King pin replacement tips

[JohnandColeen]

Sent: 9/9/2002

We are getting ready to replace the king pins on our 1969 F-17. Does anyone have any tips?
John and Coleen

[chip]

Sent: 9/10/2002

here goes;
1. you will probably need heat. oxy-fuel is best but lots of bernz-omatics sometimes work.
2.air chisel with with blunt nose chisel to drive the pin out of the axle beam. your pin is @3/4-7/8" dia.
3. some light duty fords used plastic bushings and did not need to be sized. yours probably has steel backed bronze bearings that have to be arbor pressed in then align honed. i use a sunnen machine. this is important to do accurately. a few calls might be necessary to automotive machine shops to find the person for the job.[especially up in alaska] sunnen also made a portable align hone that i sometimes use in the field. it also does a good job.
4. make sure you get the right kingpin kit[ check dia. and length]. the kit should also have shims and probably some sort of thrust bearing that goes between the spindle and axle beam.
5. to take apart, take the nut of the wedge bolt that binds the pin to the axle-hit the pin on the top and bottom to loosen the binding bolt then drive the pin out.
6. this is where it gets fun. the pin is almost always frozen in the beam. so heat the outside of the pin bore where it can expand the most--put on your ear muffs and drive the pin out of the beam with the blunt nose air chisel. also support the axle so it can't bounce and lessen the impact effect.
7. once apart, file and deburr the faying surfaces of the spindle and beam.
8. size the installed bushings to the pin---use as many shims as you can stuff in between the spindle and axle--and reassemble and grease.
footnote; i try for a .0002-.0005 pin to bore clearance--tighter than most like to get- i never had one seize. it's the sunnen machine that makes that tolerance work. have fun! chip.

[UluzYarx]

Sent: 2/15/2004

Hi Coleen and Hi John

If the pins don’t come out with the third strike (unlike Chuk’s mine are usually stuck)

Take the brake back plates off the ends of the front axles but leave the brake hoses, brakes, etc, undisturbed â€" HANG THE BACK PLATES OFF SOMETHING SOLID SO THEIR WEIGHT IS OF THE BRAKE HOSES.

Take the axle off the springs.

Take the axle to a blacksmith (a man who works iron at a forge) A machine shop would push them out for me â€" but I enjoy the sight of a skilled man driving them out with one blow of his hammer (each).

He drives the old pins out for me.

Take the end bits of the axle to the machine shop â€" he fits the new bushes and reams them for me (I’ve never come across plastic bushes).

Refit ends to axle. Refit axle.  Refit brakes.  Job nearly done.

My bit is unskilled, but turns a very painful bill into a minor ache.

It’s just routine stuff. if you can do lots of stuff, this would be one more feather in your cap.

All the best Dave

[DanielTBolger]

I found it easy.  Just pull the hole axle out and get in to a press