'37 Pontiac Bad King Pin Bushings

[Guest bofusmosby]

Well, to those who have been following my various questions, here goes another one. While replacing the front wheel cylinders, I noticed that I have a lot of play on the right (passenger) side in the king pin bushings. I have been reading up on this, and the shop manual I have doesn't go into great detail on this job. From what I have read, there are some special tools I need to accomplish this task. Is this true? Is this a job that I should attempt myself? I see on Ebay, I can order a set of the king pins with all the bushings for $60. That doesn't sound that bad, but I am debating wether I should even attempt this. I guess I could always order the parts and have someone else do the replacement. You know, remove the assembly, take it to a shop (if I can find one) and maybe they could remove the old bushings and install the new ones.

What do you guys think? I trust your opinions on this. I await your feed-back.

Thank you!

[Guest billybird]

If these are like all the other king pins I've saw; you can take a flat drift and drive the pin that holds the king pin further in thus taking out the free play. Then tighten the nut { it's usually long } that is on the other side. This will only work if the king pin bushings are not worn too far. If you have to replace the bushings, they will probably have to be pressed into the spindle and reamed to proper size. This would be the part for the machine shop unless you have these tools. The disassembly and reassembly is not a big deal.

[R Walling]

Your getting into an area that is a little more then a backyard repair.

Kingpins are usually done in a front-end shop. Tools necessary, include a press to remove the king pins from the axel, and an adjustable reamer for the bushings.

If you conceder your self lucky and find out that you don’t need the press, but then you may need a new axel as the hole in the axel will some times wear out due to movement that should not be there.

After the kingpins are installed, you will have to have the front-end aligned on special machines and they may have to bend your axel to get it straight.

It should be done though as it affects the tire wear and the overall handling of the car.

You will also may need at this time, new tie rod ends and a steering box adjustment.

This is an area that needs professional expertise, at least for advice on what you can do.

[Guest bofusmosby]

Thank you for your responses. After doing more reading on the subject, I see that not only am I not qualified, but I also lack the needed tools to do this job. One question though,,, as far as the front end alignment goes, will this have to be a specialty shop (specializing in old cars) to do this, or will most front-end alignment shops be able to do this?

[R Walling]

Quote "One question though,,, as far as the front end alignment goes, will this have to be a specialty shop (specializing in old cars) "

In my experience, you will have to go to a shop that has experience in older cars. Ask first before you make an appointment.

As with most trades, there is a lot more to it than what you read in the manuals. Especially when the “book” doesn’t work!

[harvey b]

Hi jim,i had a similar problem on my 37 caddy,very similar style front end.what i had was a worn support,this is the peice that goes from the upper and lower control arm,the steering knuckle or spindle attach to it,the kingpin goes through it,what happened was the hole was worn,propably from the pin being loose?,these are not easily repaired and replacement is required,they do pop up in ebay from time to time,you might be able to drive the pin in further and take up some of the slack,i havent replaced mine yet so i cant tell you how big a job it will be,but be prepared to replace some other parts as well?if it is the bushings in the knucke that are bad,you could take the assembly to a shop and have them installed and reamed,the support peice does not have any bushings in it,as for alignment,look for a man who has a lot of experience,look for an old guy with grey or no hair?.these cars are quite easy to do. HTH Harvey b

[poci1957]

Jim, see if you can find a shop with an experienced front end guy that does mostly trucks. Compared to the modern car the old system is more truck-like and they would likely be better equipped. Good luck, Todd

[Guest bofusmosby]

Thanks guys. I checked with a shop that works mostly on older cars, and he told me that if I supply the parts, he'll charge me (per side) somewhere between $75-$100 in labor. That doesn't sound too bad. I just hope that its the bushing, and nothing else. I'll order the king pin kit tonight. $60 is not a bad price. Even though the drivers side is good and tight, do you think I should have him do both sides?

I asked him if he knew of anyone local that could do a front-end alignment on my car, and he couldn't think of anyone.

[hddennis]

Although I'm no expert in the 49 years I've been working on antique cars I've yet to see this "Magic Button" you smack with a hammer and turn a nut and the front end slop goes away! If hitting this locking pin tightens up your kingpin, there are only two possibilities. 1. The last mechanic failed to tighten it or 2. The part it goes in is so badly worn that it either needs replacement or to be reamed out and an oversize kingpin fitted to restore factory specs.

Replace both pins, they most likely have the same mileage, it's just the inside wheel usually has the smoothest ride, while the outside encounters all the worst the roadside has to offer.

Howard Dennis

[Seldenguy]

My experience of many years is to "JURY RIG" only to get you home after a break down along the road. Once home correct the problem , take the king pins out repair the damage done,according to standard machine shop procedures.On a old car I don't think you will have to be concerned about it again during your lifetime/ownership. Not only will you be safer on the road, the rest of us will be safer when we meet you. Bob's two cents

[Guest bofusmosby]

OK, here's an update on my plans. I spoke to a man that has been doing nothing but front end work for over 30 years. He quoted me a price of $400 for both sides if I furnish the parts. He said that would also include a front-end alignment. He also said that if he should find anything else wrong, then he would let me know what it needs so I can obtain and replace the bad parts, THEN he would do the front-end alignment. Well, I feel a person gets what they pay for. I want to make sure that the repair is done right, and this guy really seems to know what he is doing.

I have ordered the king pin set, and I should get it later this week, or sometime next week. I also need to order the outer front-wheel bearings, so when the guy does this work, he can just go ahead and install the new bearings. Afterall, the bearings will have to be removed anyway.

Thank you for all your feed-back on this. This is a constant learning experience for me for sure. With the help you guys have been giving me, I can't loose!

[Guest wagary]

I'm new to the site and have already found lots of helpful discussions that apply to my 1963 F-100. I've had the truck for 20-plus years- the first ten as a daily driver and the last ten years it's been sitting, waiting for me to get sober. I've been sober for over four years now and have begun restoring the truck, along with my sanity.

As with anything, except maybe wine, the longer it sits, the tougher it'll be to fix (drink).

Everything in the truck has been rusted together for ten years and looks pretty bad. I started bleeding the brakes and that lead to replacing lines, hoses, and cylinders so far. I guess once I get the wheels off, I'll figure out if I need drums, shoes, bearings, etc.

I parked the truck in the garage in 2000 because the king-pin bushings were wearing out, maybe right into the spindle arm/ I-beam. If I'm careful, I'll get the drums off without cracking them, but we'll see. Hopefully enough heat and penetrating oil with a homemade puller will get them off safely. That stuff isn't that big of a deal compared to what I expect to find with the spindle arms (king-pin bushings) and axle (I-beam).

Edited January 30, 2011 by wagary
punctuation (see edit history)

[Guest wagary]

Hey, I've never repaired king-pins myself, but I'm going to try on my '63 F-100. I'm a disabled Gulf-war vet/ aircraft mechanic, so how hard could it be? (Laughs)

Worst case scenarios clearly point to the best solution.

Even if the spindle bolt has worn clear through the old bushing and into the axle, there may still be room in the axle to sleeve it for a new bushing. (Let's hope it doesn't come to that last ditch option, before replacing the entire axle.) I've found that trying the quick easy fixes in life are at least good for a learning experience. Like with the brakes, I hoped I could just bleed them and they'd be good to go, but after much screwing around with rusted/stripped bleeders and fittings, I've already replaced 50% of the braking sytem. That's good insurance for the conscience, plus it's easier. Sometimes it's cheaper and easier to do things right! Who would've thought?

I'll keep you posted on wheel/drum/hub removal efforts. I can hardly wait to see what lurks within...

Anybody have tips removing on the spindle arms? The book makes it look easy, but the real world is full of surprises isn't it?

[junkyardjeff]

Does the Pontiac have a axle or IFS ? but either way is not a very hard job to do,the hardest part is getting the old pins out and usually falls togather. So far I only had to ream the bushings on Fords as my 37 Chevy p/u did not need to be reamed,the bushings in the spindles just drive out and new ones driven in and can be done on a saturday morning with simple had tools.

[Guest bofusmosby]

Jeff, I was told that this would be a job for a machine shop. Well, truth be told, I still haven't done them yet. However, my step-son-in-law (a mechanic) said that he could do them with no problem. So, I'll let him tackle the job. Money has really been tight lately, so most things are on hold.

wagary, good luch with yours, and be sure and let us know how it goes. Also, welcome to the forum!

[West Peterson]

Unless your king pins are full of needle bearings, I think it is a job that can be handled by a do-it-yourselfer quite easily. Here is a link to a thread I posted on doing my 1940 Packard. Scroll down to post #28, where I get into the king pin replacement.

Packard Motor Car Information - Peterson's 1940 Packard [Packard Forums - Project Blogs]

Pressing in the new bushings and reaming them are the only things you'd need to have done professionally if you don't have the right equipment or tools.

Edited February 1, 2011 by West Peterson (see edit history)

[Rusty_OToole]

Pressing the bushings in and reaming them is 90% of the job. I recommend removing the axle or king pin assembly and taking it to an auto machine shop for removal of the old pins and bushings and installing the new ones. They can do the job in under an hour using a hydraulic press and Sunnen hone and get a perfect fit. Much easier and better than doing it at home, and the cost is small for what you get.

Or take the whole vehicle to a good front end shop or truck shop that works on the old vehicles and let them do it.

[Guest bofusmosby]

I agree that the pressing and reaming of the new bushings are the difficult things to do. It also has a lot to do with having the right equipment. This is the reason why I will be hiring someone to do this for me. That way, it is done one time, and done correctly.

[Restorer32]

What Rusty said. This is not a big job.

[Guest wagary]

Hello all,

I have found and ordered replacement wheel cylinders for the '63 F-100, plus I probably have new shoes already and will install them too. My main concern coming up, is to get the left front wheel, hub, cylinder, king-pin, spindle-arm stuff apart from the axle. Did I miss anything there? Basically, if it was meant to rotate in any direction, it needs attention. I also have new shocks I might install, too.

I live in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota and this morning the air temperature was maybe eight degrees farenheit. That makes it thirty-eight in the garage, too cold for me today. I better just get some jackstands together and start taking it apart on Friday, I should have more parts arriving and it's going to be over twenty degrees! That makes everything work better.

Thanks for the encouragement so far, I am not deterred by the prospect of needing outside machining work done, yet. So, I'll do what I can do with what I have and what I know, and not be discouraged by what I don't have or know.

[Rusty_OToole]

wagary the first thing you need is a good repair manual. The factory sold one to every Ford dealer on earth so there are lots around, they turn up on ebay and at auto flea markets for $20 to $50.

If your king pins are bad take the axle out and take it to an auto machine shop for new pins and bushings. Meanwhile take the backing plates off and rebuild the brakes on your work bench. Put on new flex hoses and all. Kanter sells complete brake kits.

This way you can clean and paint everything and have brand new brakes. Have drums turned if necessary and repack wheel bearings and replace grease seals.

Now you won't have to worry about brakes or steering for 5 to 10 years as long as you grease the front end regularly.

[Guest wagary]

(This is a longer post, thank you for reading it all.)

Hello again, it's been 4 weeks. I got the jackstands, lifted the truck, removed the tire/wheel and drum on the left side of 1963 F-100. Going further in to repair the king-pin and spindle arm damage. Everything eventually came apart with heat and lube and breaker-bar so that's the good news.

The other news is that upon this further inspection, the lower spindle-bolt (king-pin)bearing was crushed and partially missing, the upper bushing was 25% missing/worn away. That wearing has (maybe) deformed the bore size in the top of the spindle arm. I can't see the bottom spidle arm bushing yet, but I suspect the same kind of wear, only in the opposite direction. (No problem thus far with the axle, it's holding the pin EXTREMELY TIGHT!)

I have elected to add two small grease zircs into the axle to get some lube/penetrating oil in the fit between spindle bolt and axle. I suspect that's a standard press- fit with less than .001 inch clearance. I don't know if that worked yet, but the slicker the better I figure (plus it just looks cool when grease shoots out ON-FIRE from a fitting- damn be careful!)

I don't have any kind of press (besides the bottle jack and floor jack that are lifting and holding the truck up, along with the jack-stands and wood blocks) or port-a-power, and will not be removing the entire axle yet to facilitate the easiest way of removing the stubborn king-pins.

Forty-seven years of neglect plus a press- fit equals tight, tight fit.( I know it would be best to remove the whole axle or use a press some other way to get the pins out, but I'm going to use what I have on hand with what I know from other experiences.)

I'm also drilling into the top of the froze-up king-pin to install some kind of screw and nut I can strike without 'shrooming the head of the pin. (It was getting hopeless trying to hold a punch in there and hit it hard enough. I don't want to somehow mushroom the top of the pin. (If that happens, I'll be forced to clean that ugliness up, before I get the head of the king-pin to slide through the axle.) I just want to get the pin to move for now. I've tried twisting it from the bottom, but I don't think that's done much either yet. That sucker is in there TIGHT!

Here's some questions: I've tried once heating the entire area- the exposed ends of kingpin to dull-red and then the axle, then back to the pin before hammering. I thought it moved, but forgot to scribe a reference line, so I can't be sure.

Is it better to ONLY heat the pin?

Is it better to heat only the axle?

Is it better to heat everything first to get things expanding and hopefully breaking the rust bond, then heating only the axle or only the pin, before driving the pin through?

I plan on scribing a line on top of pin (or observing locking-pin notch inside) to look for encouraging movement. Then I'll heat both again to dull-red or as hot as I can with MAPP gas. Then I'll lube it with grease and oil. When it cools again,I'll ONLY heat the exposed pin ends to dull-red and start striking it with a small five pound sledge-hammer. (Remember, I'll be striking the striking nut I installed, just to get it moving.) Once it moves, I plan on removing aforemetioned mickey-mouse stuff, (de-burring the head of pin if necessary) and re-heat the pin only and switch to a three-quarters or half-inch punch and strike with a five pound dead-blow hammer.

Once the pin is out and I have the spindle arm off the truck, I'll measure that bore size without the old bushings in there. As I said, way back at the beginning of this post, I suspect collateral damage to the spindle arm.

My second question is: It looks like there're two pin kits available, standard and over-sized. Does the over-sized kit have a larger diameter bushing to accomodate for the spindle-arm being worn and egg shaped? I think stock sizes are about a one inch bore in the spindle-arm with a one inch bushing pressed to fit. Then those bushings are line-reamed to accomodate the standard diameter king-pin (seven-eighths or so.)

If my standard pin wore through the standard bushings and into the spindle-arm, that's what it looks like I need- larger outer diameter bushings to be sure, but the pins still need to fit through the stock-sized axle.

Or is EVERYTHING oversized in the oversized kit; seals, bearings, pins(spindle-bolts) and bushings and washers? If the spindle-bolt is a larger diameter I'll obviously have to re-size the through-hole in the axle.

Can you tell I've never done this before? So far, it's not a big deal, except those spindle bolts are froze in the axle SUPER tight.

Am I heating it correctly? I don't have an oxy-acetylene set-up and don't want to buy one. I can get anything glowing dull-red with the MAPP/fourth generation gas bottle torch I have, (think Bernzomatic only much hotter) burning MAPP gas instead of propane. I think it burns in this set-up at about 750 degrees to (900 ?) degrees Fahrenheit.

Any thoughts on heating techniques or diameter sizes of replacement king-pin kits would be appreciated.

Oh,thanks so far- and Jim- I do have the factory service manual. Real handy, except they only list Ford code numbered special tools and parts for spindle bolt replacement repairs. Somewhere I did read a fourth place decimal specification, but don't remember where at the time of this post. Right now saying the pins are super tight and two different sized kits of replacement parts will suffice.

Since I don't work at a shop anymore, where am I going to find the correct sized reamer I need? It's about .8790 or so. When I know, I'll specify, but the reamer is going to have to be .750 or larger. I want to buy it online( because I'm disabled and don't get out much in the Minnesota winters here).

Does anyone have any ideas? Oh yeah, it needs to be at least 6.5 inches long to reach through both ends of the spindle arm at the same time- you know, so it is reamed in-line.

Last thing, if this arm is toast, where can I buy another, better one?

Thanks. (Freaking wordy guy aren't I?)

[Guest bofusmosby]

wagary

I wish I had the answers to your questions, but I have elected to hire someone to do this job for me. One of these days (I keep saying that) I'll have mine done. I got a quote from a garage down the street that he would charge me $75 per side. To me, it is worth not spending time and agravation to have someone else to this. I don't know what other shops would charge for this job, but the quote I got was very reasonable. I must admit though, I just hope the guy knows what he is doing. LOL

[Guest wagary]

Well good luck Jim, I spent years thinking I'd have someone else do the king-pin job in my truck. It turns out, once I got the truck lifted up safely and high- enough things started moving quickly. First I just wondered if I could get the large diameter nuts and bolts holding the brake carrier plate onto the spindle-it looked hopeless until I started heating them up and I got the first one loose. I was on my way! There's alot of satisfaction in doing a job yourself. Especialy if you've never done that job before.

Did I mention I'm a recovering alcoholic, gulf-war veteran? I spent 15+ years in an alcohol enhanced state of fear and "stuckness" unable to move forward in life. I'm not saying anybody besides me is or has been stuck in life so take what I'm saying lightly.

Have you attempted to remove any of the offending parts involved with the king-pins? I'm not sure, but to me much of these older machines are really simply built. The biggest problem is overcoming the old-age of the parts (and advancing ages of us , the mechanics) because they get stuck in their places so well. Hey start taking something apart until you break it, then you'll know not to break it in that particular way next time. Eventually you'll be able to fix anything! Or know how to break it in more ways than anyone else.

[Rusty_OToole]

Just take the axle out and take it to an auto machine shop. Get a king pin kit from the auto parts store (NAPA). If you are not sure if you need the oversize kit take your axle to the shop first and ask them.

The last time I did this the pin kit was $40 and the machine shop charge was $75. They did a better job in 1 hour than I could do in 2 days.

But, to each his own.

[Guest bofusmosby]

wagary

First, I want to thank you for your service for our country. Its because of people like you, that I have my freedom to enjoy today. I'd say also that what you are doing is great therapy. Most of us at one time or another have had to face our own demons, and I applaud you for overcoming them.

You see, you are no stranger to this kind of work. With me, its ALL a learning experience. I already have the sets of king-pins, and when I was quoted the price I was given, well.....I work 6 days a week, so I doubt I could do in a few weeks what would take the garage 1 day to complete. I must admit though, that right now, money is really tight, and there always seems to be those darn "unexpected" bills popping up. I'm getting quite a long list of things I need to buy for my car, but right now, none are being checked off the list. LOL

You are correct though. Doing it yourself gives one great satisfaction, but I know that with my limited knowledge, I have many limitations. Thanks to this fine group here, I have accomplished some things that I never had attempted before. I wealth of knoweledge is here for the taking.

Keep us posted as to your progress. If you have a digital camera, try and post some photos. We'd all like to see them.

[Guest wagary]

Thanks for the great reply and mostly it was my pleasure to serve our country. I had some wild times all over the western hemisphere working in Airframes Shop on EA-6B Grumman Prowlers onboard the USS Nimitz. Went about half deaf launching those birds and swearing at them, but still good-times.

I found some adjustable reamers for around 15 to 40 dollars at Buy New Car | Mp3 Players | Shoes Online | Designer Clothing | Cell Phones at Buycheaper.com and some kingpins for 57-64 F-100's at Speedway Motors - Street Rod Parts, Race Parts, Ford Flathead Parts, Sprint and Midget Racing Parts, Pedal Car Parts for about 40 bucks(el-cheapos, no brand name).

I did read something disturbing at speedwaymotors.com someone there says to work from the bottom of axle and pound king-pin up through top of axle. I HOPE THE KING PIN WILL GO THROUGH AXLE EITHER WAY AND IS NOT TAPERED. i buggered mine up pretty bad on the bottom trying to rotate it to break it free. I can still fix it, even if I have to saw the sucker off at the bottom. What fun!

Yes this is great therapy and I really mean that, I do have a digital camera and will have to figure out how to post some pics.

[Guest bofusmosby]

I did read something disturbing at speedwaymotors.com someone there says to work from the bottom of axle and pound king-pin up through top of axle.

According to the service manual on my 37 Pontiac, it says to install the king-pin from the bottom, so I guess that the king-pin should be removed by driving in down, and out the bottom, if I was reading it correctly.

As far as posting photos goes, when you are making a post, scroll down untill you see the button lables "manage attachments". Click this and this will bring up a pop-up window. On the top section, you will see many "browse" buttons, and you click first the top one, which will take you to your computer files. Locate the photo that you have stored on your computer and click it. After you are done with all the photos you are going to include with your post, then click the upload button. Then you are set.

One thing though, when the pop-up box appears on the screen, scroll down this box, and it will list the maximum photo size you can use for each type of photo (in pixels). You might have to resize your photos first, before you post them on this site. All this sounds a lot more difficult than it really is. If I can figure it out, then anyone should be able to do it.

[Guest wagary]

Thanks for the tip Rusty. I had been avoiding the kingpin job for so long because I didn't know if I could do it where I live. It's a townhome condo one car garage. I don't have enough room, or stuff to safely lift the entire front of the truck and work on it. Plus, I'm not sure how I'd get something as large as an axle to the machine shop, I used to use the truck for that type of thing. I currently don't have a car or a standard job with dependable income. I do have three old motorcycles that work and are street legal, but no side-hack or trailer.

Anyhow, I'm more about trying new things these days since getting sober about four years ago.

[Guest wagary]

Success today! I got the 1963 F-100 left side kingpin to move. I almost thought that'd be a showstopper, but I should be able to finish now that it's loose and ready to move. I did take pics and was wondering what thread or section within this website to post pics. Like the tech. stuff or meets, or here in this thread. I think I can figure out how to get them uploaded no problem, I just don't know about resizing them or where within the site to post them.

Thanks for all the encouragement thus far. Oh yeah, my Ford book says to drive the kingpins out with whatever special tool Ford supplies its dealers with, I'm using standard procedures.

The book says to remove axle and drive pins out from the top with a drift.

[Guest bofusmosby]

wagary

Glad to hear you are making progress. I have learned over the years that there are a lot of things one can do, if they put their mind to it. THATS the biggest hurdle. As far as to where to post your photos....thats your choice. If you wish, you can post them here, or you might want to start your own thread on this one. Document your progress with photos, and even if you make a mistake, we can all learn from that as well. Maybe the technical section would be best. What ever you decide, it will always come up on the search function if someone wants to know about replacing their king-pins and bushings.

If you decide to start another thread, be sure and post that info here, so I can be sure and subscribe to your new thread. I wouldn't want to miss it. Keep up the good work!

[junkyardjeff]

I put kingpins on my 37 Chevy p/u and 66 F250 and they were easy.

[Guest wagary]

Here's my first attempt ever at removing kingpins, and I'm trying it without removing axle and doing it the "right" way with a press. I couldn't and didn't want to remove the axle from the truck where it's currently sitting. I want it to be mobile with short notice.

I could only work on one side at a time because of space and available tools.

I wanted a somewhat hands free way of hammering on the kingpin to get it to move, so I installed something I'm calling a "STRIKING-NUT". With that installed, I now had a good place to attach a C-clamp, and something I could destroy by hammering on it.

So far, so good. I heated the axle and then the pin, then the axle then the pin and then tried to tighten clamp further. I couldn't get the clamp any tighter, so I removed it then heated the pin some more around the top gap between spindle and axle, not on the top of pin by the "STRIKING-NUT". (There is a gap present on this side because the bearing on the bottom was destroyed from wear, so I removed what was left of it for more room if I needed it.)

The pin broke-free and moved more than .050 in. after striking that set-up. I used a short handled, five pound sledge for about ten blows. The nut was destroyed, but not the screw or spindle bolt. ( I did nick the pin and had to deburr it.) I liked that I didn't have to reach in there to hold a punch and was better able to concentrate the blows to the pin and create movement. Now that I know the pin is loose, I know I can get it out the rest of the way. It was looking like a show-stopper until I had a decent way to hammer on the pin(to get it loose).

With the available room and equipment, this is how I chose to do this job. I'm going to keep telling myself to invest in more heavy duty equipment someday(instead of actually doing it). Besides, I think it's fun to see what I can cheat on with what I have without buying more stuff. It causes jobs to take way, way longer and I do have to buy some things for safety, but I have learned so much over the years by doing it the cheap way, when I can use the right equipment, the jobs are easy by comparison.

What do I know though? I'm really more of an aircraft mechanic who rides and rebuilds motorcycles and planes. I only like cars and trucks if they are either: old, fast, unique, ugly, big or somehow necessary. So this seems to be a great website so far.

If I ever get serious about things, I'll buy an aircraft and a hangar at the local county airport and live there with all my toys. The money involved with that seems out of reach right now, but it's a dream.

[Rusty_OToole]

If the pin comes out easy it is a sign the axle hole is pounded out. If that is the case your king pin will always be loose and wobbly no matter how good the bushings fit, unless you correct the worn hole.

Usual cure is to heat the end of the axle red with a big oxyacetylene torch and pound the end of the axle with a big hammer. When it cools it shrinks tight around the pin.

[Guest wagary]

Here's a progress report on my 1963 F-100 kingpin repair. I got kind of wordy again, so I included pictures.

I'm not using a machine shop, nor am I removing the axle from the truck. My reasons are long and various, but mainly I don't have the space or equipment to remove the entire axle. I'm doing one side at a time.

(I have to fix one side, get the truck running, then back out of garage, turn truck around then back INTO garage to do the other side.) See signature picture, I'm restricted to working between supporting posts in one car garage.

From a previous post I said I installed a "STRIKING-NUT" into the top of old, worn-out kingpin so I could wail on it with a hammer, without having to hold a punch or damaging the top of the kingpin. That worked well, only minimal damage was done to pin which was quickly cleaned up with a grinder and hand file.

I heated that set-up until it was almost glowing dull-red with a MAPP gas torch. I had the clamp on it for the first two heatings then I removed it (I don't know if it was doing much, but what the heck- I tried). After I removed the clamp, I re-heated (focusing on the pin top and bottom) everything and started hammering on the "STRIKING-NUT". After ten blows with a five pound sledge, I cleaned-up the burrs and drove the pin half-way into top spindle arm, then removed mickey-mouse nut and switched to a three quarters or five-eighths home-made aluminum punch(pretty much just a piece of bar stock from behind the lathe) that fit inside of the spindle bore. I heated it up again and was able to drive the pin through with about ten more blows of hammer and punch.

I don't want to debate whether or not it'd be easier for a machine shop to do this job, this is aimed at helping someone like myself that doesn't want to, or can't remove an entire axle at one time.

So far this has been an easy job, aside from fighting forty-seven years of rust.

I found some kingpins without a box or any labeling or packaging in the bed of the truck. Years ago I bought new brake shoes, tie rod ends, kingpins and shocks, but parked the truck and really focused on my drinking until it almost killed me. I've been sober now over four years and started feeling up to working on the truck again.

The parts I found rolling in the filth in the back of the truck will probably not be salvaged, but they offered some clues.

I asked lots of questions about the sizes of everything involved and now I have some answers. My bushings wore almost through in places, but the spindle bores were un-damaged in my opinion. Here are some helpful specs:

My spindle bores: .985- .991 in. I.D.

Found parts are as follows-

Bushings= .990 in. O.D. and .855 I.D. .070 wall thickness and 1.299 inches long (or tall) These sizes are approximate to .005 in.

Kingpin(spindle-bolt) is about .8596 but is too rusty to be sure.

I ordered a set of new standard sized kingpins from rockauto. They're supposed to fit 1957 -1964 F-100's. Just eyeballin' it, and fiddling around, I cleaned up the found bushings to explore further, like a dry run test before I receive the new parts. I can get them started by hand (barely) into the spindle bores, but would need to use a vise and block of wood or hammer to get them in all the way.(Again, I don't have a press and I'm staying away from the machine shop to see if this can be done at home with minimal tools and experience.) It looks like the bushings are a standard press-fit (about .010 to .020 in.). When I have the new bushings and spindle-bolts in hand, I'll be able to accurately determine what size reamer I'll need.

Edited March 14, 2011 by wagary
I didn't get the pics uploaded (see edit history)

[Guest wagary]

1963 F-100 kingpin pics and the small garage work space.

Edited March 14, 2011 by wagary
Still no pics uploaded, I'll send less. (see edit history)

[Guest wagary]

Here's the first three of eight pics of 1963 F-100 kingpins job in my small, ill-equipped garage.

[Guest wagary]

Here's the next three of eight pics showing old, worn king pin and bushings and what was left of the bearing on the driver's side.

The king pin on the bottom of the picture was found in the bed of the truck. I've ordered a new standard sized kit from rockauto for about $48.00 with shipping.

[Guest wagary]

Here're the last two pics of eight of 1963 F-100 kingpins repair job. If you see the pics, you might understand why I didn't remove the entire axle. I don't think there's enough room.

The Ford manual shows the guy with the axle in a vise removing the spindle bolt with the appropriate special Ford tool. I used what I had and could come up with- basically, a c-clamp and some round stock.

The same manual shows the guy installing the new bushings with another Ford tool and then reaming the bushings by hand. I'll do the same when I receive the new kingpin set. Except my axle is still in the truck.

The last picture is of the bed of the truck and my 1974 XL 1000 that I bought as a basket-case and built in much of the same manner that I'm using on the truck- as low tech as possible. "Keep it simple stupid" applies to me, but I wonder how well I listen?

I'll try to keep you posted and include pics.

Edited March 14, 2011 by wagary
no picture upload, maybe in the next post (see edit history)

[Guest wagary]

These are the last two of eight pics of 1963 F-100 kingpins job.