I got a king bolt set in order to do the front end on my 71 F-100. There is a small seal that has an inside diameter that is the same as the outside diameter of the king bolt. There are two, apparently one for either side. Now, I may find out as soon as I actually get in there and take apart the front end, but I'm trying to figure out where is this seal supposed to go.

My confusion is in the fact that each side is fairly symetric from the top to the bottom except for the thrust bearing which makes me think that the seal has something to do with the thrust bearing being that there is only one thrust bearing per side.

Any pointers regarding this seal? (from those of you who have actually done this before )

 

I'd bet that your "seals" are actually the bushings for the spindles. Are they plastic? Some king pin sets have plastic bushings, some have metal ones.....

 

Pat, there are seals. They are about 1/8" thick and very flimsy.

You know I did these a few years back, but still not sure where they went. I would assume it would be on the bottom with the thrust bearing to help keep the grease in/dirt out. I think there is a recess in the spindle itself(up from the bottom of spindle) that holds the seal. Dont quote me, the details are a little fuzzy.

If you dont have to torch yours out completely they should be intact and how they go in should be seen.

Larry

 

No, we're not talking about the bushings. There are four bushings, two for each side. There are only two of these seals like there are only two bolts, bolt pins, and thrust bearings. (See first post.)

There are four bushings, four caps, & four zerks. THere might be a couple of other things that I haven't mentioned, but there are only two of these seals.

Again I realize that I might see where they go when I disassemble, but then I may not, so I'd like to find out first. Also, if you saw how much play is in my front end now, you probably wouldn't expect to see much come out intact from the king pin assembly.

Any one done this recently?

 

If I remember correctly, the seal is at the bottom of the upper bushing. They are easy to damage trying to get in the recess.

You have to ream the metal bushings to fit the king pin. Take your time.

 

I was looking in my Ford Manual. It said that the F-100 and F-250 had Delrin bushings and the F-250 camper special had metal. The type of front brakes might be criteria as well, I don't recall...

So I got the nylon bushings considering that this is a light duty truck.

Looking at the thrust bearing, there is a groove inside the inner race. I wondered if it went in there, but I don't see how I would get it in there.

 

The groove is for grease to accumulate in.

I would bet the seal goes in the upper area of spindle like mentioned before(top bushing), not the lower like I thought. I think this is just to keep the grease from running out the bottom of the bushing.

As for which bushing to get(plastic/steel). I would pick the steel one. I used the nylon ones before and they did not last long. They can be installed by you and put back together the same day. The steel bushing needs to be reamed to fit the pin. I had my local engine machine shop "hone" it to size after installing them into spindle. A simple procedure, but mandatory for this kind. I think in the long term it is a better way to go. They are interchangeable, as the fit/sizes are all the same.

Larry

 

Well thanks anyway, but if any one actually knows where this thing goes, I'd appreciate if you let me know.

 

It goes right below the upper bushing.