37 Packard 120 King Pin Kit Install Question

[pint4]

I bought a King Pin Kit from Kanter Auto Parts for my 37 Packard 120. Installation has been a bear. Has anyone had a similar experience? The press fit on the bushing into the housing was too much-I ended up taking several thousandths of an inch off the diameter. The I had to fit the bushing I.D. to the pin O.D. which I expected to have to do. I didn't expect the new pins to be 1/4" to 3/8" shorter in length than the original king pins. The original pins had a hole bored through the center to allow for lubrication but the new pins were solid. The cross pins were so tight I couldn't get them in because the press fit was way too excessive. And the dust caps are too large in diameter. They are, if memory serves me right-1 and 5/16" diameter. I know its a press fit but the aren't even close. They are roughly .030" to .050" larger than my old ones. There is no way they will press fit into the top and bottom of the king pin assembly. And there were no directions included to address the differences between the replacement aftermarket kit from Kanter and the original king pin set up. The lack of lubrication to the thrust bearing and lower bushing also concerns me. Has anyone installed one of these kits? Any suggestions?

Thanks.

Bob

[West Peterson]

I just installed a set on my 1940 Super 8. I had some of the same problems, but not all. My first problem was getting my cross pins OUT. I didn't realize that the cross pins were tapered and went in from one direction on the left and the other direction on the right. Once I figured that out, the cross pin situation was fine, and the new ones went in fine. Some simple directions would have been very handy.

I had a friend put my bushings in, and he didn't say anything about having to shave the O.D. diameters (I'm pretty sure he didn't, but I'll ask and let you know). Reaming the I.D., of course, is mandatory.

I don't recall if the King Pins were shorter or not, they may have been, but it didn't cause me any problems. Also, my new pin DID have the lubrication hole bored into it.

The dust caps, like yours, were definately way too large. I was pressed (pardon the pun) for time and wanted to get the assembly back together, so I did not call Kanter to find out what to do. We just ground the edges down and press fit them in. Wasn't extremely pretty, but it worked.

I suggest calling Stuart Blond, or Fred Kanter, to find out what's going. Especially in regards to your lubrication hole in the King Pin. In fact, I may call myself, now that you've reminded me of my problems.

[bernardi]

I don't know how practical it would be for king pins, but in some wear applications, the lost metal is replaced with weld metal, then the whole thing ground down to the correct size. This might be an expensive operation, but when king pins are no longer available it may be a solution.

[West Peterson]

Maybe I'm not quite understanding the importantance of the length of the king pin, but if its only 1/4-1/8 inch short, I'm not sure that would make any difference??

There should be a "cutout" in the middle of the King Pin that the cross pin runs through. As long as that is properly lined up, it should be okay.

Correct me if I'm wrong.