Who's done Kingpins? Need input/advice

I'm not looking forward to doing this job at all, but needs to be done. I have the new set but how the heck would I get the old bushings out as well as the new ones in? I have checked with NAPA and O'reillys for a bushing tool and comming up empty. Could I take a socket and a BFH and drive them out? How would I get the new ones squarely in? I do have access to a big press but what would work to ensure they go in correctly? I do have a FSM as well. Any advice, input, tricks, etc. are welcome on this end. Thanks

When mine were removed, the drivers side almost fell out...while the passenger side needed lots of localised heat and plenty of persuasion with the BFH and a heavy dolly behind the 'knuckle'

Putting in is easy once everything is cleaned and rust free. Just make sure the new bushings are shimmed if necessary to take out all the unwanted play.

I'm all for DIY, but if you have to ask, it would probably be a good idea to have them done.
Look for an old timer or a heavy truck service place, or both!
Once the parts are installed, they should be reamed to size and this isn't a tool that can be borrowed at AZ!
I would suggest that you get the parts all nice and clean. It shows respect for the guy who may return the respect.

Take it to someone with a press-hydralic is best- You will need to heat the axle & such with a torch- NOT a Silly Propane one!! a Cutting torch- Then when hot - press the pins out- let cool- then usually the bushings can be driven out eith a chizel & punch=(be Careful) I bought some kingpin sets a while back from JC Whitney that came with the correct reamers for cleaning up the pin & bushing areas. If its too big a job- get it to a welding shop or machine shop=Welders know how to do this stuff.

I'm trying to remember this , I think on my bros truck we undersized the old kingpin so it wouldn't hang up and used it as a guide for the new bushings to start, from there it was a combination of large sockets a piece of flat metal and a big C clamp. We left one original bushing in and did the other end and switched. these were bronze bushings the nylon ones might be different to work with ?

in my humble opinion i would never use anything but a brass or bronze bushing. there are cheaper kits with a plastic bushings but not worth the powder to blow it to hell.
the hardest part of kingpin relpacement is removal of the old pin. once you get it out the rest is fairly basic till it's time to ream the bushings to fit the pin. that is machine shop stuff and really doesn't take to long to do. as the manual does not provide a spec for how tight or loose to ream the new bushings when i did a set on my old van many years ago the shop had them snug and that was to tight.!!! my recomondation is about .002 loose so the grease can get all around the pins and new bushings. mine were tight enough to actually cause excessive wear to the steering box because on a warm day in city driving there was to much metal contact and not enough grease. they actually heated up and got tighter. just an opinion thats all............

donivan65 wrote:

After seeing that tool here , I bought one last year. I have to admit it is about the handiest thing in the shop when it comes to tuff removal of stuff and today I used it on the frozen eye bolts and shackles in the springs.

still the the most required tools to do the job are;
acetelyne torchs
mothering big hammer
cooler thats full of ..........................

Thanks for the feedback, I do have the bronze bushings as I feel that the nylon ones would be to cheap. What's the big C- clamp tool called?

Harbor freight has this -get a 20% off coupon from the hot rod mags

Thought I reserrect this topic as I'm the OP and a little PO'ed. It's been abou 2 years since I did this job and have put about 1000+ miles since doing this job. I have been suspect of my spring bushings and today while driving confirmed that I need new ones. While I had the front end up I figured I'd check tierods, etc. for any slop or anything as I have alot of wander in the steering wheel. Steering system is tight and good, I grabbed the top of the tire and started shaking it, there's movement and thought maybe loose wheel bearings, NOPE! Grabbed the bottom of the tire and did same, all good there. Stuck my head over the top of the tire and did it again from the top. I have slop on the top bushing of the kingpin. How can this be? Their new 1000+ miles and well greased, reamed out by a machine shop and everything was tight and hunky dory when done. What happened?

I'm in the middle of Kingpin replacement as well. My spindles are in the shop now getting the bushings pressed in and reamed. They should be done any day, and when I pick them up, i'll talk to the machine shop manager and ask him about this. Looks like you did everything i'm about to do too.

Digzs! Donivan! Twinpilot! what is the name of that c-clamp/press kingpin removal tool? harbor freight has a sale for a few more hours and i should jump on it! Thanks!

It's a Ball Joint press i think.

I got my spindles back today; i'm sure glad I had them done by a professional. $77 bucks and they fixed the hatchet job i did taking out the old bushings, installed new, and reamed and honed with my new pin. Oh, and they even hot dipped 'em so they're cleaner than when I dropped them off.

For the gentleman whose kingpins are having troubles after 1000 miles: I asked the shop manager and he said there could be any number of things going on. He said if the alignment geometry is off, that could put undo wear on the kingpins. sorry i couldn't come home with a magic answer for you.

Uh. Guys. I was just pulling my old kingpins out of my parts washer and noticed the notch doesn't quite match up. Anyone else run into this? what do I do? Machine a new notch?



I just re-checked the rockauto website picture for the kingpin set and the picture shows the correct pins. My box has the correct Raybestos part number, but the pins are wrong. On hold with Rockauto now. wow, I just can't catch a break! lol

They're going to refund me, but since I already installed the bushings, I have to order another set and use those bushings to return the first set. confused yet? so am I. they did tell me that there is no history of returns on those parts, so it just might have been a fluke. On my way to order another set. wish me luck.

You guys are really scaring me. Im gearing up to do my front end in the near future and now... Im worried about DIY and even more worried a shop might F it up... 

We dont know a pro do we?

I was nervous at first, but everyone around here is a good resource.  I'd would have a machine shop press out and install the new bushings as well as ream/hone them to match the replacement Kingpin you get in your set. Before you go through all that, first verify the axle hole where the Kingpin goes through is not wobbled out.  Once you remove the spindles, clean off the old pin and it should fit snugly in the axle hole.  If it wobbles, you have a problem.  Be sure your machine shop has the equipment to ream/hone BOTH ends of the spindle at the same time.  This ensures the kingpin will align on both ends.  
Grease kingpins when the vehicle is off the ground; this takes the stress off and allows grease to get everywhere.  Another great resource on kingpins is the forum over at the sweptline.com site.  They have about 10x more kingpin messages than we do.

I got the correct pins in dropped the spindles off at my machine shop because the new pins are a bit tight.  They're not going to charge me since it will only take them a few minutes.  It's nice to get great service.  I'll keep you posted on the re-install.

I just did my front end last winter and it wasn't too bad.  Just take your time and read the shop manual thrice, attack once.  Lots of information on here was super helpful as well.  I also spoke with a heavy truck mechanic who had some good tips.

I 100% agree on having a shop do the ream for you, its worth the piece of mind.  New king pins should go in without much trouble.  I took mine to an alignement shop as soon as it was back on its wheels.  I used a tape measure to get the toe-in as close as possible (I was within 2 degrees) so I could get it there safely.

Someone on here mentioned greasing the pins every 1K, doesn't seem like a bad idea.  Good luck, you'll enjoy the ride once your done.