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King pins - standard or oversized?

I pushed out the king pins on my 53 and the new bushing slid in. The spindle opening miked out at .056 and the bushings were .050. So I took them back and got the oversized king pins. I am assuming they are .010 over.

So, do the bushings slide in like the standards did on my spindle or do I need to ream the openings out and put in the oversized king pins.

I hope this is clear.

TIA

Dennis,

The term oversize refers to the fit between the pin OD and the AXLE EYE ID. Your choice of oversize will depend on how worn the axle eye is. When you buy a king pin kit, the bushings are suppose to fit into the spindle properly and the ID of those bushings are manufactured to fit the OD of the supplied pin perfectly.

All kits for your rig will have the same OD on the spindle bushing...no kits address a worn spindle bushing fit, they assume it is fine and focus on the pin to eye fit.

The only item that is reamed or machined in a CONVENTIONAL king pin install (on your truck) is the axle eye.

If the spindle bore is worn or egg shaped, this is addressed separately on a custom basis...you will have to get together with a machine shop to remedy the problem. Spindle bores will have to be machined round, true and parallel to each other and bushings will have to be made and installed. Once the spindles are kosher, the axle eye can be addressed. Depending on the fit of a standard pin in the eye, your king pin set will be STD or .010 OVER, or whatever will fit properly after a axle eye cleanup.

Has this confused you...I hope not.

Stuart

No body ever mentions this. The king pin bushings on the 1/2 ton only are full floating. Look close at the oil grooves on both sides of the bushings. Considered getting machine work done on my axle untill I discovered this. Thought they were loose. Put it together, greased, and everthing is tight.

william s.,

Your are right on the money. There is a Tech-tip that points this out. The difference between Dennis' ID/OD measurements is .006. I think this is much more than a palm press or floating fit...it appears his spindle bores are worn. I could be all wet too, its been known to happen.

Stuart

The only thing I can add is to make sure the place you bought the parts from machined them to the correct size. I had to go to a couple of places before I found a king pin that had an outside diameter of .8660-.8665. Some of the places were selling kingpins with .862 outside diameters leading me to believe my axle eyes were shot. Here is a link to what your specifications SHOULD be: http://chevy.tocmp.com/chevyresto/53130.htm
Please note that the inside diameter of the steering knuckle is not given. I hope somebody can provide that information.

My belief is that the bushings are free floating. I have bought and taken back three sets of standard king pin sets and one oversize sets. The bushings all fit the same in both spindles. The openings (all 4) are the same size and the only difference is the oversize sets come with oversized king pins.

I agree with William from Washington. The bushings are free floating and when put together and greased they are a tight fit.

This is driving me nuts, I hope I am right, and I am doing the right thing.

Thanks for all your help.

Just put them in and set the thrust, grease them and you'll be fine. .006" of an inch is only .003 on each side. Just room for grease. Just put it together you'll be pleased.

Thanks, William.

It is always the little things that drive me nuts. And this has been one of them.