And that is why the bushing were available in standard and .010” oversize.
The king pin is not supposed to move in the axle. But In some cases it has and the I-beam
axle needs to be reamed for an oversize kingpin. I don’t think the service manual goes into
enough detail about the availability of bushings and kingpins. If the axle had to be reamed
then an oversized internal bore bushing is used with the oversized kingpin. If the steering
knuckle is worn and had to be reamed, then the .010” over bushing was used. If both the
steering knuckle and I-beam were worn and needed to be reamed, then the bushing would
have been oversized on both the ID and OD. This is the point that is lacking in the service
literature. And it’s not perfectly clear in the parts manuals. The call-out for the bushing is
010” oversize but it doesn’t define if that is ID, OD or both.
Being an ex-Chevrolet parts man, I could imagine there being some confusion at the
parts counter when the mechanic came looking for parts.
If you haven’t read the service manual, here’s all you get from it:
“REPAIRS
Kingpin Floating Bushings---1/2 Ton Trucks
Bushings used on all ½ ton vehicles are the
floating type and when replaced in service, either
standard of .010” oversize, they need not be
reamed to size as all service bushings are machined
to finished dimensions.”
dg
