I have a few questions about installing a new kingpin set.
I'm hepling my brother do the entire front end on his pickup and he lost the sheet which gives you the breakdown on how the parts go together.

1st question, does the bearing go on the bottom?And which side faces the spindle?
2nd which side do the shims go?
3rd where does the seal go?

Thank you in advance for any help.

P.S. I spent nearly an hour doing searches with no help in this area.

 

This is 2wd correct? Bearing goes on bottom of axle and rests on spindle bottom. Bearing takes weight of front end especially during turns. Shims should go on top. There was a good diagram of the front spindle parts in a Chilton's website; but it is down at moment and being redone. Copy sections from Chilton's at your local library to aide in reassembly. I have the Chilton diagram as a saved gif; but am not sure about copyright laws and posting it here.

 

And an even less-funny part to try and replace. Marv, how did you get the kingpins out? I was just going to take the I-beams with the spindles still attached to the machine shop and have them press them out and press the new ones in.

 

You can't just press the new ones in. They have to be reamed out to fit the new pins. I spent a couple of hours on one side to get a perfect fit.

 

OK, so I was a bit sloppy with the wording. "Rebushed and reassembled" would have been better. But I'm still planning on having them press the old ones out; I had NO luck when I tried.

 

Usually with some heat added to the axle part you can get them to come loose. It usually takes some beating though. I have used a air hammer. Just try not to mess up the threads for the caps. Been there.

Anyhow, when I did it I got the pins out, took the spindle and bushings to machine shop and had it honed to fit. Came home and put it back together.

I suppose you could take entire assembly off and take it to machine shop as long as they have room for it all and a few extra hands to hold onto it while in the press.

Get the torches out and warm it up and try it. One note, you did take out the little pin didn't you?? Just checking.

Larry

 

I took the small pin out and took off the caps on the top and bottom. I heated it up with a torch, and my wife and I took turns trying to drive it out. It was on the '73 that we were stripping, so we opted to just take the I-beams with the spindles still attached. It's another step in our project...

 

>1st question, does the bearing go on the bottom?

yes.
>And which side faces the spindle?

The closed end. Note the arrows or direction printed on the bearing shell to make sure. The "open" end faces down.
>2nd which side do the shims go?

On top of the bearing. "closed end" Use if you have any up/down play. Should be none when you are through. I ended up using one shim per side.

>3rd where does the seal go?

It fits on the holes of the spindles in the little recessed groove. Should sort of snap into place. Careful...Those are easily buggered up so they don't fit right. Don't force it.

Myself, I think taking the whole axle off and having the pins pressed out, and new bushings reamed at the machine shop is by far the easiest route. I tried the hammer @ heat method. Didn't work in my case, even with a torch at hand. I had the whole weight of the truck on the pin, and it wouldn't budge even with a sledge. Never again. If I ever have to do it again on old pins, I'll just yank the axles off from the start. It doesn't take very long once you do it a couple of times. Tell the guy to ream them to fit pretty tight. They should easily slide into place in the spindle, but the best fit is one where the pin will stay in spindle under it's own weight, but still twist easily. If it falls out real easy, it's on the loose side. This could be ok, as long as no slop is noticed, but I prefer them tight enough to stay in the spindle on their own weight. I used the brass bushings. They are better than the nylon. BTW, one company now sells "pre-reamed" brass bushings and pins as a kit. But I forgot the brand... It was a major co.. I had the machine shop do mine. BTW, to make pin removal easier next time, apply a thin coat of anti-seize paste to the spindle holes when you put it back together. MK