Tutorial On Steering Spindle Replacement

[HeavyHaulTrucker]

Sent: 12/18/2004 10:31 PM

Dodge M300 Steering Spindle Replacement

I recently had the misfortune to break a spindle on my 1977 Winnebago D21 Brave.  I thought that I would share the lessons I learned with the rest of the group.

Since this part cannot be found in any of the parts houses, finding a replacement turned out to be a chore.  It turns out that, at least prior to 1977, the M300 used the same spindles on several different axles.  The axles were changed to accomodate varying frame/ spring widths over the years, but the spindle was the same even between drum brake and disc brake versions of the M300 axles.  I ended up finding an entire drum brake axle from a 1970 Champion 20' coach in a salvage yard that filled the need.

Tearing down your old spindle is not really difficult -- it just takes time and a large sledge hammer.  An air impact also helps a great deal.  I will use a broken disc brake spindle and a drum brake donor axle in this example, but the process is even simpler with a drum brake to drum brake spindle replacement.  I will also touch on this toward the end.

After you have the axle raised and firmly blocked up (you will be crawling under it, so this is an absolute necessity), with the tire, wheel and hub/ brake rotor removed, you remove the disc brake caliper and set it aside out of the way.  On top of the leaf spring is a good location.  You then use a 3/4" socket & box end wrench to remove the 3 bolts that hold the caliper mount and the dust shield onto the spindle.  Two of these bolts go through the spindle plate with nuts on the back; one of them actually screws into the spindle plate.

Remove the cotter keys from the large nut on the back of the spindle, the tie rod end, and the drag link; you will be removing these nuts later.  If you have a large impact socket, such as a 1-1/4" socket, use your air impact to remove the large nut from the end of the steering arm that goes through the back of the spindle.  Before you get it all the way off, use a 3 to 5 lb sledge hammer to pound the arm out of the spindle -- leaving the nut on the first 5 or so threads protects the threads so you can get the nut back on later!  Now, remove the tie rod end from the crook of the steering arm and drop it to the floor.  Unbolt the drag link and have a helper turn the steering wheel to the left until you can drop the drag link.

The kingpin is locked in place by a 3/8" pin that goes through the spindle at about the two o'clock position when looking at the hole where the steering arm used to be.  If your spindle runs true to form, the back end of the pin (which normally has a 1/2" nut on it) has broken off and fallen out.  On the back side, you will see a 3/8" hole where this used to be, or a 1/2" nut if it is still there.  You need to pound this pin out.  Either way, after you get into the spindle you will need a hardened steel punch -- but I have found that a 3" long 3/8" bolt works great.  With all of the rust, it will take a pretty good swing to knock this pin out -- just be careful not to hit the top or bottom forks of the steering knuckle.  I have found that it is best to turn the spindle to point toward the front -- then you can get a good, unobstructed swing at it.

The top and bottom of the kingpin hole is sealed with a metal plug, similar to a metal expansion plug.  The best way to take the top one out is with a slide hammer such as is used in body & fender work.  Drill a small hole in the top cap, screw the slide hammer into the hole, and yank the plug out.  Make sure you aren't above the work, if you want to keep your teeth!  Once you have the top plug out, use a 1/2" drive extension (one that you don't mind converting to a punch) to pound the kingpin through the axle and spindle.  Once the bottom plug falls out, the kingpin will come out easier -- it doesn't take a whole lot of pounding or force, usually.  Just make sure that you mark one end of the kingpin (unless you are not going to re-use them), because they only go in one direction.

Once the kingpin is out, pull the spindle toward you to get it out of the knuckle -- make sure you hold the thrust bearing so that it does not fall.  It is between the top of the spindle and the bottom of the upper fork of the steering knuckle.  Sometimes, you can re-use the thrust bearing if it is not compressed or worn too badly.  They are of very simple design on our Winnies, and can often be cleaned well and put back together with grease between the plates -- they are just two half-shells with a copper bearing plate sandwiched between two steel plates inside.

If you are changing spindles and re-using your kingpin, then you will need to clean the kingpin and thrust bearing well.  I use gasoline (working outside in good ventilation) because it disolves any other petroleum product like grease immediately.  If you are going to re-use the thrust bearing, take the shell apart and remove the bearing plates; clean them well and dry them throroughly.  When you put them back together, use your finger to spread a thin layer of grease on the inside of the shells and on both sides of each bearing plate.  The two steel plates go into the shells first (one in each shell), and the copper one goes in the middle when you put the two halves together.  Press the two halves together firmly, and clean off any grease that squirts out.

Once you have everything cleaned up well, you can start putting it back together.  Believe me, it is alot easier than getting it apart! 

The spindle is slightly offset at the kingpin hole, and the top of it will be cut deeper -- this rounded shoulder is where the thrust bearing goes.  Set it on top of the spindle and slide the whole works back in between the forks of the steering knuckle; you may need to use shims on the bottom to make it a snug fit -- you don't want very much, if any, up/down play here.  Once you have it roughly in line, take your kingpin and start it into the hole; make sure the notch in the middle of the kingpin is pointed away from the spindle, so that the lock pin will go in.  You may need to start it with a few smacks of a hammer, but don't get too rough.  You don't want to mushroom the top of the pin!  Once it is started well, you will notice that it won't take much of a tap to drive it it -- use little taps until it is through the thrust bearing and well into the spindle.  If you used shims, you may have to slide them a minute amount to line them up -- hopefully, you did this when you put them in, because it can be a bi**h to do at this point.  Once you have the kingpin into the bottom fork, slow down on your tapping -- you want to stop when the top of the kingpin is even with the top of the upper fork.

Now, take your lock pin (new or used) and position it in the lock hole on the front side of the spindle.  Tap it gently into place as you gently tap on the top of the kingpin to set it into place.  Once the lock pin has gone in far enough to lock the kingpin, take your punch and finish setting it into place firmly.  If you are using a new pin, start the nut on the backside and tighten it down -- don't get too excited with it though, because they are easy to wring off if you tighten them too much.  Once you have the kingpin locked into place, take your top & bottom seal caps and tap them into place -- they should be flush with the top & bottom of the knuckle forks.  Now is a good time to grease the kingpin -- one grease fitting on each knuckle fork, right on the backside.  Pump the grease gun until you see grease come out of the BOTTOM of the thrust bearing and out of the joint where the spindle & lower knuckle fork meet, then wipe them off a bit.  There, that wasn't so bad, was it?  Your new spindle and/ or new kingpin is in! 

If you used a spindle from a drum brake axle, you will need to tap the top left hole on the spindle to accept the shortest mounting bolt -- this is the only one that does not have a nut for the back.  Once you have it tapped, you can start putting everything back the way you found it.  That is the only difference between the two types of axles -- that the one hole has to be tapped.
   
Drum Brake To Drum Brake Spindle Replacement

This is the easiest one.  Simply tear down your spindle, tear down the donor axle's spindle, clean everything up well, and make the swap.  In fact, if you have managed to find a donor axle on which the brake assembly is in good condition, you can do the swap without even removing the brake backing plate from the replacement spindle!
   
I hope that this makes this job easier for those of you who either choose to do it -- or are forced to do it like I was!
John

[DaveVA78Chieftain]

I have a M400 Chassis with dual Caliper disk brakes that I am currently in the process of changing the kingpins in.  Will provide pictures and any useful information as I go through the process


Figure 1 - Wheel off
You will need a 2 1/4" socket to remove the center hub cover.  The hub cover is not real tight but you need a socket in order to grip it easy.


Figure 2 - Dual Caliper;  There is only one bolt on top and one on bottom that hold the caliper to the Brake adaptor plate.  The bolts go through the retainer plates.


Figure 3 - 2 1/4" Center hub cap removed exposing wheel hub nuts.  Held in place with cotter pin then can be removed using slip joint pliers.  It is just surface rust on the disks from sitting for a long period of time.


Figure 4 - Disk/Hub assembly removed.  You can see the 5 large bolts (5/8 socket) that secure the Brake Adaptor plate to the steering knuckle.


Figure 5 - Brake Adaptor Plate removed.  Now clean clean clean all the old grease and grime


Figure 6 - Cleaned knuckle Front side - Now to remove that huge castle nut holding the steering arm to the knuckle (1 1/2" socket).  The nut was not on very tight but they do use an extra large cotter pin.  Removing the steering arm itself is going to be a challenge.


Figure 7 - Cleaned knuckle Rear side


Figure 8 - Steering Arm Removed
The 5lb sledge hammer approach was not working.  I ended up using a 1 1/2" socket with a short 3/4 drive extension and then my air impact chisel with a blunt nose bit.  The vibration loosened right up.


Figure 9 - Locking Pin
Locking pins are of a wedge design.  When the nut is tighted the wedge shape locks the kingpin in place.  In the writeup above, John indicated the M300 chassis only has one locking pin.  My larger M400 chassis axle has 2 locking pins per kingpin.


Figure 10 - Locking Pins being pushed out


Figure 11 - Top Metal End Plug - I used my Air chisel with a sharp tip to remove both the top and bottom end plugs.  It is easier to just remove the lower plug rather than trying to remove the pin and plug at the same time.


Figure 12 - Top of King Pin
The king pin is the darker portion in the center.  The white ring around the pin is the Delrin bushing.  Not much room for a hammer swing in the wheel well so I placed an impact socket roughly the same diameter as the pin on top and used the sledge to hammer to start removing the pin.


Figure 13 - Using sledge and heavy blunt nose concrete punch to force the pin out.


Figure 14 - Removing knuckle from axle - The thrust bearing and 2 shims where mounted between the top pf the knuckle and the top axle fork.


Figure 15 - Delrin Bushings - Apparently there was no grease getting to the lower bushing.  You can see half of it was worn away.  The grease was dry and cacked in texture.  This causes excessive play in the wheel, wandering, and delayed steering response.


Figure 16 - New bushing vs the old worn bushings.


Figure 17 - King pin
Top portion had clean wet grease.  Bottom portion was dry cacked grease.  Even so, the knuckle would turn back and forth freely and you really would not have known there was a serious issue.


Figure 18 - Knuckle, Thust Bearing, and shims


Figure 19 - Repair Kit contents for one side (Nylon bushing style; No Reaming  ).  Other side identicle.  NAPA P/N 262-1565 for my larger axle.  When you buy a nylon kit opene the box and make sure all the parts are there and the bushings are not broken.  First kit they gave me one of the  bushings was broken.


Figure 20 - New king pin installed
Make sure the Zerk fittings are open by forcing grease through them before inserting bushings in axle.  You want to ensure old hard grease is not left in the Zerk fitting bore holes.  Coat the axle and knuckle bores with grease before assembly.  Insert the new nylon bushings and then force grease through the Zerk fitting again and coat the inside of the bushing.  Pack the thrust bearing with grease.  If there were shims above the old thrust bearing then don't forget to reinstall them.  Otherwise you will have excessive up and down play in the knuckle.  When inserting the kingpin into bore, ensure flats are aligned as close as possible with the alignment pin holes.   There is nothing to prevent the lower bushing from sliding out of the bore while inserting the kingpin.  I used a 21mm impact socket to lightly tap the bushing back into the bore as slowly worked the kingpin down the last part of the bore.  The 21mm socket was basically the same diameter of the bushing so it laid flat across the entire surface of the bushing in order to prevent damage to the nylon bushing when lightly tapping it back into place.  You should not put the lower seal into place untill after you get the pin in.  If you dod not get the pin aligned corretly then you have to push it back out.  You would end up destroying the bottom seal if you put it in to early and then had to remove the pin again.


Figure 21 - Top view of pin seated in upper axle fork


Figure 22 - Disk Brake Caliper Adaptor Reinstalled
Torque bolts to 115Ft-Lbs.


Figure 23 - Lower Caliper sliding surface.
Ensure you clean the rust and grime from the Caliper sliding ways so that the caliper can move freely.  If you don't, then the caliper can bind up resulting in the entire hub/drum assembly overheating because of the brake pad excessively rubbing the rotor (the tire rim itself can get to hot to touch).  This is not the best of designs as the ways get rusted and can cause the caliper to bind up rather than float (self center adjusting as brake pads wear).  Does not hurt to apply a little grease to the metal surface contact areas.   You can see the big Steering arm not behind the adptor that gets torqued to 100 ft-lbs.  The little silver dot above the nut is the upper king pin lock bolt.  M400 and larger chassis has 2 lock bolts.  M300 only has one.  The sterring arm also acts as a lock bolt.


Figure 24 - Hub, Rotor, & Caliper Installed

Disk Brake hub installation (Refer to Service Manual for Drum Brakes installation.)
(1) Thoroughly clean bearings and interior of rotor, removing all old grease. To clean bearings, soak them in cleaning solvent. Strike the flat of the bearings against a hardwood block several times; immersing the bearings in solvent between the blows to jar and wash old particles of hardened grease from bearing. Repeat this operation until bearings are clean.
Dry the bearings with compressed air but do not spin them. After cleaning, oil the bearings with engine oil. Turn the bearings slowly while applying pressure to test them for pitting and roughness. Replace all worn or defective bearings. If bearing shows pitting or roughness, replace cups and bearing. lf bearings are suitable for further use, remove engine oil,  pack with MuIti·Purpose NLGl, Grade 2 EP grease or equivalent, and place them in a clean covered container until ready for installation. lf a bearing packer is not available, hand pack grease into all cavities between
cage and rollers.
(2) If bearings and cups are to be replaced, remove cups with a brass drift or suitable remover.
(3) Replace bearing cups with appropriate installing tool.
(4) Install inner bearing in grease coated rotor and install new grease seals with a seal installer. Leather seals should be soaked in light oil for 30 minutes and then rolled with a smooth round bar before installation. This will make the leather soft and pliable and insure a tight seal without leaks.
(5) Pack hub cavity with grease level full across bearing cup IDs.
(6) Before installing rotor assembly, inspect steering knuckle bearing and seal surfaces for burrs or roughness.
(7) Smooth all rough surfaces. Coat with Multi-Purpose NLG1, Grade 2 E.P. grease or equivalent.
(8) Carefully slide rotor assembly onto steering knuckle. Do not drag seal or inner bearing over steering knuckle thread (thread, bearing and oil seal may be damaged). Install outer bearing, washer and nut.

ADJUSTING HUB BEARINGS
(9) Tighten adjusting nut to 50 f00t-pounds to seat bearing.
(10) Back adjusting nut 0if 1/6 to 1/4 0f a turn (Nut should not be more than finger-tight).  Do not back off less than 1/6 of a turn.
(11) Install cotter key to lock in place.

(12) Remove block separating brake pads on caliper. Position caliper over rotor and install and tighten mounting bolts. Caliper is only held in place by 2 keepers.  All breaking force is transfered to  the adaptor plate. There are different specs for different chassis so refer to Service Manual for proper torque.


Figure 25 - Backside of Caliper/Knuckle Assembly.

Passenger side disassembly/reassembly is the same as drivers side except that the steering arm does not also conect to the steering box.

The lower kingpin bushings on both sides were toast.  I am sure some of this was due to poor lubrication due to dry hard grease plugging the works up.  Make absolutely sure the Zerk fitting bore is clear prior to reassembly.   I forced a wad of hard grease out of all of mine.
Failure indications:

• Steering Wander do to wheel camber constantly changing
• With front up on jack stands, you will be able to place a pry bar under the wheel and leveage the wheel such that you can see the play in the steering knuckle at the fork.

Dave

[wacko]

Great post. Keep the pictures coming

[DaveVA78Chieftain]

Mother nature had her way Monday (Rain).  Went up to help Mark move his rig to his house on Tuesday.   Hope to drive the steering arm out of the knuckle and then drive the king pin out of the drivers side tonight.  You can see the steering arm in Figure 7 (sort of a Y shape).  One arm of the Y attaches to the steering knuckle, the other to the pitman arm on the steeering box.  The base of the Y connects to the drag link (grease covered ball joint in Figure 7)   I did not want to beat directly on the steering arm castle nut (figure 6) with a 4lb sledge hammer so I bought a inexpensive 1 1/2" - 3/4" drive socket to beat on in order to spread the force over the face of the castle nut.  Mother nature is not being kind lately though (threating more rain tonight).

Dave 

[Gary Eddy]

Hi
I really enjoy a professionals info.
I have a 1969 D18 M300 318 727
Need source for P/N  of King pin set and drag link
Rig in shop and unable at this to find parts/numbers
Thank you for anything you can provide.

Gary Eddy
sampsoncorp (AT) hotmail DOT com
651 ** 20 8 -- 65 -43

[DaveVA78Chieftain]

Dodge P/N for 69-77 M300 is 2275522
Some places (like Stemco) say OEM P/N was 2275521 however NAPA crosses 2275521 to the M375 axle.  For M300 (4000/4500lb axle) you want the .936" diameter pin.  The M375 (5000lb axle) used a 1.21" diameter pin

NAPA (https://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/Result.aspx?Ntt=2275522&Ntk=Interchange+Number&Nty=1&Dn=0&D=2275522&Dk=1&Dp=3&N=0
)
2621452 (Nylon Bushing, no reaming required)
2621417 (Metal Bushing; Reaming required)

Stemco Kaiser (http://www.stemcokaiser.com/Catalog.pdf; See top of page 3)
KD40D

I used the NAPA nylon bushing kit
The Stemco Qwik Kit uses a special steel bushing that does not require reaming.

Dave
P.S.  I am just your garden variety backyard mechanic.

[Froggy1936]

FYI  the correct name (spelling) for the grease fittings is ZERK not ZERT  otherwise very good info  P.S. if you get a kit with metal bushings  (Bronze)   you will have to have a reamer to fit them  unless they are the special steel ones you can tell by trying the bushings on the king pin  Frank

[lip]

Hi all together,

fist of all, thanks a lot to Dave for this great tutorial.

I have to do exactly the same work now on my '76 Brave with the M400 Chassis. The NAPA Part # mentioned above shows the King pin set which looks not really fitting. I need the pin with three cut-outs. Can anybody give me a part number for the king pin set I need?

Thanks a lot and best regards from Germany!

Lloyd

[lip]

Hi,
meanwhile I'm in contact with Geoff from alretta.com
He has the required parts for that work plus all brake parts for our rigs. 
Thanks again!

Best regards from Germany
Lloyd

[DaveVA78Chieftain]

Hope it all worked out for you Lloyd.  I have normally been able to find almost all my parts through NAPA.  As I indicated in my writeup (at picture of new kingpin), I used NAPA P/N 262-1565 for my larger M400 axle. 


I almost always start with the original Dodge P/N and then use the P/N X-ref function to locate the aftermarket P/N.

Dave

[lip]

Hi all,
yes, it all worked out very well. The kit had the bronze bushings which had to be fitted with a reamer... All in all it was a 4 hour job without any complications. The pins went out easily. Steering is much more direct now and makes no ugly sounds anymore... 

Bye
Lloyd

[Brownfamily]

Great info thanks! I have a wandering drive so still trying to find out whats up. It only has 30k miles on it so should not be that loosed so have to detective work to do.  i?? 

Going to try first the tightening up of the steering gear as someone describes in this forum. Looks promising but we'll see.

I did find a re manufactured steering box on Napa for only $100, so was wondering if that would really work or if it wont fit, not that i need one yet.

Jon

[Oz]

The adjustment would be this topic


http://www.classicwinnebagos.com/forum/index.php/topic,2092.msg3079.html#msg3079

[DaveVA78Chieftain]

Just a reminder:  King pins have zert fittings (top and bottom) and have to be greased at least yearly.

Dave

[Gearhead88]

Good write up and pictures of a project that many would be intimidated to take on .


I'm just now starting to discover how much depth there is on this forum , both in content and the capabilities of the members.

[M & J]

Theres even more available if you have a full membership. Best $5 you could spend for a years worth.

[roma]

Hello, I have a left kingpin with to much wear.
It is a m 375 chassis  from late 72 with 5000 lbs front axle.


Can anyone give me the right part numbers and where I can order them ,because in Europe it is not to find.
I see some articals with napa numbers but they make no sense to me.


Can anybody help me out with this so I can get the RV road legal again.


Greetings  Roma  from Holland

[Rickf1985]

Is it the king pin itself or just the bushings? The bushings should not be too hard to find but the pin may be a tough one. I am sure Dave will jump in on this later this evening. If anyone knows it will be him.

[roma]

Hopefully it will be the bushings only.
I need them anyway , but I thought to buy the complete set just to be sure.
If I take it apart I have to finish the job so I thought hetter to have all the parts ready then .
Hope someone knows where to order and will be happy with the bushings anyway.

I ve found the following number 2275521 wich looks  to me the right set  offfered by Stemco Kaiser?.
They offered 3 different type called qwik fit  budget fit and  econo fit.
What is the best choice ? Or easiest to install.


Trough wich supplier I can buy the parts , I  assume stemco is the factory not the shop where I can buy it.

Gr roma

[Rickf1985]

I am hoping Dave will chime in on this because he has talked about this before. The only king pin bushings I have worked with are the metal ones and these are plastic or nylon. You do not want to have to deal with the metal ones and reamers and all of that!

I just looked up higher in this thread and it was in this thread that Dave was talking about the bushings. Unfortunately his pictures are gone thanks to Photobucket but the text is there and that may help you.

[DaveVA78Chieftain]

Chassis Axle Size Pin Dim	Dodge P/N	Moog P/N	-	STEMCO Kaiser P/N	-	-	NAPA P/N	-
-	Metal Bushing	Metal Bushing	Nylon Bushing	Qwik Kit	Plus Kit	Econo Kit	Metal Bushing	Nylon Bushing
M300 4500lb .937”x 6.469”	2275522	8556B	8454N	K40D	-	-	2621417	2621452
M375/M400 (RM350)   5000lb  1.24” x 7.190"	2275521	8587B	8587N	K50D	70.050.04	50.050.04	2621564	2621565

[Rickf1985]

And there you have it, Dave is the man!

[roma]

Thank you guys you helped me out again.
This forum has been of great value for me.
Dave your Dodge site is