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King Pins are on my winter list for my 46 1/2 ton ....anyone have any tips or pitfalls?

The plan is new tires, tie rod ends and king pins by spring....I'm hoping that makes the old truck go straight down the road....

Most likely add "rebuild steering box" to your list. Actually, just cleaning, adjusting and replacing the pitman shaft bushings and seal should do the trick. You won't believe the difference if you do what you have listed to the front end. Night and day.

Hey Barry, this may be a dumb question but I will ask anyway... I just put my brakes all together on my '40 and am now thinking that I should have done the king pins. Can I just remove the backing plate and leave the brakes in place? Those Huck brakes are a pane to install.
Thanks!

Make sure you got a set of torches handy because you will have to heat the axle to get the pins out along with a big hammer. Unbolt the backing plates and move them out of the way. They use to make bushings out of plastic, they are junk. Spend the money for the metal ones. The plastic one do not last.

Lots of heat and a big hammer is how I did 2 of my trucks, last time I removed whole axle and took it to a machine shop, saved a lot of swearing and made it easier to clean up and paint. You might want to inspect springs and shackle bushings also.

Heat is a must if you think it is hot enough heat it some more!! Big hammer and I used a brass rod that was just smaller than the kingping. First one you learn second one goes easier.

Clean everything and be liberal w/grease when putting back together.

popcorn The Truth is Out There (Patience is a virtue with those things.)Ben

I don't have a torch...I do have a good old style machine shop nearby....should I just drop the front end and haul it over there and tell him to knock em out? He would probably only charge me $20.

I am answering my own question I think....that sounds pretty easy....

Thanks for the tips folks.....

You might be best off pulling the axle off &
takeing it to a shop or machine shop. I,ve done
many & they can fluster you. Like Bary posted be
shure & check the steering gear & drag link.
That is where most handleing problems come from.

I am in the process of doing my king pins on a 1950 pickup. I did not need heat. Just take off the backing plates, have the frame on stands. Remove the soft plug at top of king pin by drilling a small hole in it, then use a wedge to pry out. Then place a bottle jack under the king pin. Start jacking up, using a bolt smaller than the size of the bushing. After raising an inch, bang on the top of the axle with a huge hammer. The king pin will gradually start coming out the top. New kit from Filling Station in Oregon has all you need. Add grease and install.

Took my 54 1/2 ton to the Goodyear dealer nearby. They claimed to be able to do anything with a front end and had an old guy that had worked on cars all his life. The job was complete front end rebuild. They ended up having to take the whole front end assembly off and take it to a machine shop. Took the machine shop two trys to get the king pin shims right. Glad I didn't try it myself but wish I had gone to a machine shop in the first place. Ended up with a half-%$#@ job. However, it looks fine now that I have tinkered with it and fine tuned the adjustments. The funny part was that my original drag link had been broken in the middle and welded together at one point (not straight I might add) and I never even knew it.

Good Luck - when its done it will be worth it!

I might as well add my experience, again. Mine came out, with a big sledge hammer and heat from two propane torches. Afterwards, I noticed that the screw jack used under the axle left and imprint in the concrete. There was no front clip on at the time, to get in the way of my swing!

I understand all these anecdotes are regarding 1/2 ton king pins. The information I have says 3/4 ton king pins need to be reamed in place. Is this a complex job? :confused: Would any reputable (big) truck shop have the correct reamers for the job? I'd like to do mine, but the non-bolt-in idea scares me a little.

Watch E-bay for king pin reamers. I see them on there from time to time.

I did mine pins on the 37 last winter and had to take a lot of short hard swings due to the fenders. I could have saved a ton of time by pulling the axle and using a press or a big swing with a sledge. Going back was easy. Use lots of grease. It still only took a day of steady work. If you rebuild the steering box, which is a pretty easy job, get the bushings before starting! I rebuilt a 46 box and had to have the little end cap bushing made due to the odd outer diameter. The bigger ones are a standard size still in use and are only a few dollars from a bearing house. The rebuild steering box on mine made more difference then any of the other work I did. Joe

HighFlyer,
the half ton uses a "floating bushing" setup in the spindles. That means that the bushing can be inserted into the spindle by hand. The 1 Ton, and I presume the 3/4 Ton, uses a pressed in bushing, in the spindle assembly. After they press the bushings in, a machine shop will ream the bushings out to give the new king pin a nice sliding fit. The king pins are held rigid in the axle and all the movement involves the spindle bushings.

If you can't find a kingpin reamer, I've had decent success with a brake wheel cylinder hone. Yeah, it takes awhile but they turn out pretty decent.

Thats what I did, brake hone. Worked good. popcorn The Truth is Out There (Good luck)

I replaced the kingpins in a 59 half ton once. We got in to it about 30 minutes before we got smart and took the axle of. To the farm repair shop where the gent had a hard time getting them out with a 200 ton press and a little heat. We waited. There is no way I would try this myself.

Since Joe brought up the steering box again, I would like to mention that some more. The steering box is the worst problem I see in "loose" steering on these trucks. Jack your truck up sometime so the tires aren't touching the ground. (safely on jackstands etc..) Lay on the floor and have a helper turn the steering wheel back and forth while you watch the motion being transferred from the box to the drag link to the steering arm and through the tie rod to the other wheel. (helper can be the wife, but 5-6 year olds just love "steering" too!) As they turn the wheel a little each way, watch to see if the pitman shaft (shaft coming out of the steering box through the frame with big nut on it) jumps up and down a little before the pitman arm starts to move the drag link. Bad bushings in the box will allow some slop here, so that the steering wheel is being turned, but the drag link isn't getting the message. Follow the turning motion all the way down the line, and you will most likely also see some slop in the drag link and tie rod ends. When everything is properly rebuilt and adjusted, these trucks will have very little slop in the steering wheel. I mean so little you wouldn't believe it. Especially if you are used to a 1/4 turn of play on the steering wheel before the truck even starts to think about following your directions. They weren't sloppy when new!

Konquer Kingpins with Kroil. I've heard a lot of discussion about the problems of removing kingpins. If you start with a penetrating oil called Kroil you will make your job a lot easier. I buy in from kanolabs.com.

Do a search for king pins on this forum. Some one posted a link last year I think to a spiral bushing king pin for 3/4- 1 ton king pins that requires no reaming has has a lot more grooves to hold grease.

talking `bout steering boxes. Got a Chevy Vega box and an adopter kit from Buffalo. Bolts right in (it really does). Parts are cheap and plentifull, steers like a modern car. I found a way to do it without the ugly rag joint to keep it look vintage.

[img]http://www.thesavoy.de/assets/images/Steering2.jpg[/img]

[img]http://www.thesavoy.de/assets/images/Steering1.jpg[/img]

[img]http://www.thesavoy.de/assets/images/complete.jpg[/img]

you might see if stainless steel brakes makes a needle bearing king pin conversion for your truck.