King pins and steering ball questions

[Houdini]

I'm new to this and just started a project to replace my king pins and while at it, have new spindle arm balls done. I've dis-assembled the wheels, axles etc and have a few questions.

My first concern is how the steering balls looked. My first thought was maybe they were replacement balls and that sending them in for exchange with Brattons would not fly, as they want originals and grind down the shank and press on new balls, not drill out a 1/2 hole and weld in new balls.

I've attached some pictures. I don't know what original balls look like, but I can't see any weld where there were replacement balls. Can any of you tell from the pictures if these are originals or not.

My second question/problem is the large nut that holds the steering arm spindles to the axle are tight and won't budge. I've put some penetrating oil on tonight, but I don't have much hope they will budge. If they don't, should I try heating with a torch? Any other suggestions on how to get them off.

Finally, any suggestions for a cleaning solvent for large parts to soak in. Kerosene use to be an economical solution, but these days, most places only sell it in gallon cans and its expensive. I see Henry use to call for gasoline as a solvent. Lately, that seems to be the cheapest, but not a favorite or safe one as far as I'm concerned. So any suggestions for a low cost, high volume solvent to soak parts in. Mine are really covered with heavy old grease.

[Houdini]

I forgot to attach the pictures:

[SeaSlugs]

looks like weld around the base.

nuts should turn off - they are supposed to be tight. remove the cotter soak with actual penetrating oil (not WD 40) and let it sit a few days, respray when it looks dry. then get a very good fitting 1/2" drive socket (6 point prevered) and a 2 ft long breaker bar. they are standard ol right hand threads and should come off. if you have access to a cutting torch get the nut hot (shouldnt glow) and try to remove with the socket if it still wont budge

a local gas station sells kerosine by the gallon for about the cost of diesel - WAY cheaper than going to big box store. its what i used on 2 rearends for my AA. throw the parts in for about a week then fish em out with heavy rubber gloves and scrape/brush away the goo.

[Tom Wesenberg]

They look like newer balls welded on at the base. I've never seen this way of replacing them before.

[Houdini]

I was afraid that they might have been replacement balls, but never seeing any before (including orginals) I was hoping that they weren't. If they are replacment balls, then I don't think they will take them in exchange.

Any suggestions on how I can get arms with new balls. Are there arms around to get. I assume they are hard to find, otherwise they would not be as strict about exchange versus selling them outright with new balls.

Any advice on where to go from here would be helpful.

[tbirdtbird]

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we use oven cleaner for heavy caked on greasy dirt

[updraught]

For old ones to exchange:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1928-1931-Fo...hWX04Z&vxp=mtr

Hmmm, better get both of them.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1928-1931-Fo...UAAOSwfZ1WX0nE

No way I'd drive anything with unknown repaired steering balls.

[Tom Wesenberg]

Those balls look good to me and the welding looks like a good job, and if they were mine I'd give them a try. I'd probably torture test them at slow speed over some rough terrain first though. I wonder who did the reballing on them?

It's just a gamble when you try something new. You might want to show them to a professional welding shop and get their opinion.

[SeaSlugs]

yea they look good from here to me - a weld shop would give an opinion too. BUT just because a weld looks good on the surface could be porosity galore underneath.

if they are round i would run em and do what tom suggest about finding some rougher terrain away from people and objects if you can.

usually finding arms isnt too hard - most likely wont find any that are still round but would be decent cores.

[Deny1950]

Those balls look like they are still very good, i would just polish them up with emery cloth and they should be good to go. You could put them in a vise and give them a good hit with a brass hammer and if they dont snap or crack they should be ok, those are verry nice welds on them.Not shure but i don't think there is that much stress on these, otherwise no one would weld them back in, just my two cents Denis

[SeaSlugs]

Originally Posted by Deny1950

Those balls look like they are still very good, i would just polish them up with emery cloth and they should be good to go. You could put them in a vise and give them a good hit with a brass hammer and if they dont snap or crack they should be ok, those are verry nice welds on them.Not shure but i don't think there is that much stress on these, otherwise no one would weld them back in, just my two cents Denis

thats what i was thinking too, most of the stress is going to be while stopped dead or hitting a pothole while turning sharp.

[1930marie]

I just finished reworking my front end over the past six months and for some crazy reason, the older I become, the more I enjoy the task at hand. Your steering balls look fine, depends how anal you want to get. So with that said, the balls should be a nice round globe, I welded mine out on top and bottom by laying down a good penetrating weld 360deg around and made sure they were vertical. Note: dont hesitate to have a local fab shop do it for you if youre not a welder, its worth it. Check with A&L they usually have extra arms, however, I see absolutely nothing wrong with yours (just weld them out).

[1930marie]

ps. I believe all the front end weight is on the king-pin to axle bushing/bearing. Getting old.

[RonC]

Diesal fuel is another cheap cleaning alternative. Soak the axle assembly with 50/50 mix of ATF and Acetone to loosen the nuts if still tight after soaking in the diesal fuel.

[Rex_A_Lott]

I agree with the run them, they look OK group. But it makes me wonder , if someone went to this trouble, did they not already do the the kingpins and bushings? Or were they done improperly and already worn? I'd check it all real good and make sure I really needed to tear it apart.
Good Luck

[Tim B.]

Originally Posted by Houdini

I was afraid that they might have been replacement balls, but never seeing any before (including orginals) I was hoping that they weren't. If they are replacment balls, then I don't think they will take them in exchange.

Any suggestions on how I can get arms with new balls. Are there arms around to get. I assume they are hard to find, otherwise they would not be as strict about exchange versus selling them outright with new balls.

Any advice on where to go from here would be helpful.

Both arms I replaced needed weld repair on the shanks so I called Bratton's and explained the situation and they said I could just pay a core charge. It was cheaper than postage to ship the old ones and the cost of weld repair I'd be responsible for. Always great people to deal with. Tim

[Floats]

Hi Houdini,
I am no expert, but they look good to me as well.
However, if you are concerned about the weld quality, run down to your local general aviation airfield for some help.
Aircraft airframes must, by law, be X-rayed every so often and if you visit your local AMO( Aircraft Maintenance Organisation) he will be able to tell you when next the X-ray guy will be visiting and/or his contact details. The critical areas of a light aircraft could be X-rayed for a few hundered bucks.
He might do your balls for a few bucks( Model A balls)

[Houdini]

Thanks to all of you for your support. I called Alan at A&L and found out he will see newly redone arms/balls outright or with exchange.

I was able to get the nuts off using my impact driver and it didn't take much effort for them to come off that way.

I decided to send my arms to A&L. Alan's advice was to try and replace them with similar style ones and by sending them to him, hopefully that will make it easier to match up. If they can be reworked fine, otherwise, buying them outright is fine too.

Upon closer inspection, I can see that one of the balls has been welded for sure. Well, at least I've learned a little. Still a long road ahead. so its a race of learning time versus age. Oh, to be young again. Heck, this is fun and makes me feel young.

[Tom Wesenberg]

This thread reminds me of a joke: