King Pins

[Papa Smurf]

As an alternative to RS, Wagga Tractor & Truck parts does a king pin kit for $142, he often sells on ebay (waggatractor) or 0269319099.

[Rod]

Just an update or should I say I hope a conclusion to my king pin / tyre saga.

Finally got the old ute on the road on friday. Ended up fitting Maxxis 185/80 with the thin white wall that John recommended. Ended up getting them at Beaurepaires for $125 fitted. They were absolutely great to deal with and searched high and low for all options for me.

The King Pin support ended up having a slight twist in it - so I had to replace it. Not throwing out the stub axle (good bushes), I got the old King Pin support and had it milled out to the size of the oversized pin.

Put it all together with the new coil and I couldn't get over the difference - a higher ride, great steering.

Anyway when I got the tyres fitted and wheel aligned, the aligner indicated to me that the U bolts on the axle housing needed tightening as there was movement on the rear springs. (Interesting that everything aligned up excellently within the limits except that the king pin inclinations were around 11-12 degrees not 5 degrees plus or minus 0.5)Did this last night and low and behold the vibration and noise I have had for some time and couldn't find the cause of when traveling at 55-60 mph was gone. Fantastic another problem solved. But all thats happened is another problem has surfaced.

When I accelerate I now get an every slight pull to the left and when I take the foot off the accelerator when changing gears the ute tends to travel / pull to the right. It seems to travel in a straight line when going at a constant speed. It has to do with the tracking of the rear wheels but don't know why. Its possible that I haven't done the bolts up evenly as I didn't have access to a torque wrench. Is there anyone out there that may offer a suggestion on what I hope to be the last issue with my tyres / steering dilemma. By the way this has only happened after tightening up the U bolts.

In finishing I would like to sincerely thank John for all his suggestions on tyres etc, FB Mad for his suggestions and offer of a front coil and also to Ken "your now who" for the replacement coil and showing me how the king pin support was twisted along with all other comments.

Cheers

Rod

[FCGos]

Rod
If your rear axle U bolts were loose it could be because you have a spring leaf that is broken in the middle or a broken centre bolt (which runs through the spring pack and locates on the axle) either of which will cause the rear axle to step out of alignment.  To check both you will need to remove the U bolts and separate the diff housing from the spring pack to inspect. Check from side on that the centre bolt is in a straight line top to bottom and check spring leaves for signs of cracking which are typically masked by dry powdery rust. If either faults are found you will then have to remove the entire spring pack to repair or replace. Don't worry it is not a big job to do and if you do have to remove the spring packs it is advisable to replace the shackle bushes at the same time.
Hope this helps Wayne

[Ken's 57]

Rod - sorry to barge in on your post but what's the best way to tell if the king pins are dodgy? I have around 90,000 original miles up so I wouldn't mind getting them checked out.

Cheers....Ken

[Rod]

Ken I would expect at 90000 miles that the king pins would be worn.

Having said that if they have been well lubricated they maybe OK.

They way I checked the pins (others please correct me if there is a better way) was to jack the car up so you have enought room to put your hand under the wheel and on top of it. While holding the top and bottom of the wheel rock / place alternate pressure on the wheel at the same time look side on to the wheel focussing on the king pin.

If you get movement when rocking back and forward it can be two main things - worn king pins and / or worn poorly adjusted wheel bearings (could also be worn upper and lower king pin support pins). By looking side on you can see where the movement is coming from. If it's the king pin you will see the stub axle move on the pin / assembly. If it is the wheel bearing there will be no movement of the stub axle. Just be mindful it could be a combination of both.

I hope this description can be of help.

Rod

[Ken's 57]

Thanks Rod - I know there's a bit of movement in the right wheel but I hadn't thought to look at the stub axle for any slack.