The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline King Pins Again

I have been quiet for sometime. Reading and following, but quiet anyway. Now I need some help. I have spindles with worn bores that are too loose for new bushings. The axle is good. The pins are fine. The bushings get too loose with just a bit of driving. So is there a source for bushings that are oversized on the O.D.? Could you safely resize the spindle and press in a sleeve? No replacement spindles in sight. And the "spare" spindles I have have the same problem. The new bushing will drop right in and fall out the bore. Could something like JB Weld be used to secure and support the bushing? Or is that idea just unsafe? Sometime ago I read a post about an oversize kingpin set, but I don't need an oversized pin. I thought I saw a post years ago about, Oldsmobile bushings as an "oversize" option. But I can't find the post. This is the braintrust I trust so let me know. Thanks to all for this place to ask my dumb questions.

Hy Steve_H, could you please tell us the year, make and size of truck you are asking about?

The first concern would be whether or not the worn spindle bores are round, or egg-shaped. If you're going to fabricate an oversized bushing and ream or hone it to fit the kingpin, the hole the custom bushing goes into must be round. A good machinist could probably bore the spindle holes oversize, and in line, and then fabricate bushings to fit the holes properly. I do something similar with 216 connecting rods when I'm fitting Perkins diesel insert bearings to them.
Jerry

I got some special king pin bushings made by a place in Detroit that is in that business, $60. for 4, reasonable time, so if your spindle bores are OK, or even need to be bored out, let me know.

Ed

My bad on the information. 52 Chevy 3100 1/2 ton. I had some spares I saved from a "scrap" project that got dragged home. It is a 55 early so I thought it could be a source. I was wrong. My spindle is indeed egg shaped. The "spare" is round but too loose. You can get "machined" spindles, for disk brake set up, but it is a service, and not a source. They would not be an option.I followed some early posts for a while, then life got in the way. It is my daily driver, and I want to keep it safe. There are "oversize" kits available but they are true oversize. Bigger pins and bigger bushings. I do have a spare axle so that could be an option. But it too is good with the standard pin. I really hate to mess with the axle just to get the spindles to fit. EdPruss, who is the company in Detroit? And would they need specific measurements? Hotrod, would you consider the work? Let me know if any other minds come to bear. Thanks again.

Shipping your spindles back and forth to Tennessee would probably be expensive, but if you can't find a competent machinist closer to home, drop me a PM and we can discuss things. I'm dealing with some health concerns at the moment, so it wouldn't be a quick turn around. Nothing life-threatening, thankfully, just stuff that's limiting my shop time!

With the number of straight axle rigs that are currently getting butchered up for IFS systems, there should be a pretty good supply of scrapped spindles available. Try an ad in the swap meet forum and somebody might be able to provide good spindles at a reasonable cost.
Jerry

Thank you Jerry. Please get well and stay as active as you can. I looked in the swap meet and there is little yet.

Post a "parts wanted" thread looking for spindles and see if anybody responds. Bolters are a pretty generous bunch- - - -you might end up with a freebie, or maybe a "just pay shipping" offer.
Jerry

That is a very good idea. Thanks

So an update of sorts. I have two sets of spindles. One set is in use on the truck. One spindle is good, and one is egg shaped in the bore for the kingpin bushing at the top. The bottom bore is still good. The other set is just as weird.One has part of the axle chipped(?) off to the cotter pin hole(how does that happen?). Never bothered to check the kingpin bore on that one. The last one is round but loose on the bottom bore. Volfant who used to be on here(and maybe he still is) has a YouTube page and is fixing the same problem with Loctite 660. Kind of neat and clever with the new kingpin used to align the bushings. The compound has a speck sheet that lists a fit of up to 20 thousandths. And a max force of 3300 PSI. Now if my old drafting class is still correct, .003 is a running sliding fit(about what I have). Is this an alternative to machine work or a continued search for another spindle? Yes i did post in the parts wanted, but no response to date. The stuff ain't cheap, but it is available at the local FLAPS. Any thoughts? Any concerns? Time for some deep ponder stuff. Again thanks to all.

The problem with well worn spindles is that it can also cause wear in the axle bore even though the king pin is held in place with a tapered pin bolt. With good spindles and worn axle, the play (slop) can cause increased wear in your good spindles then your back in the same boat. The cost effective method is usually to find good axles (which may be hard to find) and spindles locally. The other option is to go to a shop that specializes in big commercial truck straight axles, leaf springs and brakes. They do the oversize reaming and make bushings all the time. It is expensive work but it restores back to a good tolerance fit for long life in a truck that is used as a truck.

I don't understand. "One has part of the axle chipped(?) off to the cotter pin hole(how does that happen?)". Not sure about the cotter pin hole reference but sometimes the spindles are smacked with a BA hammer in a poor attempt to remove a stuck king pin.

I've never used Loctite 660.

Two years ago, I faced the same dilemma where the bores on my spindles were worn. The worst was .002”-.006” and I used Loctite 660 on the outside of the bushings. When I assembled them, I used the king pins to keep them aligned and set them aside to dry.

I can’t honestly say weather it a permanent fix, as I’ve only put a couple hundred miles on her since due to other mechanical issues. Here is a link to the post where it was discussed and I fixed it.

https://www.stovebolt.com/ubbthread...-chevrolet-3100-project.html#Post1347450

buoymaker, The confusion was my fault. The axle nut that holds the wheel bearings on and in place is "locked" with a cotter key. There is a hole through the axle(wheel bearing) at this point. Everything outboard of that hole is broken off. That is about 1/2 inch or more just gone. So I have a sculpted bit of forging that can hold paper down in a windstorm.

An update of sorts. Loctite 660 is not made anymore. There is a "sleeve lock compound" with the same specs at the FLAPs near me. After cleaning the process was simple. New bushings went in easy and after curing the new kingpin is a very nice sliding fit. More cleaning on the axle and all went back together just fine. Note to self: Mixing the spacers and relocating them, gets you ready to reset toein. New wheel bearings are in there as well. Beer fund took a hit, the bearings ain't cheap. Lots of grease and now I get to play with the tie rod. I will post if it fails again. Round holes are your friend.The shims on the top of the axle are thin, and sharp. My thumb has protested to management. Took three days, at temps over 100 degrees F. I ain't young anymore. Shade is nice, cool is better.

You can buy it on [Amazon].

So just for fun, Permatex and Loctite are owned by a German company. Still made here but I expect to see lots of cross products go away and company will not compete with its own self. The stuff I got was Permatex. Same specs and it even was, green. The good news was only 6 dollars. A small tube but then a bit was all I needed.