Thanks again to everyone that offered suggestions and guidance in helping me
with my front end questions.
For those following along I figured I would share what I learned about these
front ends:
My king pin set came with 4 bearings instead of 2 bearings and 2 bushings I
am still not sure if I can use the Torrington Needle Bearing on the top and
bottom of the king pins. The maching shop is going to disassemble
everything, check all the measurements and then I will decide what to do.
If everything checks out I may just keep the old parts in there.
When replacing the king pin kit there are several things that you should
watch out for.
King Pins ? (for 6 cyl apps with 2 bushings) You need a long Pilot Reamer
(referenced in the Service Manual) to ensure proper parallel alignment of
bushings not just diameter of bushings. A small hand reamer will get the
diameter but will not ensure proper alignment of the bushings, this is very
important.
(6 and 8 cyl) Lower bushing may be a thick walled or thin walled bushing.
If thin walled you cannot replace with Torrington OD-15 (confirm part #)
needle bearing because the OD of bearing is larger than the OD of the
bushing. I am still not sure if using a bearing on the bottom is correct.
The king pins themselves are also a variable item. OD is the same but you
must compare the length, as well as the position and size of the slot for
the retaining pin. The pin length can vary by as much as ¼ inch. They appear
to all be interchangable but take the time to compare the new ones with what
came out of the car.
Watch the position of the grooves on the bushing. They are designed to
direct grease to the flat bearing, if backwards grease will force out the
bottom plug.
Upper and Lower control Arms
Inner bushings. If you do not have the tool identified in the Service
Manual which acts as a centering tool and a spreader, there is a problem
with the control arm fork getting squeezed you tighten the bushings. When I
put mine together, without using this method, the shafts were binding but
they worked themselves free by turning the shafts repeatedly.
The solution is to cut a piece of hard wood or pipe to the ID of the control
arm fork to maintain separation as the bushing is tightened.
Scott
1956 dodge Custom Royal Lancer
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