Did lots of stuff on the truck this weekend. Pulled the whole front body off and then the front axle. Had no problem pulling the locking pins for the King Pins but the King Pins wont budge. Bent my 12 ton press trying to get them out. Any tricks? I though about putting the torch to it but wanted to ask first. I went through the archives and all anyone talks about is the sledge hammer Also, the original weels from the truck are really corroded. I was going to bring them to a sand blaster but after looking at them I suspect I would be better off buying new ones. Can't find any on the net however. Anyone know a good source??? Thanks in advance!!!!
Hey, Steve, welcome to the forum. I've been out of pocket for a while, but noticed that you said that you're coming to Port Arthur? Where do you live now? As far as your wheels are concerned, are they 15" or 16"? No one sells repop wheels like the originals, but if you dig hard enough, you can still find them in the old boneyards. That is, if you don't live in a big metro area like Houston!!
OR , As Kermit T. Frog Says : ' Time's fun when you're having flies ' Did you remember to press the kingpins _UP_ ? IIRC , they're ever so slightly tapered or something as they always seem to come out from the top . Remember too , they mushroom really easily so don't use a mandrel the same diameter as the pin . You must press them _exactly_ 90° to their bores too . It is permissable to drill a hole through the center of them to relieve internal stress , I've done that to facilitate removing other stuck pins . Once they begin to move , they'll slide right out . I assume you're using liberal amounts of real penetrant like KROIL or Gibbs or PB Blaster ? . Work carefully and use the curtain ! when things slip in a 20 ton press , they're 1/2 way through your chest before you realize there's a problem.....
The pins will eventually be defeated!! Nate, thanks for the tips. Tried pushing up first then down then up again before the press bent. I have been spraying it with PB Blaster and will keep doing it all of this week before I try again. After talking with some of my gearhead friends at work, I think I'll try finding a plate with a hole in it, put it on one end of the spindle and use it as a grab for a gear puller. Then I'll hit it with some heat before I hit the whole rig with my 6# hammer. Hopefully with the heat and the impact, something will happen. I'm open to comments if you have any. (If that does'nt work I'll carry the thing to a shop where someone has a really big press!) Ken, I do live in Houston and about 15 years ago when I rebuilt a 54 P/U with my kids, we scoured all of the local junk yards. Even then it was pretty slim pickings. The wheels are 15" and they are salvageable, so if worse comes to worse I'll just get them blased and move on. (maybe with lots of primers no one will see the pits!)
Just put some king pins in my GMC a couple monthes ago. Used to heat and beat, to get them out. Finally bought a ball joint press (you can rent these at your local chain auto parts). When I did my GMC I tightened the press and put heat on the axle around the king pin. Pin will move, then tighten the press again till you can run it out. Nothing is tapered, so it can come out ether way. Alot better than hammer work. Chris
King pins are out!!!!!!!!!!!!!! All, thanks for all of the great tips. I did buy a Ball Joint Press from Harbor Freight in Houston. It only cost $30 and with it loaded up, heat and a hit from my small sledge each one broke loose. Did it about 5 times on each side before I stuck it in my press and the pins floated out. Tommorow should be fun, I'm going to tackle the rear end seals!!!!!!!!! Steve
Glad you got them out! I have a farm and have found that sometimes PB Blaster takes a couple of days to loosen a frozen turn screw. On the reinstall, freezer for the pins and torch for the holder. BOL.
By the way, what color are you going to paint the truck? I have a set of 15 wheels in Mariner Blue. I was going to use them, but i decided to stick with the 16s i had. These have a professional paint job on them and several coats of clear sealer. If you want the details, i get them from my painter.
Blue wheels Blue would be nice, but I'm going black. The plan is for black wheels, bumpers and running boards. The truck will be fire engine red! Good luck selling them, it would be a shame to let a good paint job go to waste! Steve
Steve, I have a set of 15" wheels off of a '53, I have about $135.00 invested. These are black, and would likely need to be blasted. You will want to inspect then, I believe I have five, all have hub cap clips, but 2 are about 1/2" wider than the rest with three clips instead of 6. Maybe came off of a "front line" chevy. you are welcome to check them out. i will have to dig these out of my garage, measure again and maybe photo for you. It will likely be a couple of weeks before I have time. If you find some others, don't wait on me as I acquired these wheels in case my pitted 16s give up some day. I would likely let the 15" set go to another AD truck. Jim
Wheels Jim, sounds interesting. I'm going to take out the electric wire brush this weekend and determine once and for all if my wheels are salvageable. Don't spend too much time digging yet! Should know by Sunday night. Steve
Wheels Jim, I did look carefully at my wheels this weekend and have decided to write them off. When I hit the metal they sound hollow. The last thing I would want is a wheel to come apart heading down the road. I have some mags that I'll use for a while, but I also found a number of new wheels on the net that look pretty much like the originals. The price is right so it would not make a lot of sense to start blasting old ones. Thanks for offering to look for yours but don't think it will be necessary for now. See you in PA!
