I took the front end apart on my '65 F-350 to do the kingpin bushings. It has a solid axle - the 350 didn't get the twin I-beams until '67. Last done in '99 by a shop (heat and beat that time), so I only needed a 4 lb hammer to drive the pins out.

There was some wear on the left, so I replaced the bushings on both sides, and sent them off to be honed to fit the new pins. So far so good. But I just discovered that the left axle bore is looser than I'd like with the old pin, once all the hardened grease and crud were removed. The job just got bigger (as usual).

I really really don't want to remove the axle from the truck and try to find someone who can bore and rebush the ends. (Local truck places won't do anything that small!) Although at this point it's just a matter of cutting the U-bolts that hold it to the leaf springs, assuming I can find replacement hardware.

That leaves a couple of alternatives: some "Missouri engineering" with shim stock wrapped around the kingpin (); or reaming the top and bottom in-place and installing a bushing, which then will have to be reamed to a snug fit too.

The truck is rarely used, other than getting loads of wood at the sawmill 7 miles away. What would you recommend I do here?

 

There's always the redneck fixall. J B Weld. Like most epoxies it will turn loose if you heat it. Or you could put some release compound on the pin before you slid it in.

 

Thanks... but somehow I doubt JB Weld would hold up to the side loading A piece of .002 brass shim stock would be a better quick-fix, I think. But while I'm this far in... maybe it's time to fix it right!

 

I'm pretty sure the F100's had an available oversize kingpin for just this scenario. Maybe they have something like that for the 350?

 

My neighbour got a Triumph motorcycle from Burma. He found strips of "Tiger Beer" aluminum cans between the bearings and the crankshaft. Might work for you.
Eric.

 

It might be hard to find Tiger beer here in rural Missouri though
As mentioned, I do have some .002 shim stock - have to take measurements. Might NEED beer cans...

 

Went out and took a couple measurements. Pins are not worn at .9215 fairly uniform at both ends and the middle. But the holes are somewhat bell-mouthed (close to .930 at the entrance, and much tighter in the middle, .925).
I found some .003 brass sheet which is just right to make it snug - but if I run it all the way through, the pin is too tight in the middle. I'd have to use separate strips at top and bottom. It might be less trouble just to take the #$%^ beam axle off and get it fixed right

 

Extra work true but well worth doing it the right way. I bought a truck out of an Arkansas barnyard the had 8 penny nails driven down along side the king pin to snug it up. I had to find another front axel! LOL

 

AR does not have state inspections (obviously!)
I'll bet finding an unmolested used axle was easier than boring, bushing and honing. Probably cheaper too!

 

Still trying to think up outside-the-box solutions for the left axle bore...

I thought of using a Speedi-sleeve but they don't make them in the right size.

Or turning down a generic bronze bushing to fit on each end of the bore, then reaming to fit the (standard-size) kingpin. But bushings, at least at McMaster, seem to go from 7/8" (0.875) straight to 1" and the kingpin is .9215. That would be a lot of reaming.

Or using steel or bronze shim stock formed into a cylindrical shape, which is harder and will last longer than the brass. Although in theory there is no rotation or axial movement between the kingpin and the axle, and very little radial movement, so the wear should not be fast.

Right now I'm planning on just using the brass shim stock. I only drive it a couple hundred miles a year, so if it lasts a few years I can take it apart all over again, and fix the axle then!

 

Not sure if this will transfer over to what you need, but when I rebuild a steering box, I pull the bushing into the case void with some tread all and some think washers and nuts. Then I take a brake hone in a drill and turn what I do not want out of the bushing that way rather than reaming. I guess for that to work for you, the bushing would need to be compatible with your hole and I do not know where to find that, just an idea that maybe would help

 

I appreciate the comments. But that's the problem... the hole is about .930 at the top and the bottom, but considerably less worn in the center near the lock bolt. I assume that the hole is tapered inward from each end (think hourglass shape).

Honing would take a long time to remove any significant amount of steel. It is also next to impossible to use a hone to make a perfect cylindrical bore, since they tend to cause the very bellmouthing I'm trying to remedy - that's why there are boring and reaming tools

I have thought about reaming the axle all the way through to the .930 (or larger) diameter, then bushing/sleeving the entire bore. But, as you mentioned, where would I find a very thin-walled but long enough sleeve? I don't have a lathe...

 

Does the F350 use one bushing that runs top to bottom inside the kingpin bore or is there a top and bottom bushings? Not sure how the lock bolt could be inserted if the bushing ran top to bottom so I may have just answered my own question, but the 1965/66 F100/250 uses 2 bushings on each side. They are close to the correct size so a little bit of hand reaming is all that it needs. Pretty easy to punch out the old and press in the new with a C-clamp and then you can run the reamer to size them. I use an adjustable reamer with pilot.

 

Apples and oranges

The bushings are a press-fit in the spindle ears, and do indeed need to be reamed to a clearance of approximately .001". The trick is doing them both at the same time, since if they are even .001 different in radial alignment, the kingpin will go in one ear or the other, but not both together... so a long reamer or hone is needed. There are plenty of posts including this forum where people have discovered that to their sorrow...

What I'm talking about is the axle bore itself. That doesn't normally need a bushing since there is no relative movement between the kingpin and the axle and it's a tight fit. Sometimes a very tight fit. In my case, since the bore is wallowed out several thousandths, the only fix is to enlarge the bore and sleeve it back to standard size. Either on each end leaving a space for the lock bolt, or using one long sleeve and drilling a hole for the lock bolt...

Some repair kits use oversize pins and bushings. Then the axle is reamed oversize to match the new pin. Ditto the spindle bushings once installed.

 

Have you considered something like this? . Since you don't drive it that much.
Would it be impossible to find another axel near you?