Friend gave me a deal on a well rusted 48 Ford front suspension. Looks like s#%t but the hubs rotate and the spindles turn on the kingpins. In fact, the kingpin bushings are a little loose. But when I try to drive the kingpins out with a drift they will not budge. I have driven out kingpins before but never had this much trouble. Anyone have any ideas? Thought about heating up the axle ends. Has anyone tried this? Despite the rust the spindles and wishbone look pretty good. Axle is marginal. Everything else is junk. But all I wanted was the spindles and the bones.
You did remove the kingpin lock bolts or pins didn't you.I have not had any trouble taking out old kingpins as long as you take out the bolt that holds the kingpin in the axel first.You may also try tapping them out from the bottom up as they were most likely put in from the top down.They are not a press fit in the axel,that is why they have the retainer pin/bolt.If there is a burr or something they may only come out the same way that they went in.Hope this helps.Later Charles
The nuts on the lock pins also act as steering stops. Loosen them a couple turns,and smack it with a hammer to pop it loose.
Jonesboro,Ark.Thats cool,My dad's side of the family are near you in walnut ridge & hoxie.There is a friend of mine up there too,He's a hotrodder by the name of Raymond Colby,He is one hell of a head porter,he has a flow bench & I think he is retired now.
But if they are rusted in (which ive ran across a ton of times) just heat the ends of the axle and try it, if that doesnt work torch a slice out of the axle vertically so ity will reliece the kingpin.
I heard if you pour coke on rust that the coke will eat the rust away over night. But I have never tried this! so you could try. And if it works then that story I heard is true.
[ QUOTE ] Jonesboro,Ark.Thats cool,My dad's side of the family are near you in walnut ridge & hoxie.There is a friend of mine up there too,He's a hotrodder by the name of Raymond Colby,He is one hell of a head porter,he has a flow bench & I think he is retired now. [/ QUOTE ] I'm not familiar with Ray. I have a friend who builds racing motors. I'll ask Mark if he knows him. Appriciate the help. I've pulled the kingpin locks/spindle stops and sprayed on some NAPA penetrant. I'll p*** on the Coke. Think I'll give the penetrant a day or two to work and try again. If that does not do it I'll take a stab with the torch.
I see the guys that always have them pop right out are from down south. I've never had a kingpin from a minnesota junkyard come out without a fight. Take the torch and heat the axle to a nice cherry red, then pretend you are John Henry, (can you swing a hammer boy?) and beat that kingpin out with a good sized drift. The same thing goes for the perches. I've never had to cut an axle apart to get the king pins out, and I've had **** that looked way worse than what you brought home. David
Like 413 said, every one I've ever done has been a *****. I use my OTC ball joint tool to pop them out. First, I heat the ends and spray a good penetrating lube in as soon as I take away the torch. WD-40 won't cut it, use Knock r Loose, PB Penetrater, etc...
[ QUOTE ] Take the torch and heat the axle to a nice cherry red, then pretent you are John Henry, (can you swing a hammer boy?) and beat that kingpin out with a good sized drift. [/ QUOTE ] Heating to cherry red is not necessary. You stand a chance of distorting the axle bore. A moderate amount of heat usually does it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bib, do you have access to a press? The HF 20 tonner I used to have would take out most stuff like this. In fact, if you have a big enough vise and can wrestle the axle up into place, a couple of sockets or similar will also drive the kingpin out. Remove the hubs prior to so as to make getting it into position easier.
Soak it in oil over night, heat gently while you beat on it with a air hammer and she will pop.Make sure to look for any kind of lock pin or axle stop that prevents the king pin from coming out.
I agree with bob, first make sure the locks are out, flip it upside down, heat the axle a little bit, and drive it through with an air hammer.
Thought I would bring this up since I read most of the threads on removing kingpins, and just came in from the garage after removing them from a '41 axle... First I soaked the for a few days with Kroil penetrating oil. Stuck tight... the right one came out using the air hammer (some call it an air chisel but with the blunt tool installed). The left one didn't budge with the air hammer or a BFH. I put a big C-clamp on it with its crank on the bottom side of the KP. Used a large socket on the top side and a nut smaller than the KP on the bottom (clamp wasn't large enough to use a small socket there). Cranked down, no movement. So tried a few raps on the clamp screw. That worked! Keeping pressure on the clamp arm and rapping on the screw did the trick. Rap - turn - rap - turn ... (I had to replace the nut with another piece of metal a bit longer, finally a socket, and by then the air hammer finished the job.) What I did was based on the ideas from this msg board, not claiming anything new. Thanks guys !!
I've just had this problem with a '40 front end. I tried the BFG method to no avail. So I removed the backing plates to afford better access to the bottom of the kingpins. With the axle out of the car of course, upside down supported on axle stands, I drove them out with an air chisel with a blunt tool fitted. At first they didn't budge, but after a few seconds they just drove out real easy. I was surprised how fast it was. Ed
they get stuck in the axle not the spindle. so heat the axle cherry red use the air hammer with the blunt tool.should come out top or bottom. Tom
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