VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1937-1945 Sign of a Bad Kingpin?

I got "d" basackards. They) KPs) are driven out from top to bottom and driven in bottom to top. I'm surprised Gene or anyone else didn't notice my error.

As to the bushing, I believe there is a groove that is offset by being farther from the end of the bushing than the other end. So they should go in correctly to accept the grease from the zero. I can't remember for sure and I just got theough with installling my KPs on the project car a couple weeks ago. Lord, I'm getting old.

Gene is right. The KPs will drive in much easier than I let on. I had my support out and in an anvil. Essier to work on that way.

I strongly recommend that you get a maintenance manusl. For only about 20 bucks or so they are well worth the money. Buy two. One to use whilst working on the car and so that you don't worry about getting it dirty. And one to go with the car literature. I use a 1942 when working on my 41s. Not much difference. And I don't mind getting it dirty.

Good luck with it. You can get the brake hoses about any national parts place. I got mine from O'Riely. I Just ased for 1950 hoses.

Charlie

Back to this thread after getting my leaf springs in...

Discovered the problem with the driver's-side kingpin is that there are no covers on top or bottom, no locking ring or plug on bottom and no bottom bushing. How and when these fell out, and how long the previous owner was driving it like this, is anyone's guess.

Despite the shop manual saying I can easily drive the top plug out by driving the kingpin up from the bottom, and then the kingpin out by driving it down from the top, that sucker ain't moving, even when I tried driving the kingpin up with a 2 1/2 ton floor jack.

So, I'm thinking I should just replace the bottom bushing, plug, locking ring and covers, fill it with grease and call it good. This leads to two questions.

One, can I just push the new bottom bushing up into place, maybe with a little tapping by using one of the extra bushings I'm probably not going to be using? Does it stop once it's in place or do I have to watch it through the zerk hole?

And two, this car hasn't been lubed in years/decades and all the grease I find is like dry paste. Does anyone know a good way to dissolve and push out old grease so I can re-fill with new grease? I took the zerks off and have them soaking in gasoline - that seems to be dissolving the grease in them - but I can't do this for all the bushings and joints on the car.

Buy a Ram-o-zerk. You fill it with oil, place on the fitting and hit with a hammer. It forces the oil thru the part. Go on ebay ans search ram-o-zerk, there is more than on brand.

I havent had any bushings come out of their own accord, generally takes a reasonable amount of force to move them. I would suspect that there is wear on parts that should not which may cause problems later. I would continue doing the replacement more so now.
Tony

I've never heard of it, either, but I can imagine how it could happen. If the bottom cover fell off or got knocked off, the lock ring could have rusted/corroded (especially considering how much salt Iowa uses on its roads during the winters). Once the lock ring was gone, the plug and bushing could have worked their way out over time.

Or, judging by some of the half-way, cobble-job repairs I see on the car, it's also possible someone replaced the king pin long ago and forgot to put the lock ring on the bottom. That wouldn't surprise me.

Either way, the king pin itself and upper bushing appear OK and the spindle rotates easily. The king pin must not be rusted onto the bushing because, looking through the zerk holes, I can see the top bushing rotate with the spindle while the king pin remains stationary. That indicates to me that the top plug is the only thing keeping me from getting king pin out.

Should I continue trying to get that top plug out, like maybe drilling and then prying it out since I can't seem to push it out? Or should I figure the king pin and top bushing are good, replace the bottom bushing, plug, lock ring and cover, and call it good? Honestly, that's the way I'm leaning right now.

Drill a hole in the top plug and insert a self tapping sheet metal screw and thread it in against the king pin and the plug should pop out.

The top bushing will be worn in places it shouldnt be so when you put the new bush in the bottom the top bush will then wear quicker in the usual places. Do a full bushing and pin replacement at least on that side.
As Steve suggested the drill and sheetmetal screw will allow you access to drive the pin down. They do often stick into place in the centre and take a lot of persuasion with a big hammer to move.
A silly suggestion, have you removed the lock pin that holds the pin in place. They often hide amongst the excess grease on the mounting (axle eye).
Tony

Yep, got the lock pin out. Also finally got everything replaced, greased and working great. I'm not touching the other kingpin until I need to.

It was like an archaeological dig under there, chipping away at years of dirt and grime to find all the grease fittings. Just have three (two in back, one in front) that won't take new grease even after cleaning and making sure the zerks work. Guess it's time to borrow the wife's hair dryer and warm those bushing up to soften the old grease in them before trying again.