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King pin replacement

kiwigtx

kiwigtx

International Mod
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It was over 3 years ago when I replaced my King Pin bushes, and they have just been done again. I used what was sent to us in the box with my truck....nylon/Teflon bushes. Biggest mistake ever. Within about 2,000 miles, the bushes were flogged out and there was too much play in the front end. So out they came again, and off to a local machine shop specialising in suspension work. The guys there installed new bronze bushes, and reamed to size. Perfect now, and what a difference it makes to the handling of the truck.

Originally when the truck was restored in 2010, the old (factory installed) King Pins needed a lot of persuading to come out.....BFH & heat, and some knuckle skin along for the ride. Some choice language was used also if I remember correctly. :wideyed:

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Nylon/Teflon sounds like a weird choice for something that gets a lot of force applied to it. Glad you have it fixed, for many years to come.
 
Thanks mate...I must admit that my buddy pointed that out at the time, but we didn't have access to the correct bushings at that time. It's my understanding that the nylon option is wide-spread throughout US Parts stores. They are really only a temporary measure while bronze bushes are made.
 
Any I have changed have always been bronze and reamed to size, never seen nylon
 
Yeah, nylon for king pins?!? No thanks. Glad you're back on track now.
 
Meep-Meep said:
Yeah, nylon for king pins?!? No thanks. Glad you're back on track now.
Click to expand...

Thanks....I can't believe that I accepted nylon for a solution....comes down to time and accessibility of parts sometimes.
 
kiwigtx said:
Thanks....I can't believe that I accepted nylon for a solution....comes down to time and accessibility of parts sometimes.
Click to expand...

I hear ya. But now you know and so do the rest of us!
 
The nylon bushings were made for those wishing to eliminate the machine shop trying to pinch pennies. They are total crap.

Also, FWIW, kingpin removal is real easy. Lemmie splain. When you get the tie rods knocked off the spindles, swing the spindle out of the way so that you have a clear shot at the outside end of the axle or I beam where the king pin hole is.

Now, take a BFH and smack that end HARD several times. This momentarily egg shapes the hole in the axle or I beam end and effectively "loosens it up".

I always followed that up with a GOOD air chisel with a punch attachment from the top of the king pin. I cannot count the number of king pin jobs I have done and this method worked every single time. With no heat.
 
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