#50's I-beams/spindles 100% and bolted up!

[robroy]

Today I finally reached 100% on #50's I-beams/spindles/kingpins and bolted them to the frame! The spindles and beams were sandblasted, then coated with Rust Bullet, then coated with Black Shell. The spindles had new bushings pressed in, and the kingpins/bearings/seals/etc are all nice and new.

They sure feel good when you steer 'em back and forth!





Before tapping the seal in:



Here's the seal:



And my arrangement for tapping it in:



Got it!



The finished products waiting for installation:





Just installed! It's sure nice to see something going back in instead of coming apart for once.





Notice that I'm lazy and didn't refinish the bolts that hold the bad boys in!



Thanks very much to all the folks who gave me generous advice on doing this job!

-Robroy

[dablack00]

Finally someone who knows how to take pictures. Looks great for sure. I'm about to be sand blasting my frame in the next month or so. Then I will be doing king pins like you. I can see you went with the metal bushings. Did you reem them yourself or have it done?

thanks
Austin

[robroy]

Good morning Austin! Thanks for your reply and the complement on the photos. I wish I had taken more of then during the kingpin assembly, but I found it tough to handle the camera with my hands totally saturated with grease. Every time I wanted to take a photo I had to change out my blue gloves, and at some point I gave up and just started throwing it together.

I asked my girlfriend to be my photographer for this but I knew she'd get incredibly bored after thirty seconds.

Yes, I went with the metal bushings, but not by choice; I wasn't aware of any other option. I used a kingpin kit from Napa, and it was their high end kit. They also had a low end kit that was made offshore. I could get a part number for the kit I used if you're interested.

I had a machine shop install and ream the bushings.

Austin, something you may benefit from knowing is that it's common for the bearings in those kingpin kits to feel a little raw and gritty, like there's metal to metal contact happening inside of them--they don't feel as smooth as a wheel bearing. Another chap on this site and I compared notes and agreed that that's the way they're supposed to be. He even went back to the auto parts several times to swap out his kit, thinking he had bad bearings, and they were all that way!

This said, it does seem prudent to wash the bearings out with solvent (to wash any dust particles) and try your best to pack them with grease before installation. Even the 1971 factory service manual says to pack them before installation, even though they're supposed to get their grease from the nearby grease fitting.

If you'd like the two pages from the '71 factory service manual scanned I could do this and send them your way. I found them pretty helpful since I'd never done kingpins before.

Thanks Austin!
-Robroy

[dablack00]

Thanks for the offer of the manual scans, but I have the full set too.

Also, thanks for the offer to find the part number but I will most likely order my kit from one of the big vendors like NPD, DC or that other one. I will be placing one big order for all my bushings, brake parts, and other bits at the same time.

I might buy my own reamer to do the job since they aren't that expensive anyway and I like to do stuff myself.

Good stuff. Also, I should be putting some pics in my project update if you want to go check them out.

thanks
Austin

[flyboy2610]

Lookin' good!

[dcbullet]

Looks really good. You do nice clean work.

I sure don't remember there being a seal when I replaced my king pin busings. Well, at 1,000 miles per year I'll probably be OK for a while.

[robroy]

Thanks for the offer of the manual scans, but I have the full set too.

Also, thanks for the offer to find the part number but I will most likely order my kit from one of the big vendors like NPD, DC or that other one. I will be placing one big order for all my bushings, brake parts, and other bits at the same time.

Sounds good! You may be interested in calling the place (NPD, DC, etc) and confirming that you're receiving USA made parts before ordering the kingpins from them. That was part of the reason I went to Napa--because it has tough to find USA made kits elsewhere. Needless to say these parts will be totally buried so you'll have a good feeling knowing they're top notch.

I might buy my own reamer to do the job since they aren't that expensive anyway and I like to do stuff myself.

That sounds interesting! I'd be curious to see photos of that process.

Good stuff. Also, I should be putting some pics in my project update if you want to go check them out.

I would love to see those Austin!

Lookin' good!

Hey thanks! It's a great feeling to see parts of our trucks being reborn.

Looks really good. You do nice clean work.

Thanks DcBullet! That's nice of you to say that. I'm a beginner compared to most folks who re-do cars but I have lots of patience and attention to details.

I sure don't remember there being a seal when I replaced my king pin busings. Well, at 1,000 miles per year I'll probably be OK for a while.

I have a hunch that the seal is only there on some models, and I believe the kingpin kit is different for trucks with different GVW ratings. Mine's the 8,100lb rating, which has a different kit than the standard F250 rating. I'd have to look through the factory chassis manual again to confirm this.

I don't understand exactly why the seal is there, but it seems to keep two zones of grease--one at the top and one at the bottom (where the bearing is).

By the way, I actually put mine together the first time without the seal! I pulled it all apart after figuring out what was going on and re-did it.

Thanks again for the nice comments!
-Robroy

[Slash801]

best instruction I ve ever read here!!!