Two questions, the first is does anyone know the part number of the ford king pin reamer and what all years it covers?
Second does anyone know who makes new reamers and where I might find them?
I also take it that they are size specifc so does anyone know the size off hand? thanks

 

Ok, I already sent you a Private Message back with most the info I know. The remainder that I just looked up is that those part #'s should be good for 53-61 ford trucks of the models I specified in the PM. I was lucky enough to recover mine from ebay for a fair price, and probably equal to what you will pay for a new adjustable one from an aftermarket company. They aren't cheap but much easier to come across than a FOMOCO tool. If you can find a shop in the area that still presses and reams kingpin bushings that would be your cheapest bet, but make sure they are experienced and are reaming, not HONING the bushings. The advantage of doing it yourself is that if you are using and adjustable reamer you can ream a little, check clearance, ream a bit more, until you get a perfect fit like an original tool would give you. If you have a machine shop ream/hone your bushing they may under or over do it causing either early kingpin wear(if too loose), or very tight steering (if not reamed enough). The kingpin should slip through both bushings as if they were meant to be there, with no play, but not being forced through even by hand.

Mike

Mike

 

thanks very much

 

If I had a sunnen honeing machine I would sooner hone the bushings rather then ream them. Contact is like 90 some percent against about 75 of a reamer. The
bushings are line honed. Why do I always hear negitives against honeing. Buy a
new set of pistons or have OS pins fitted in old ones they are honed nobody reams much anymore unless they don't have the bucks for a machine.
Kotzy

 

I did mine this fall and used an adjustable reamer and then a final hone to the fine tune the fit.

 

Kotzy,
I have never machine honed anything, but have heard and read multiple testaments to the fact that having kingpin bushings machine honed can end in a loose or unshaply fit for the kingpin. This is where my info comes from. If you have honed kingpin bushings, and can attest to the fact that the fit is superb and these testimonies are false, then please let us know because we could all gain from that information. One variable that I know of first hand is the fact that there are 2 bushings seperately located from one another in each spindle. After the bushings are driven in to each position, if they cannot be correctly aligned during honing/reaming, then it doesn't matter what the accuracy of the honing/reaming tool is, the kingpin will not fit well, and may have to be pounded into position. What I know of the reamer I have used is that it is the correct length and diameter to align the bushing being reamed with the other bushing, then vise versa while reaming the remaining bushing. This allows for the kingpin to slip through the upper bushing, through the axle, and down through the lower bushing in an exact line. As for the ability of the FOMOCO bushing reamer, it is a hand tool and works through brass bushings like a knife in butter, requiring little time/effort to create the perfect tolerance on the first pass for a perfect alignment. The perfection of fit is astounding, and I would be impressed to see the same effect from a much more expensive machine honer.

Mike

 

I had my front kingpins done at a truck front alignment shop and they used a Sunnen hone. It only cost about $75 for the labor and the pins fit so nice that they felt like they were in bearings.

I wouldn't do it any other way!


Cheers,

Rick

 

I stand corrected. It appears either honing or reaming can lead to great results dependent upon the tools/machinery used. Once again, I have no honing experience, and I can only attest to the stories I have heard from those who had poor experiences with honing (possibly due to different machinery or poorly qualified technicians). My intention is only to provide my best knowledge and information that I have gained while working on my own truck. I am not trying to win a war on reaming vs. honing.

Mike

 

Microb I understad what you have said, my thought is we have to stay with technology. I too have used both adjustable and fixed reamers with pilots to permit alignment between the bushings. I have also used a reamer of that type to fit piston pin bushings on a 219 cid Chevy 6, and they all worked. That said,my Dad who was a machinest used to tell me that honing was superior becausethe contact area was well in the 90% range compaired to the bearing surface obtained with a reamer which may have trouble reaching 80%. I guess what I am trying to get across is once we pound those high spots of the reamers contact area down we are that much closer to having to do the job again.
The Sunnen hone does the job as well as it can be done if it is run by a skilled
operator. I have run one a few times and have never been disappointed with the results. By the way my father passed away long before optical lasers which are used to bore holes so nearly perfectly round beyond what was ever dreamed of were perfected . I love old Fords, new Fords any kind of machinery but we have to stay up with the tech.
Kotzy

 

Another thing that has to be fit into this equation is what you are comfortable with.
I have been watching and doing king pins reaming since the late 50's. The only set I have seen screwed-up was the first set that I hand reamed, I was about 9. After doing a few sets with my Dad standing behind be with a 2x4 to keep me from going too fast I got the hang of things.
There is only one place that may be able to convince me that reaming is better, the guy started around trucks the same age as me and has been doing it for a living for 40 yrs.