I got a 35 axle it's old and rusty. I know it's going to be a pain in the ass to press these out. I put it on press for two days and i used a little hand held torch to heat it up thinking it would work and nothing. Do i need to get the big torch out and get this damn axle glowing hot for it to break loose. Or is my bottle jack press way to small to do this job. Is a 2 ton bottle jack.
Penatrating oil and clamp on to the brake actuator cup and work it untill it spins, then it should press out.
Try a regular torch, a decent size hammer and punch, along with something solid to support the axle while driving the kingpin out. Most of the time, at least for me, they will come out pretty easily this way.
yes HRP i did take that bolt out. lol! It's a tough ole part i beat the hell out of it with hammer but i didn't want to to much cause it didn't want to mushroom the kingpin. Lucky me i get to mess with the wishbone bolts next. LOL
Yep, the BFH is important, you need to jar them to get them to break loose. Use a brass drift and they won't mushroom on you.
Heat is your friend, lots of heat, like an acetylene torch with rosebud tip. You never want to beat directly on the king pin with a big hammer, you'll mushroom the end of the king pin making it more difficult to remove. The end of the axle should be red hot to get the stuck king pin to move. I personally would pay a machine shop, with a good sized press, to remove stuck KING PINS. We had one that was so stuck, we used 20tons worth of force to get the king pin to move.
If the king pin is rusted in the axle boss you will have to heat the axle boss with an acetylene torch to a dark red on both sides, let it cool and apply a good dose of PB Blaster or similar thru the king pin lock hole. If you can get it in an H frame press and support it squarely you may be able to press out the pin, if not you with have to do it the old crude and rude way with a punch and 10lb hammer.
The press sounds too small to me. I am thinking 20 tons might be more appropriate. I would also recommend grinding any rust off the visible parts of the kingpin. And consider taking the axle to your local machinist / guy with a press. I can't believe it would cost more than $50 for him to press out 2 pins.
Here is a pic of a king pin with the cup, use a pipewrench and a cheater bar and get it to spin. After it spins abit, pressing it out will be much easier and no heat should be needed...well most of the time. Aslo the shocking force of the hammer at times seems to do more than more pressure with the press...in my experiance.
If you can turn the spindle trun it so you can get a shot with the BFH directly in line with the axle on the boss the kingpin gos through.
Thanks guys i'll try the bfh. I am working to much over time to be running around that's why i used my small torch to apply heat my big torch is out of gas. So i heat it up real quick and leave it on the press over night. Come back the next day damn thing is still stuck. Ill also try the pipe wrench on it with cheater pipe. \
Heat, & I used the round end of a BallPing hammer as a drift up against the bottom of the kingpin & a BFH. It did make a little round concave indent on the center on the bottom of the kingpin but it did not increase the overall diameter nor mushroom head it at all.
I just did this this past weekend, the king pin would not turn and the spindle was still attached of course. I used my torch and heated the axle boss up to a dull red and got the spindle to rotate then took a large punch to drive it out, I soaked this in PB blaster for 2 days with no vivible results, the heat does the trick, now my axle is getting ready to visit Sid Good luck and be careful. I'd love to have a big press...
I find a bolt that will fit inside the kingpin and leave the head exposes. The diameter of the head of the bolt needs to be inside the kingpin axle diameter so when you bang on it it will slide inside of the axle with the kingpin. This way you can stand back a little and use a sledge. I find that using a drift and heavy hammer its tough to get a good "Bang" on it. Not too mention slipping and hitting your wrist or hand (yes that hurts). I have gotten some pretty stuck kingpins out doing it this way, I also use alot of PB and soak it a day or two. may stop, resoak and come back the next day if real stubborn. Sid will tell you he uses an air chisel as has been mentioned before. He has two bell housings from a banjo rear cut to hold the axle up and steady.
I take mine to the auto machine shop. Take the axle and the new pin kits. Last time I did this they pressed out the old king pins, took the bushings out, pressed the new bushings in, reamed them, and reassembled everything for $65. This was a few years ago now it's likely double that but still cheap for what you get. After all it only needs to be done every 50 years.
I think j hansen has the right idea with the air hammer. Soak it for a week in combination acetone/trans fluid and then go to town on it with the air hammer. I still have shrapnel in my arm from trying to beat out a king pin 40 years ago.
This is an old thread, but lots of good suggestions. Unfortunately none of them have worked so far for me. I have it soaking now with the ATF/Acetone mixture. So far I've tried Gibbs, WD-40 and heat and melting in candle wax (yeah, sounds crazy but it works on pipe plugs). Started messing with it a few months ago in my 20T press and with heat it went about 1/4" but then stopped. Lately I've graduated to 2 Lb. and 5 Lb. hammers using a 3/4" Grade 8 bolt as a punch. I finally got it to move about 5/8" and have driven it back and forth a couple times but that's as far as it seems to go. We'll see what the ATF/Acetone does in a few days. Thinking of going back to the press to push it back and forth to try to move it a little further each time. I've been a bit cautious about using the Oxy/Acetylene as the spindle heats up pretty good too while heating the axle boss, and I don't want to risk weakening the spindle. Open to new, late-breaking methods. Lynn
Cut the head off the pin; just in case the bottom is mushroomed from the previous pounding, then heat the axle up red with a rosebud tip on your torch and drive it out from the top down, won't hurt the spindle. Very important that the axle is solidly supported while doing so. If that don't get you there and if you are working on a '37 and up spindle; torch the thrust bearing out of the way and then cut the kingpin between the spindle and axle, then knock the spindle down and cut the the kingpin again, when it's apart the three pieces of kingpin will come out of the spindle and axle pretty easily.
Ok! First of all you need to support the axle/ king pin/ spindle on a solid footing. Think a piece if heavy pipe setting on a concrete floor! Something super solid! Then get a short punch/ bolt that will stand up by it self . Then get the BFH out…not that 2 lbs, not that 5 lbs …a BFH, no less that 8 lbs, preferably 10lbs…or more. Now swing that hammer , not tap it! It will move! I have never seen many things that won’t move, if hit HARD , with a ten pound hammer! Guys, hammers are just like wrenches….the come in sizes…! You wouldn’t use a 7/16 wrench to take off a head bolt! Bones
^^^^^I'm going to try it on the press again today if I can recruit a helper to position and hold the axle while I put some pressure on the pin. If that doesn't work, I believe I'll use your suggestion of torching out the thrust bearing and cutting the pin above and below the axle boss. As best I can tell it about a '40 axle with round-back spindles and the spindles are more valuable to me than the axle itself. But, if I can manage to save both I certainly will. Thank you! Lynn
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