Thanks, Joe H, for the idea. Looks like it's gonna take that, at least. I've got the new set of pins and bearings, but mine don't have those flutes on the sides. They seem to be straight, not tapered, but I haven't taken a mic to them or anything.
I took the day off day before yesterday. After not getting anywhere Tuesday and the heat and humidity rising here in Missouri, it felt like I just needed to walk away from it for a day. Got out there yesterday and went through a number of things before I got the lock pin out. First, I went to auto zone and rented a C-type ball joint puller that was big enough to fit around the axle and still hit the points I needed to. Ended up sticking two metal fold-up horses into the fender and hanging the tool off of a sleever bar by tie wire. I sawed off a Grade 8 5/16 bolt and gorilla taped it (sad, but it was the best I could come up with, and I was working alone) to the end of the threaded push rod, then used my impact wrench to push it through. After about 5 minutes all it did was mushroom the bolt shank. So I bought three Irwin cobalt bits, 1/8. 5/16 and 1/4", and drilled through the pin. The first shot with the eighth went off a bit and grazed the inside of the axle, so I re-drilled it to straighten it out. After going through and taking all but 1/16 to 3/32 of the pin wall out, I tried driving it out with no luck. I then tried to shave as much off without getting into the walls again. Then I tried an easy-out, and it still wouldn't budge. That's when I said heck with it and went in and got my plumber's torch. I've had to wash out tons of bolts and drill bits over the years as an ironworker, and knew that if it did it right, I could heat the rest of the pin and wash it out without damaging the axle as long as I didn't leave the heat on it too long and watched my aim. After about 5 minutes of starting and stopping to keep the heat down, I was able to blow most of it out, then one final tap with the punch drove out a thin tube of what was left, with no damage to the axle. From experience, I knew the pin would be cherry red and the axle would stay black, and the axle stayed black, so I know the heat on it didn't get too bad. Anyway, the good news is that darn pin is out. I jumped over to the other side and had the other pin out within minutes pulling the wheel and back up plate. Removed the nut and stop, double nutted it, and it drove right out. The not good news is the other spindle is tight as all get out. (The drivers side swings back and forth on the king pin and bearings easily.) But I laid on the PB Blaster last night, and maybe that will help.
SO! The stupid (of me) side lock bolt is out, and the smart side is out in 10 minutes, not days like the other one. Gonna' get close to 100* here today, and the fun job begins! I'm hoping the bottle jack works, but I'm still prepared to build a frame for a pin pusher if necessary. I've got two old 6"x24"x27' beams down at the property that are bolted together with 1" plate for the bases, and can get some 1" threaded rod. Wish I could just rent one, but we're in a rural area of southeast Missouri, so that's pretty much out. If all else fails, I'll yank those axle nuts and be off to some shop to have them pressed out. Hope not after all this work, but we'll see. Thanks a lot for all the help and suggestions, too, fellas! Sometimes when I'm ready to throw my tools across the street and quit, I come in the house and find somebody else commented, and tell myself it can be done. I've been putting this off for a couple of years because I've read on this forum how tough it can be to get them out. I've been using my '05 Silverado 3500 as my daily driver ever since the timing gear stripped in the '51 two summers ago. (It has AC!) The tires outside edges were worn to the point of being unsafe, and I'm not putting new tires on till the problem is fixed. Once the king pins are in, it's off to get the wheels aligned, although I'm pretty sure I want to rebuild or replace the tie rod ends before I put all this back together. Unless the heat stops me, i'll be back out there today. If that doesn't happen, I've got 3 bad deck boards that need replaced in the back. The fun never ends!
