the camber/caster.

Okay, I just replaced my Kingpins and floating bushings in my 54 Pontiac Starchief. Everything went back together and had to add a shim to one side. I hammered down the end caps but hesitated doing the retainer pin. Didn't stake the end caps either. Took a look at an old picture of the spindles on the computer and noticed the grease zerks facing the front of the car. My zerks are now facing the back indicating to me I put the wrong spindles on the wrong sides! Left on right, right on left. Are the zerks SUPPOSE to face a certain direction? Did someone ELSE put them on backwards or is this me....oh whoa is me LOL Should I switch them back or does is really matter the way they work? I would have to destroy the end caps and get new ones. No problem removing the pins and bushings as they are floaters.

I got them back from the shop so I'm going to play with the old and new ones this afternoon. I read a ton up on these. Common with 40's - 50's Chev trucks. They should have a snugger fit in the knuckle than the king pin. When I removed the caps off my original pins, I noticed the bushing was moving independently when I moved the spindle. Grease was on both sides of the bushing. Thought everything was wrong.

I say it time and time again. I've been on a few forums over the years on various projects and if it wasn't for you guys.....I have no mechanical buddies and in a case like this, even actually mechanics are too young to help. I'm handy enough to get the job done but am a second guesser. I need to know what it is and how to do it right, with maybe the few mistakes! Feels good to go to bed with a smile on your face sometimes. Cheers!

I HAVE ONE BUT APPARENTLY I CAN'T READ! lol Dave39MD: Thanks brother for opening my eyes! That section looks a lot like my 1949-1954 shop manual.....and it is. I didn't pick up on "6. LIft floating bushings from steering knuckle." I feel like and idiot and apologize if I inconvenienced any other members. Remember that old saying? If in doubt, read the manual. THOROUGHLY! Going down to the machine shop tomorrow and pick up my spindle & pins. Also, thanks for saving me some $$$!

Found this quote regarding floating type bushings and kind of makes sense to me: The grease hole in the bushing should be OPPOSITE the hole for the grease fitting, NOT lined up with the hold for the grease fitting!Also, the bushing SHOULD have a groove all the way around the outside of the bushing and in line with the hole. When grease goes into the grease fitting, it is SUPPOSED to go AROUND the groove in the bushing, then through the hole in the bushing and then squeeze in between the inside of the bushing and the king pin. As a result of this method of greasing the kingpins/bushings, greased SHOULD be evenly distributed all the way around the bushing on the outside of the bushing and all the way around the inside of the bushing. Grease coming UP from the lower bushing SHOULD squeeze into the thrust bearing. That is how it is all SUPPOSED to work. I've also read some people locktite their bushings in place......

Wow....thanks Tinindian and sorry for laughing at you JFranklin, thought you were being funny! I would have never ever guessed!

Kingpins and bushings are for a 1954 Pontiac StarChief...and now you got me thinking. I called the supplier CPR and they can't confirm if they are floating or pressed in. I thought the hole had to line up with the zerk but maybe the groove around the outside fills up then goes through the hole to hit the inside? They also think the bushing can fall down through the knuckle but it can't. I tried. Man, I could really use some help from somebody that knows without doubt!

From inside the dust cap of a '54 Star Chief. I can't find any info on it and don't really know the purpose of it. It was kinda mangled so I straightened it out. Not sure if it's supposed to be flat or stick out some. Never seen one before. Thanks!

I remember the shop worker mentioning the foreman was going to check for roundness now that you mention it. Good thinking. Just another hiccup in the restoration I guess!

I brought my spindle, new kingpins and bushings to the machine shop to have them pressed and reamed. They just called me and said the bushings fell right in. I dropped by and sure enough, they slide in and spin. Could I have the wrong repair kit or could the spindle knuckle be worn? The shop said they might be able to make new bushings. I'm not sure if I should start looking for replacement spindle arms. Looks like around $500 Canadian if I find them.

Ugh I hear ya! I'm using it for my crank seal made of cork. It spins against the timing chain cover and I need reassurance it won't come loose. I had the joy of removing the old seal and could tell it was like Indian Head. I have no plans to ever change it out again. Good story, good advice!

Just sharing some info for our fellow Canadians regarding Indian Head. I just got my bottle today. I checked with auto parts stores and industrial suppliers and no where could I find it locally. My auto parts store found it in their catalogue but it showed it discontinued. I got it off Amazon.ca. So much for shopping local.

I don't think mine was getting good grease either. The bushing was turning independent along with the kingpin so it didn't line up either for a good greasing. My other retainer pin came out with 2 blows of the mallet. Went in hard and fast. The kingpin also slid right out. Looks like my first kingpin removal I have been blessed. I've heard so many horror stories. Dang I had to bitch the first pin. Would have been a perfect job. Perfectionism...a curse I must live with! Thanks for the word of the day. Never heard it called that.

Thanks Todd. I still should have been more careful. My mistake so my fix. One of the things that get me through times like this, are the other wrenchers that say they've made their share of mistakes, learn by them, 4 steps forward and 2 steps back and been there done that. What confused me a little was I read on Buicks the pins were opposite. But I suppose they could go in any direction and if one of the PO's had change out the kingpins they could have replaced them incorrectly. Live and learn I guess!

Mr "I can't wait" here....I broke down and drilled. I was surprised how soft the pin was. It was actually no problem drilling. Got pretty close to center but missed a bit. Popped right out after that because I had drilled so close to one side it was almost gone. Didn't mess up the hole too bad. I'll just use some locktite and use a sealant on the outside to keep out any moisture. My bonehead mistake....I must have hammered it tighter doing it in the wrong direction. The kingpin tapped right out along with the bushings. Noted the hole in the bushing did not line up with the grease fitting. I think I remember seeing the top bushing moving around with the spindle and they weren't really pressed in. One down, one to go!

Well, I've just spend an hour flattening out the other side. Ground the mushroom head off it and now both sides look the same. Pounded for a while with the drift pin and no go. I've removed some hard things in my day but a pin? What am I looking at now, drilling out a 1/4" pin?

Now that I've taken a closer look at a pin, I'm thinking I'm hitting the wrong end! The side I was hitting looked a little more round in diameter and didn't have a flat side to it. Wish the manual would be more specific than "remove retainer pin".

No nut. Tapered pin. But thanks anyway.

So I thought I'd start to tackle my '54 kingpin replacement and I can't even get past the retainer pin removal. First I think I flattened the pin making it a mushroom so I ground it down flush. I've been banging on it non stop. I'm sure I'm hitting the right end, from the front to the back. Any backyard tips or should I just continue killing it with a mallet and drift pin? Thanks.