The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk king pin

I'm trying to figure out why no grease will go into my zerk fitting on one king pin (53 3/4 ton). I've replaced the fitting, but the path seems to be blocked (??). Is it possible the pin can be inserted in wrong angular position, somehow blocking grease path?? I'm not sure if these pins are original or have been replaced by a PO but seem to be in good condition as far as any play/excessive movement. Other side takes grease easily. Ideas and advice appreciated.

Johnnyboy

It may just be that the old grease has hardened up. You may have gouge the old stuff out. If that doesn't work it may need a little heat to soften it up.

I'm sure some of the other guys who know a lot more than I do will chime in.

Good luck
Bob

lack of regular lube over the years can easily give that result - try spraying lots of wd-40 [or yer favorite type loosener] in every nook and cranny around the pin, and w/ the zerk out, use a piece of wire to gouge out what you can of the old grease, and spray the stuff in there till it runs out
then lift the front end and have someone turn the wheels side to side while you keep as much pressure on the zerk w/ yer grease gun [air operated one helps] - if you don't get it right away, repeat wd40 and keep soaking it
it can be cleared this way eventually, but there'll be enuff 'glaze' on everything in there that it may never be as good as the other one - if ya do get it takin grease again, keep greaseing it very frequently for weeks
otherwise it's time to rebuild that kingpin, which is what I ended up doin after fightin the same problem for a couple years

Bill

You can also try some heat and melt the grease. Take the grease filling out and heat it up, put the fiiting back in and try it. I have had the top of the fitting blow off before, so thats why I take the fitting out. And be careful not to heat up the bearing on the bottom or you will ruin it and you will be doing a king pin job.

The only part that can be positioned wrong and block the grease is the bushing. I would get a can of something like WD40 (I prefer Fluid Film) and with the fitting out, insert the tube into the hole and kind of excavate with the spray. Even something like a brake cleaner or contact cleaner would soften up old grease.

i bet yer not doing what just about everybody else is guilty of. JACK THE AXLE OFF THE GROUND! this needs to be done every time you lube to make sure the grease flows around the entire bushing, not just in one spot. use a propane torch to get the axle warm, let it set for 5 minutes for the heat to soak to the bushing, then try to grease it again. if it breaks loose be sure to pump in enough grease so that the grease that comes out is the color of the new grease.

nobody jacks the axle off the ground anymore, but doing so takes the preload off the kingpin so the grease goes all the way around. the fact you are having this problem is an indication that maybe the thing hasn't seen grease as often as it should, so after 100 or so miles, grease it again to flush out what's left of the junk grease. overkill? maybe, but if you don't have to replace kingpins it's sure worth the extra effort.

on mine someone spun the bushing reaming it. It took a huge torch and a 30 ton shop press to get the pin out. You might want to remove the zerk and see if that's the case on yours. If so the thing will never get greased right. If you follow the link on my sig you can see an example of that. If the goons who'd done the job in the first place had checked it, they could have just drilled a hole in the bushing after reaming and forgotten about it.