shrinking a king pin boss

what do you guys think of sticking the end of my axle in my forge to get it hot and then sticking it in a bucket of water to shrink it?

 

im not a metallurgist but wouldnt that make it hard and possibly brittle?

 

Not a good idea IMHO.

 

I wouldn't think of doing it myself.

Somebody mentioned how to fix that problem a while back....can't remember who!
NO quenching involved though.
Might have been Enjenjo...but I don't think thats how you spell it.
Crafty guy...bet he'd have a good answer anyway!

 

How loose is it? Sounds like a metalurgical disaster shocking it like that. If you have a forge, why not heat it up and smack on the bosses that are at the top and bottom to close up the "hole". Then hone to size. If you're careful with the hammer, a brake hone might enough to get the job done. 54chop

 

I fixed an axle by heating it with the kingpin in place. While it was hot I hit it on the end a few times to tighten it up and let it cool slowly. Do not quench!

Worked for me. I had a lot of slop.
Clark

 

might not be the right way but i learned it from a friend who's been doing it for 50+ years without a failure, heat it till cherry red, stick a king pin in it, lightly tap with a small sledge until it fits pretty tight, leave the kingpin in it and stick it in a bucket of sand overnight to slowly cool down, by the next morning the kingpin should just be able to slide out or it might take a little penetrating oil cause it will be pretty tight, hone it and you're good to go. i wouldn't do this on an axle with a ton of slop but if you got a little wiggle this will work. i've done it a couple times without any issues.

 

i think the verdict is in, i,m not going to quench it, i did do a search and read about heating the boss and hitting it with the pin in, i watched my dad do his 18 wheeler without the pin in and just kept trying the pin till it went in tight, but i thought i,d ask if anyone ever just tried shrinking there boss, i think now i might try hitting it without the pin in and reaming it to the correct size.

 

How about reaming and put in a bronze bushing?

 

i should of said that there is not alot of play in the boss, looks like someone put new king pins and bushings in and maybe didnt notice the boss being egg shaped.