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King pins

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Morris

Morris

Yoda
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Yup, they're definitely wobbling. Has anyone installed one of the kits VB or Moss sells? Are they any good? Are they difficult to install?

If I remeber correctly, my Haynes manual sez I have to take it to my local "BL agent." I think that's poppycock. Can anyone back me up on this?

morris
 
Morris,
i did mine with a VB major suspension kit. it had all the parts, and it may have had a few extra bits as well.
ba aware tho that the bushing in the swivel axle need to be reamed with attention to keeping them perfectly inline, thats the easy part. removing the king pin from the lower aframe is the really Fun part. And since you have the kit ya might as well do the inne bushes as well, these can be even more fun.

https://www.britishcarforum.com/ubbthread...true#Post104336

https://www.britishcarforum.com/ubbthread...=true#Post96565

you can find lots more if you use the search page and look for "fulcrum" in the mg and spridget forums

mark
 
As I remember the reamer is a two stage afair. It does the top and bottem at the same time. Good job for a machine shop. Same time to keep them straight.
 
Having done this myself last year, it is a pain. I got lucky and my bushings weren't very worn, so with new kingpins things were still okay. The new bushings do need to be pressed in while keeping the grease holes lined up, and you need the right reaming tool to ream both bushes at the same time to make sure they are aligned properly. Getting the A-arms off the body and getting the lower fulcrum pin out is a major pain. The A-arm pins took lots of PB Blaster, persuasion with a hammer (be careful, you can bend the frame brackets /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif), and one of them took a Sawzall to cut it off. As for the fulcrum pins... Took the A-arms to a machine shop with the instructions that everything but the A-arm itself was fair game, so they ended up cutting the pin out. The pin is hardened steel, so forget about trying to cut it with a hacksaw. One thing I will pass along though is the kit I had took a couple extra shims between the kingpin and the upper pivot point; using the supplied ones resulted in swivel axles that were too tight. So, try to save the old shims if you can, they are thin metal washers that are probably stuck onto the upper pivot once you remove it. Hope this helps!
-Dave
 
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I have been doing these cars for about 30 years. In those thirty years I have found only one set if bushing that were worn. The "hardened" ? steel kingpin seems to always be worn and the soft bronze bushes seem to be fine. Go figure? Clean the old spindle assy. and then check for fit using the new kingpin. More yhan likely you will find the fit is good. Use a bit of grease during assembly.
 
I've got a major front suspension kit that is burning a hole in my spare parts locker right now. I plan to attempt this install during the "winter break" along with an engine rebuild. I find it hard to believe that the bronze bushes would outlast the kingpins but I've heard it over and over so it must be true. I would say that you will only know what you need to absolutely replace only after you begin disassembly. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my bushes will be fine as well. The stepped reamers are very expensive but I've heard of others using pilot reamers in its place.
JC
 
I had a friend who was a machinist and he reamed them for me in less than a half hour and spent $20 or $30 on 2 reamers. The king pins fit great. He said its all in how you set up the spindle and maintain its position to ream the other end. I think he reamed the big end first and then went through the big end to ream the small one.
 
reamers needed are a 25/32 and a 5/8. in case any wanted to know.


mark
 
That's good information to have Mark. I've been holding off on buying any till I could drag my butt out to the garage and put a micrometer on the new kingpins in my kit. You saved me a step. Did you buy pilot reams or did you set the swivel axles up in some kind of jig on a lathe? I don't have access to much machine shop equipment so I thought I would buy pilot reamers to help me keep the centerline true.
JC
 
I use an adjustable reamer and have made an extension so I can ream each bush from the other end, i.e. ream the bottom bush from the top, and wrap tape around the reamer shaft until it is a good fit in the end not being reamed. (I know, not a pretty description) That way everything lines up perfectly and by using an adjustable reamer you can get the size exactly right for your king pun. I would agree with the comments about bushes outlasting king pins. The lower trunnion is the nasty bit, I made a piloted blade that fits into the groove in the trunnion, with a small pin that locates in the grease hole to keep it true and the blade is a snug fir in a socket so I can use my ratchet. Hope that makes sense. You should be able to do the lot in an evening.
 
I made pilot bushes for the chuck end of the reamers, did one end then used the bush to keep the other reamer on center. You could make a fixture to do this on a lathe, or on a mill and then the bushes would not be needed.


mark
 
AFAIR the fulcrum pin (threaded bit that joins the kingpin to the wishbone) is only case hardened,and you can saw through it with a hard blade.
ALthough it turns in the wishbone, it siezes into the kingpin, so even when ou have taken the cotter pin out, it will not come out.
 
[ QUOTE ]
I have found only one set if bushing that were worn. The "hardened" ? steel kingpin seems to always be worn and the soft bronze bushes seem to be fine.

[/ QUOTE ]

I pulled one of my spindles and it looks like you were dead on Jolly Roger. The king pin was completely shot, and the bushings looked and felt almost pristine. Thanks for the great advice!

morris
 
Thanks, I get a lucky guess from time to time. I also never reuse the A-arms. Too much hassle. I just throw the kingpin/a-arm away and buy new ones. Have ya ever tried to get those goofy thing apart?
 
Oh my! VB lists the A-arms at $170 a pop! I am afraid that is way out of the budget.

I guess it will just have to be cussing and bloddy knuckles for me.


morris
 
Just take your time and use lots of penatrateing oil over a longish time.
 
[ QUOTE ]
I just throw the kingpin/a-arm away and buy new ones.

[/ QUOTE ]
Why? Surely if you can't get them apart, you buy an exchange unit rather than buying a new one? The last time I bought an exchange one it was about ÂŁ30 - quite a bit less than $170!
 
I wish they were that cheap here in Texas. Besides if you count the time spent on the work to get them apart the cleaning, and painting, not to mention the blood, the price for new one seems ok. I can tell you this, check for cracks on the arms around the fulcrum pin. I have found many with cracks. While we are on cracks also have the spindle crack checked/magnafluxed. 50% of the ones I take apart are cracked. No lie, 50%. If cracked they will be cracked on the underside at the inside shoulder. I was shocked at how many I have found.
Want to get a sprite inverted? Have a spindle let loose on a turn. Remember we are dealing with 30+ year old cars that have suffered that many years worth of driver and idiot mechanic abuse. I find most of the repair work I get is provided by previous crappy work. Considering the safety issue, $170 bucks doesn't seem so bad.
 
I think it is much safer to drive around with cracked a-arms and spindles than tell my wife I need to spend an additional $340 on my car.

It is my plan to cut the old fulcrum pins out with a cutting wheel on an angle grinder. I will definitely inspect everything for cracks before starting that.

Do you reccomend against welding up cracked a-arms?

Hey John J. If I find that I must replace my a-arms, would you be willing to help me locate a source for exchange units in J.O.E. (Jolly Olde England).

morris
 
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