King pin help!

[Matt_50]

So I'm hoping to put my disc brakes on tomorrow and figured I'd do the king pins today.

Both sides had just a tad of play. So I bought the regular king pin set. I got my spindles off and checked the axle bore with the new kingpins. When greased they slide in and out perfectly, not tight but not loose.

Got the spindles on the bench, tapped out the old bushing and cleaned out all the gunk. With a little wd40 it cleaned up great, no pitting looks good.

The new bushing slide right in, and the just fall out!! A little grease would hold them but is this ok?? I know the instructions do not say to press them in but with wd40 they fall right back out.

[Matt_50]

Ok, I found a much better detailed how to tech article. The instructions I got are kinda vague and there are some extra little stuff. They are suppose to float... and might get a tad snug according to factory manual.

[dsraven]

every kingpin bushing I have ever installed has had to be pressed in or hammered in with the proper sized tool. then reamed to fit the pin. the teflon coated ones also need to be fit to the pin.
if the bushing slips right through I would think the hole is worn or the bushing is the wrong size. the pin needs to fit snuggly in the I beam as well. start there and make sure that is correct. compare length to old pin.
the old bushings had to be pressed or hammered out right? that would make me think the new ones also need to be press fit. a bushing that floats around in the bore will have trouble getting properly greased as well.

[MiraclePieCo]

Originally Posted by dsraven

every kingpin bushing I have ever installed has had to be pressed in or hammered in with the proper sized tool. then reamed to fit the pin.

That's been my experience too. I've also frozen the bushings and heated the spindle to get them to slide in easier.

[1project2many]

From the 1955 Chevrolet Truck Manual Second Series:

"King pin bushings used on all 1/2 ton vehicles are the floating type and when replaced in service, either standard or .010" oversize, they need not be reamed to size as all service bushings are machined to finished dimensions...These bushings should be free on the kingpin but may be somewhat snug in the steering knuckle."

http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com...55ctsm0306.htm

The old busings in my truck pushed out. The replacements were not so loose as to push in but barely needed to be tapped in. I applied a little bit of blue Loc Tite to the bushing OD because I felt I should.

Also, the pins are a slip fit or mild tap fit in the axle rather than the press fit found on larger vehicles. The tapered retaining bolt provides the tension required to keep the pin locked.

[Matt_50]

Yea, when I was test fitting everything, wd40 really made them slide but with grease they were fine. They are installed and I have no issues except for putting the caps on the bottom side. I realized I'll need to remove my u bolts to flip my shock mounts over due to P/S kit. So when I do that I'll flip axle over, smack those on and reinstall u bolts.

I'm a little stuck on P/S kit though. Worried I got wrong one.