few questions on installing king pin

hoggyrubber

i have finally got everything apart the king pin, i think it's called swivel pin in manual, and all is out. it was quite a bear. i had to really put the "oink" into it to drive it out. i hope the new one goes in al lot easier than that. my questions are:
1. i didn't get any instructions with the new ones and bought it several years back. there are 4 thin shims inside the kit. does each one go above and below the spindle?
2.when this is installed, before the steering nuckle and woodruf key is installed, can i turn this pin to align the keyways or do i have to be ultra careful on driving it in exactly right? is it going to be as tight as old one in spindle? if so any tricks?
3. i think i read years ago about putting the ball bearings inside with some grease, but any other tricks to use when installing to keep them in place?
4. inside the kit is some rubber o rings looks like this is a replacement for the seal around the lower bushing, but my old one is pretty pliable- should i just reuse my old one? it is a real seal and not just a o ring, thought it might be better.
anyone feel free to give me any suggestions, i am all ears and i don't want to learn anything the hard way.

bob ward

2. The pin needs to be pressed in so that the keyway etc line up. Just eyeball it, you will find you end up pretty well spot on.

Uncle Josh

bob ward wrote:

2. The pin needs to be pressed in so that the keyway etc line up. Just eyeball it, you will find you end up pretty well spot on.

Incidentally, the naked (don't peek) eye can see a difference of less than a thousandths (.001) of an inch if it has something nearby to compare to.

I heard about a guy who asked how many thousandths there were in an inch, to which a wag replied, 'millions of 'em'.

Geoff

I figure if you can get it within a smidgen, or a gnat's whisker, it's near enough.

hoggyrubber

thank you all for the advise. pressing it in seems like the way to go. less chance of the ball bearings bouncing around and all. i will give it a whirl in a couple of days and see if i can get in within a gnat's whisker.

[Deleted User]

bob ward wrote:

2. The pin needs to be pressed in so that the keyway etc line up. Just eyeball it, you will find you end up pretty well spot on.

The following are pictures of a king pin press used to install or remove the pins.

[Deleted User]

Hudsons from 1940 up are pre-fitted and just push in. No reaming needed, as the bushings are hard steel and pin is fitted. You need to press the upper bushings into the spindle as well as the bottom one. The pin then just slides in, put heavy grease on the top of the pin, install the seven balls, 1948 to 1954, or 1940 to 1947, 6 balls. The hard part is replacing the grease check valve with the expansion plug after the job is finished. Walt.

[Deleted User]

walt again, forgot to mention, to remove, just remove the grease fitting at the top, get a round punch the will slide into the hole and just knock the pin out. Walt.

hoggyrubber

thanks walt and everyone. i have the old pin out and the new upper bushing cup and lower bushing installed. i am still not quite sure about all the parts they may be for the older models... the kit i have is just like ebay item # 190615647634. i am not sure what the thin rouns shims are for or iff they are needed. also included are 2 plasma cut pieces just beside the woodruff keys in picture don't know what they are for either.
so walt or anyone, you say the hardest thing is the exp plug at bottom what's the easiest way to install it? i was thinking about just driving it in to the area below the lower bushing with a large socket, is this wrong? when you say the pin will just slide in, it was pretty tough to drive out thru the spindle portion, it was loose in the bushings though. i will clean the spindle part out real good before i try to install and cool the pin overnight. i have a 30 ton press if needed. thanks again for all the help everyone.

hoggyrubber

well i cleaned up the inside of the spindle portion today and the king pin will go in just by hand, it won't have to be pressed in. i am sure glad about that. it's snug, but not a press fit. i don't know why it was so tough to drive out when it goes in so easy! i should get around to finishing it up this weekend if all goes acording to plan. like Walt says the lower portion with pressure release will prob be the hardest part. thanks again.

[Deleted User]

I set up the spindle on a miller and just clean up the part that was pressed in to hold the old cup. Insert the new cup and with a punch and hammer, knock and lock it in 4or 5 places. Use only a hand held grease gun to lube the pins, as a high pressure gun will force the cup out and now you have problems. Grease the throw out bearing also with a hand held grease gun. Walt.

hoggyrubber

i got the kingpin in today. i was able to even turn it after installing to align the keyway, so no problems there. got everything together except the botton grease relief cap. big thanks to everybody! i'm sure the other side will be a breeze now.
the only thing i still am wondering is the cut stock that came with the kit is lead. it mentions sealing the bottom relief with white lead. do i just coat the edge before driving this in? it's the only thing i can figure to do with this piece. i guess it helps seal in the grease. anybody know?
thanks again!

[Deleted User]

That lead piece is to seal the key way to stop the grease from coming out there. Walt.

hoggyrubber

oh, now the shape makes sense. thank you.