King Pin Bushings Grease Groove

[Hangtown Healey]

I am rebuilding the front suspension on a friend's 100-6. The kit's kingpin bushings have no grease grooves. Are grease grooves still necessary? Are these bushings defective?

 

[BobHaskell]

I'd say they're defective. The grooves in the top bushing will allow some grease to reach/lube the flat bearing.

 

[Hangtown Healey]

ok, thanks.

 

[bob hughes]

If you don't grease them up regularly they are a real job to get grease into them, without grooves I would think that it would be well nigh impossible. I get the boys at my local garage to do them for me once a year at MOT time then I try and do them myself later.



Bob

 

[Jerry]

Ken, I was helping Kelly replace the bushings on his MGA kingpins last week and they also did not have grooves on the new bushings. Looks like a new design in replacement parts.

 

[Hangtown Healey]

Well then we can add some with the Dremel or a lathe I guess.

 

[red57]

Ken, I don't think it's a new design in replacement parts, as much as another example of inferior parts being sold to us by indifferent suppliers who don't inspect parts they purchase or enforce appropriate quality control over their sources.

Hangtown, I definitely would carve my own grooves, fortunately brass is soft, and it should be easy to do.

 

[John Turney]

Don't the bushes have to be reamed? Would grooves interfere with that, so they would have to be filed in later? My bushings have not required replacement yet.

 

[BobHaskell]

Yes, the bushes get reamed after installation in the swivel axle. The original factory reamers had spiral cutters. The grooves are at an angle to the kingpin axis, so even straight cutters don't get caught in the grooves. The grooves don't go from end to end which helps too.