I need custom sized kingpin bushings for my 52' 2 ton chevy and i swear i remember reading somewhere that the material used was some kind of special bronze. I took my knuckles to the machine shop and they didnt want to do the job, and they are the only one close to me. I do have a metal lathe in my shop but id like some others input on what kind of bronze may have been used? Sent from my SM-G935V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
When I was heavy into the trade, we had a salesman for a bushing company come out with some PLASTIC spindle bushings. My boss wouldn't try them, although the salesman swore that Chevrolet Truck division had been using these bushings for 2 years. (that would have been 1968-'69) The old man wouldn't budge. Some time later, a 5 ton dump came in with front end wobble. (it was a year old, never worked on before) I nearly 'shat' when I removed some squashed-out light blue poly propylene king pin bushings!!! We replaced them with Silicone Bronze, honed and fit them myself. (they were MOOG.)
Nylon for better words has came a long way . I used some replacement spindle bearings on my Power Wagon , I was thinking these will be done in 6 months . 50K miles later they look as new and do not need same maintenance as roller bearings . Just something to think about before saying no way
if your not in a big hurry....I've acquired some/lots of old NOS king pin sets....haven't run the part #'s yet....can you get a mic on what you have or what the size your going to.......send me a PM...
I think Oilite might not hold up, it is sintered metal, compacted to a low density so the pores can retain oil. Bearing bronze is what you need for k/p bushings, it is known as C932.
I've always used Phosphor Bronze when I've had to make kingpin bushes. It has better wear resistance than ordinary bronzes. The British designation is BS 1400 PB1 for this material. US equivalent is given as C90710 from a quick web search.
This a 52 chevy 2 ton truck i use for my car hualer and im swapping p30 spindles onto it for the disc setup so idk about nylon lol but thank you for all the replies! Sent from my SM-G935V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
What is the difference in the bushing OD/ID between the two spindle bushings? What I am wondering is, if the diameter difference is significantly greater on the P-30 units, would it be feasible to make a steel sleeve to resize the P-30 pin boss to the same as your '52 Chevy size and use stock size pins and bushings? The sleeve could be machined with a small flange on one end to hold it in place when the OEM sized bronze bushing is pressed in. Of course the P-30 spindles would need a relief machined for the flange. Just a thought.....may not have any applicability for your purposes. Ray
Other alloys to consider are AMPCO 18 bearing bronze (aluminum bronze) with a yield strength of 37ksi. Alloy 954 is another, yield is 32ksi. 630 bronze (aluminum-nickel) had a yield of 50ksi and better wear characteristics. There is an AMPCO 45 we use for a lot of bushings pressed into aluminum, can't find the spec on it ATM.
Ray i think your onto somthing here, im going to try and turn some sleeves on my lathe, just learned how to use the boring bar i just bought the lathe and havnt ran one since college, hopefully i can come up with somthing Sent from my SM-G935V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
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