Long time guys, hope everyone is well. I've been driving the crap out of my '56 pickup and having a bunch of fun doing it, but I'm chasing down some steering woes. Some of the slop is in my front left kingpin. The axle is a stock 3.5 inch drop deal, so it's not as simple as just installing another axle...I need the drop axle. About 4 weeks ago I installed a complete new kingpin set, and I knew the axle was hour-glassed by about .0030 at the top and the bottom of the axle eye. Sooo, I BRINDLED the crap out of the inside of axle eye and the kingpins snugged up...for about 3 weeks. And now I'm back to the same sloppy kingpin issue. Basically, I can get a .010 oversized kingpin set for around $120, and have the axle reamed for $85, and have the spindles oversized for around $120. Three Benjamins later and I'm back on the road. OR, I buy a new 3" drop axle at $499 and use the kingpin kit I have. I'm no too sure about the tube axles Speedway is selling...not sure I trust a tube over a solid axle. OR, I find someone who can CORRECTLY shrink the axle to the point where it can be reamed to original size. I PREFER the third option, but not sure it's even possible. Anyone else have any suggestions? Anyone now someone in NorCal who can shrink the axle? Or maybe a better price on an oversized kingpin set?
Does that last very long? I'm guessing that since the kingpin doesn't rotate that it would, but I've also read and been told that it's not as strong when you do that.
we rebush them on semis and HD pickups and as you grease them with the weight off the kingpins ( aka jack up the front till the wheels hang) with a HP moly grease they hardly wear , and the nice thing is if they do the bushing is easy for them to ream out and press in another . you have to stay on top of the greasing with kingpins as non use the grease drys out .
the bushing is thin ( .030-.060 on the pick ups ) and unless your hauling weight it shouldn't be a issue .
Here is a tech. thread on how to fix your axle. The pics are gone but the text is still there, he got banned but does good work and I think he is in your area. Fix Your Axle tech (super basic)
I had that problem on my 59 several years ago. An over size king pin set was not real expensive at the time. I borrowed a reamer. The oversize was just the king pins, the spindles were not reamed oversize. Still works fine.
That tech harv posted is about the best and easiest way to do it. I've used the same method to fix hinges too.
The tech doesn't show any photos. I there a way of contacting the guy that was banned? Jim, how did you manage to use the spindles with the larger kingpin without having the bushings honed to size? Or did you do exactly that?
The bushings that came with the OS kingpin kit are oversize on the inside, and stock size on the outside. It was a Moog kit.
I think the trick is you can use an 8377B kit which fits earlier trucks, some parts may not be correct, but it has the right .010 oversize pin and bushings, and you can get it for $40 on ebay.
There are a couple ways to do this, first is to take an old king pin and insert it in the king pin boss and then shrink the axle boss by striking it with a sledge hammer to reduce the interior diameter. Next is to have the oversize bore bushed and reamed to size or third is to drill and tap a 1/4" hole in the outer end of the king pin boss and use a set screw to tighten up the king pin and remove the excess play.
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