Checking King Pins for Wear

ratlee2

I have a low milage 53 Hornet I am putting back on the road and have a couple questions regarding checking king pin wear in the front suspension.  The car has been off the road since 1968 except for a couple of very short test drives after an engine and transmission rebuild back in the early 2000's.  My right front wheel has about a 1/16" of play while rocking the tire from 12 to 6 o'clock position.  After I did this, I greased the kingpin until it came out of the bottom valve and all the play was gone.

1.  The manual states appreciable wear.  What exactly do they mean by this?

2.  Is the play normally checked after greasing?  A quick google check on some other brand websites said it is normal practice to check afterwards.

3.  If I need to replace the kingpins, does the spindle support need to come off the car, or can it be done just by removing the spindle by itself?

Thanks,
Rich

cheyenne7271

That’s acceptable play in that kingpin, you shouldn’t have any drive-ability issues. 

Geoff

When you say 1/16", is that at the pin or the wheel?

ratlee2

Thanks for the responses.  The 1/16" was at the top and bottom of the tire.  The king pin joint appeared to be dry as it took 3 pumps from the grease gun before anything came out the check valve.

Geoff

You have nothing to worry about.