Replace kingpin & spindle
 

I bought spindles & kingpins for my ” ‘35 to hydraulic brake project” from speedway. 1st time for kingpins & new spindles. The ones I bought have to be reamed. Does this mean line reamed to axle holes or just check kingpin size & ream spindle holes for kingpins in spindles. A mechanic friend thinks we need to take the dropped axle out & ream both spindle KP hole & axle holes together. I don’t think so because Speedway offers a Prereamed Bolt in kit w reamed spindles fitted to KP’s in kit. Help!

Re: Replace kingpin & spindle
 

No need to ream the bores in the axle. I doubt the spindles and king pin bushings come pre-machined. It's possible, but I doubt it. A quick test fit should give you an idea.

There are a few opinions on this, but the best (re: most accurate) way to do it is to have a machine shop use a Sunnen hone to align ream them to fit. This service is not terribly expensive.

Re: Replace kingpin & spindle
 

Usually the axle should be sized correctly for the kingpin. Occasionally you will find an old dropped axle has been egged a little in the kingpin hole and will need to be touched up.

The kingpin bushings need to be reamed by a piloted adjustable reamer. They can't be done with a brake hone. You need to assure both bushings are in line with each other. Also need to only ream to the kingpin size, not above too much. An easy fit of kingpin to hole is what I shoot for. If it's hard to press in, you won't have enough room for the grease.

We had a streak last year where we did a few sets in a short while, and I found some new kingpins to be different size from each other. That's why I think it's best to size each bushing for a particular pin.

Re: Replace kingpin & spindle
 

I have a heavy duty Allen Tool Makers drill press with good table & spindle slide ways. Table has mounting holes like a milling machine. Could I clamp spindle to angle plate indicate setup & line ream on the drill press with a correct sized reamer?

Re: Replace kingpin & spindle
 

If you did in fact buy the kit from 'SPEEDWAY' all information says that they are prefit to the pins so no reaming should be necessary.

Re: Replace kingpin & spindle
 

I have reamed many king pin bushes and I use a Snap-on line reamer that I bought on eBay, I find it easy to use and perfect for the job.

Re: Replace kingpin & spindle
 

Do u do on a drill press clamped to an angle plate? Or ( I’ll probably get slammed for this ) do u use a hand drill :eek::eek::eek: :D

Re: Replace kingpin & spindle
 

The king pin bushings don't take much to ream, you don't really need power tools to accomplish the task. I used an adjustable wrench and a reamer made for Ford king pin bushings and reamed them by hand.

Re: Replace kingpin & spindle
 

I second Zeke3 above :)

Re: Replace kingpin & spindle
 

Thx all, got a good idea of what works well!

Re: Replace kingpin & spindle
 

I have one of those .814" reamers as well. The Sunnen way makes them perfect and fits the bushing to the pin vs. universal sizing. Not saying it's wrong, just a different approach.

Re: Replace kingpin & spindle
 

GBSisson and I had success honing our king pin bushings using a dowel wrapped with emery paper. But, I have absolutely zero success finding the threads here on the Barn.

Re: Replace kingpin & spindle
 

As others have suggested you need a self aligning reamer. You will never get the upper and lower bushing properly aligned by using a drill press and flipping the spindle over to do each side. The bushings must be aligned so the kingpin can be inserted without beating it in with a hammer. If you don't have the proper reamer then I would take it to a machine shop to have the bushings done properly.

Re: Replace kingpin & spindle
 

I also followed GB Sisson's process for honing king pin bushings on my Model A and ended up with a perfect fit. Take your time and use gradually finer grits of emory paper to close in on the end result.

I did this after paying good money to a machine shop that honed the bushings so loose that the king pins felt loose and would easily fall out of the bushings by their own weight. This shop was somehow regarded as "the best in town".

Re: Replace kingpin & spindle
 

My method is not foolproof, but let it be said, "It is a poor craftsman who blames his tools." My mentor taught me that. He is 5 years older than me at 73. I have honed perhaps 15 sets of kingpins (mine and others)with the slotted dowel and sandpaper routine. Maybe I made a bad impression on some by using my wife's wooden spoon handle when a 5/8" dowel wasn't readibly accessible. The main difference between my methods and other's like a brake hone.. ( so wrong) is the alignment. I took a video of one of my kingpins dipped in 30 w dropping verrrry slowly under it's own weight, but the video had other flaws so I never posted it. Just so happens I towed another ford tonner into my shop last night and with a hub/spindle/brake inspection the kingpins are shot. Stay tuned. Pics of the time I slotted my wife's wooden spoon....

Re: Replace kingpin & spindle
 

POST # 359
https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showt...el#post1483006

Re: Replace kingpin & spindle
 

Thanks so much for posting that! I knew it was out there somewhere.

Re: Replace kingpin & spindle
 

Another question, can I use a large machinists vice to press greased up bushings into spindles? Can’t see with the spindle config it’d be any better in an arbor press.

Re: Replace kingpin & spindle
 

These pics need to be seen by the masses! Pretty slick technology! DD


https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/attac...1&d=1496897170


https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/attac...2&d=1496897188

Re: Replace kingpin & spindle
 

[QUOTE=V8COOPMAN;2087497]These pics need to be seen by the masses! Pretty slick technology! DD

Yes, GB has shown me many times over that he can tackle serious jobs with minimum tools and maximum ingenuity.