The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline Speedway king pin thrust bushings

Just received my speedway king pin kit the other day for my '53 half ton. Instead of an actual Bearing for the thrust, which is what the truck had, it came with these cheesy cup washers and brass faced washers. They don't even rotate smoothly, the top and bottom cup washers grind against each other somewhat. It seems as if the brass faced washer bushings are not thick enough to keep the cup washers from contacting improperly. Anyone else have this issue? I'd rather there be an actual bearing instead of bushing to carry the load. Is there anywhere I can just get the proper ball/roller bearing for this debacle?

I'd bet Purvis Bearings could help or could point you in the right direction.
Check their website. They might have a location up your way.

The phone is your best friend right now. Spend 30 minutes to some of the other vendors for verification if they say you have them. Good luck....and your problem seems to be the "norm" these days. I ordered a steering column bearing for a later model, and they sent me a bushing!
...it ought to be against the law!

I did a fair amount of looking for a thrust bearing today but haven't came up with much yet. I will be making some calls tomorrow to further my search. I still can't believe what a Mickey Mouse thrust setup those kits come with. The spindle bushings, king pins, and other hardware are nice, but those cups and washers for the thrust are uugghhh!

Maybe they sent you a kit for the wrong year. I think they went to thrust washers a few years later and the really heavy trucks used them too.

I'm with Nix. Some models came with the washers instead of brgs. They are not interchangeable. You must have the wrong kit for your axle.

Lemmm117 (the original poster) is referring to a '53 half ton

As many who posted above have stated:

It did not come with washers.

I think he is referring to 1948-1951 Figure 1, part #17 : king pin thrust bearing

Same configuration through 1955-1st (and probably at least up to 1959 1/2 ton).

Well, the pic in speedways catalog shows bushings and washers for the thrust, no actual bearing, like original. I ordered part # 910-32130 for '47-59 half ton. I even called them today to see If they had a bearing for it and they said no. They did suggest a deluxe kingpin kit that seems to have needle bearings for the spindle and a ball bearing for thrust, but they are for cars. I don't know if that kit would work. Also they said they can't sell just the thrust bearing, and that kit is quite pricy. All I need now is just a thrust bearing. I hate to have to buy a whole other kit since I just bought this one. I've also been calling Jim Carter trucks tech line all day but they don't ever seem to pick up the phone.

Here is where I got my information on the thrust washers for the 55 second series. 55 2nd Shop Manual I would tell them that their kit is wrong and that you want your money back. Normally the kit would include both the thrust bearings and the kingpins etc.

I think their kit is just another example of things not being the quality that things used to be. Just a cheeper system to manufacture and therefore sell for cheeper, but sacrificing performance. I have been in bed since yesterday morning recovering from a double hernia surgery (quite painful and uncomfortable) When I feel well enough to get moving outside, I'll swing down to the local bearing supply shop and see if they can dig something up that will replace the original thrust bearing.

I just got off the phone with LMC Truck. They were unable to tell me at this time if their kingpin kits have a thrust bearing or bushing, at this time. They plan on emailing me a photo of their kit tomorrow. I might have to end up just ordering a whole other kit. Not too happy with the speedway kit.

And you will post that picture for the rest of us to see, right?
dg

I can try. I haven't posted any pics here. I'll have to read up about how to do it.

Is this the $150 set you bought?
Here is a $40 set from Speedway
Both seem to have bearings?
What is the part number of the set you bought?
Sorry, I gave up on their "search engine"

Here is a $60 standard set.
Here is a $65 oversized set.
Both sets have bearings.

I bought the standard set for 1/2 ton 47-54 pickup. gave part number in an earlier reply. They were 39.99 a set I believe.

Are you sure you did not get a 1955-59 set? They use thrust washers instead of bearings originally.

OK, no bearings in that set.

http://www.speedwaymotors.com/1947-59-Chevy-Half-Ton-Pickup-King-Pin-Set,37029.html

Ok. Speedway catalogue #390. Page 106, classic truck section. Part # 910-32130. Description: 1/2 ton kingpins 47-59 1/2 ton. And pic shows the bushings, not bearings. Those links to speedway say car kingpins, like part# 910-32123.

Yep - no bearings

Ya, no bearings. I find that kinda crappy. If it's a replacement, it should be exactly what you are taking out. Plus the cup washers and brass faced washer bushings in that kit are total ill engineered metal grinding on metal junk. Looks like I'll have to get another set from somewhere else.

So, I received an email back from LMC truck. It was just a stock file photo of the kingpin set. It showed an actual ball bearing for the thrust, just like the original kingpins had. So I called them back and ordered that set, and I have sent back the speedway kingpin set. I stated on return slip that the thrust bearing is not the same style as OEM. So I am gonna be out the ten bucks for shipping back to speedway but not a big deal. Live and learn I guess.

Both LMC & Classic parts show a different part # for 47-54 & 55-59. The photos show washers on the 55-59 & brg. on the 47-54. They are not interchangeable. The space for the thrust brg. is different. You must use the same kind that was in it.

"Live and learn I guess. "

I have learned from your experience to stay away from Speedway Motors - they should have paid for the return shipping for a clearly incorrect part. Shame on them.

Word of mouth I mean word of message board goes a long way these days.
The punk on the phone at Speedway saved $10 bucks on return shipping,
but lost future sales from whom ever read this Thread. A real hero.

Sometimes those green horns can't see past the end of their nose.

I once purchased a replacement sleep number wireless remote.
When it didn't work, I called and this 10 year old said I was stuck with it.
Requested the supervisor, He responded, We have to loosen the noose on are parts staff a little.
Result: Full refund on their dime.

Sometimes Squeaky Wheel Gets the Grease, No pun intended.

Thanks for the Heads-up on Speedway Motors, My green backs are going elsewhere.

Don't get me wrong here. I am not trying to bash speedway. There are a lot of qualities I like about them, and this little situation isn't going to stop me from patronizing them in the future. It's just a small part mixup within the hundreds of thousands of pieces they handle.

I've always had good luck with Speedway.
A lot of parts like kingpins are available through your local parts store.