I took my truck to a shop to get the tires balanced getting a little vibration guy told me not to waste my money that the king pins were worn. guy at shop said if they did the job it would be $400 to $500 plus cost of alignment. i found the king pin kit at local auto parts store shocked they carry the parts. $68.00 kit the truck shop kit is $42.00 now how hard of a job is this to do at home.and by the way i love the new transmission i just put in learning how it works better and how to shift using the overdrive. getting it all in here and now how and where and what can i do to get speedodmeter to work better buy a new one ?? speedometer shop any ideas. thanks robert
Robert, I replaced my own kingpins and bushings. If they aren't too worn out you can do it with a pretty big hammer and some effort...I think the new ones come .001 undersize to allow for wear on the kingpin. Pay attention to the load bearing position, and lube it before assembly as they don't come outta the box with enough grease. My front sheet metal was all off, so I'd suggest maybe removing the axle to do the work for easier access to hammer swinging and such. Think about it and see if you want to save some $$... Nate has posted some info about this job before, and we all know, He's really one of the experts here.
$$$ save $$$ Bilbo i think i will give it a try $42.00 or $500 plus i was hoping you guys would say its not that tough of a do it yourself job. someday i hope to put a new ifs frontend but that is on the one day wish list along with many other things.
Instal new king pins Robert I would remove the front axle as suggested before.Clean the lot with an high pressure washer to get the dirt of and get started. Have them pressed out if you have a hydraulic manual presser ? I am not a big fan of the hammer use as it is so easy to damage things (parts , fingers ) . Measure the inside of the pin hole in top and bottem before installing new onces as there could be a clearing difference here also between the left and right side. Considder using standard or oversized pins , you probebly end up with oversize pins wich need a machine shop to bore them holes out. Lubricate the pins and axle pin holes. Then check up on the other steering parts in there function and condition and install the front mounts again in the reversed order. Remember to check the" to in/out" so the front axle and both sides steerings components work excactly together. To avoid wobling or that your truck drags more to the right the outlining/balancing of the wheels is important. It should drive smoothly in center using not much hand power on the steering wheel.The un balanced wheels give a trembling in the steering wheel at higher speed Hope this helps Martinius.
here we go thanks Martinius as soon as i get a chance to get to the truck shop to get the kit i will try to do this install myself. and i do like the new transmission with the overdrive alot.
I checked my '54 shop manual and the procedure is located on page 11. If you have the manual it will help. Or maybe find an online copy.
Old chevy manuals light duty trucks 47-52 Section 3 Front suspension Subject 3.8 and 3.9 http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com/shop/1948_51truck/51ctsm0301.htm http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com/ Martinius.
I was able to replace the kingpins myself, with the aid of a friend for an extra set of hands, and his floor mounted press to push the old pins out. Damon
Too Late Again Sorry Robert . I hope you jacked it up and pulled & pushed the wheels @ 12:00 & 6:00 whilst looking at the king pins where they fit in the axle to ensure they're actually worn out ~ it's not uncommon to find an old rig that they were already replaced on.... Agreed , strip down and remove the entire front axle then use a press to press out the old king pins after you've located and removed the set scews as hammering is easy to mushroom the king pin and make it stick in place .
great info as always great info and a little nudge to do tear down myself plus 4 or 5 hundred dollars is not going to happen on that old axle . i will keep you guys updated when i get a chance to tear it down and i told the wife that i was not going to spend any money on the truck this year yeah right. Robert
Dollar Value Robert ; Never hesitate to remind SWMBO how Truck $ is better spent than drinking or doing dope like so many others do.... Sadly my ex never grasped this simple concept , all her freinds had to keep an eye out for the rent $ being spent at the corner bad or on floozies...... Dragging Hubby home from one or t'other was regular , never in my house though and our vehicles were always reliable .
awesome wife hope i didnt sound like the wife dont me want to spend $$$ on the truck i had told her that i dont want to buy anything for the truck this year and not tear it down for anything and just drive the heck out of it this year. her reply was i shoud still buy a new chrome grill and wide white wall tires. what a great gal. Robert
Lucky us ! My fine Lady is similar . She knows I don't waste $ as they're too hard to get . She has suggested diving my old trucks to Las Vegas in the summer because she doesn't need the AC it doesn't have and she knows I rather enjoy days behind the wheel of an old 6 cylinder truck wheezing & rattling my way across the Desert . So , like I said : LUCKY US ! (note clever use of BOWTIE BLUE there .
My wife has named my truck "Christine" because she has had near death experiences when driving it. I tell her it is because of all the shixt she talks about it. She thinks I spend every waking hour and all my $$$ on it, but it is sitting in the driveway dirty, needing an oil change and some air ride pieces need attention. I have tried to explain your points about not being out carousing and such, to no avail.....
Swmbo Yes well ; My ex left me , I was in for the long haul , kids and all ya know . I will say I don't miss her much ~ she shoulda known not to marry a mechanic but " thought you'd change " for some foolish reason when she'd married me because I was happy , stable and a good provider.... Since she left , my life is a world better , every time another hubby or boyfriend crashes and burns , guess who's 'phone rings first ? . I still love her because she gave me my Son but that's it ~ . Bets of luck to all those out there who's other half don't appreciate the better things in life . For the most part , life is like a sewer : what you get out of it , depends on what you put into it .
got very lucky well i got very lucky today did one side king pin came right out re greased the bearings put it back together flipped the truck around in the garage started the other side got it apart than stopped for the day i will clean parts and get it back together .
Yay ! Good work Robert ! . Now you can earn $ by doing it for others...... or help your buddies out .
done did other side today did not take that long to do because i tore it done yesterday. took time so would not forget anything. the brass caps were harder to remove than the pins.did one side at a time. when i drilled the brass cap and was knocking them out the pins where starting to slide out as i said before I GOT VERY VERY LUCKY most of the time these jobs turn into days. now just have to test drive thanks to all for your help. Robert
help out I would do just like all of you guys here pass on the info as you guys have done for me and many many others. you guys and gals here are priceless. i wish i was able to post step by step like russ and the rest of you guys. Robert
replaced kingpins with 20 thousand over kit from napa. now i must confess that i am the worlds worst mechanic but i did manage to do the job without too much stress - just cost me a couple of finger nails and a wee bit of profanity. to my neighbours... i apologise.
