I-beam axle assembly questions

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05snopro440

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 18, 2012
Messages
5,141
Location
Sherwood Park, Alberta
Hey guys, I have some questions about assembly of my I-beam axle.

  1. Does the axle have a front and back side? I used my angle finder, the king pin bosses have a very slight rearward tilt so I assembled it so the top of the axle tilts toward the back of the car. Is this right?
  2. Do you usually have to ream the spindle bushings when you have all new parts?
  3. How tight should the king pin be in the axle?
  4. My hairpin/shock mounts don't key to the axle or the perch pin. Has anyone xperienced any problems with these brackets turning?
 
What axle do you have?
The tapered pin that holds the king pin in place goes in from the front. Some axles might be different.
Usually the bushings have to be reamed.
My experience is the kingpins are a bear to get out. Going back in, there should be no play. On big trucks the king pin hole in the axle can ovalize. I've heard they put a kingpin in, heat the axle end and beat the crap out of it til is is tight. I've used that approach once on a car axle with slightly loose bosses. I've never needed a press to push a king pin through the axle boss. But have had to tap some in place.
Your, and other's experience may vary.
 
What axle do you have?
The tapered pin that holds the king pin in place goes in from the front. Some axles might be different.
Usually the bushings have to be reamed.
My experience is the kingpins are a bear to get out. Going back in, there should be no play. On big trucks the king pin hole in the axle can ovalize. I've heard they put a kingpin in, heat the axle end and beat the crap out of it til is is tight. I've used that approach once on a car axle with slightly loose bosses. I've never needed a press to push a king pin through the axle boss. But have had to tap some in place.
Your, and other's experience may vary.

It's all So-Cal stuff, brand new. I checked it a few days ago. I'll check again, but I thought the king pin seemed like it was going to be a really tight fit. Hopefully it's just hammer-tight.

Yeah, the tapered pin on this one goes from the front as well.
 
These are just my opinions Snopro. You have the axle in the right way, so your king pin will slant upwards and back, giving you good positive caster.
I think you should ream out the bushings. The top and bottom ones may not be exactly lined up with each other, and you don't want the king pins too tight so it steers hard.
Carry on.
 
My experience with the new kits is that, none of the holes needed honed and the king pins slip in by hand if lubed with grease.
 
My experience with the new kits is that, none of the holes needed honed and the king pins slip in by hand if lubed with grease.

Thanks OI. I'm hoping that is the case. I figure the pins should be snug in the axle but not super duper angry tight.

My old man and I are going to have a look at it this weekend. Being a mechanic in rural Alberta starting in the early 70's, he's done a lot of king pins in his life.
 
To clarify: the spindles accept the bushings with a bit of an interference fit. The bushings, after installed in the spindles in many cases need to be reamed. I have honed a few with a brake cylinder hone. Not recommended.
I make sure the bore in the axle is clean and free of debris. Then apply grease to the kingpin and axle bore. Should push in. May require a few taps with a soft face hammer.

I had an early Ford reamer but lent it to someone and it never found its way home.
 
To clarify: the spindles accept the bushings with a bit of an interference fit. The bushings, after installed in the spindles in many cases need to be reamed. I have honed a few with a brake cylinder hone. Not recommended.
I make sure the bore in the axle is clean and free of debris. Then apply grease to the kingpin and axle bore. Should push in. May require a few taps with a soft face hammer.

I had an early Ford reamer but lent it to someone and it never found its way home.

Why don't you recommend the brake cylinder hone? My dad mentioned that they used to do that all the time if the bushings needed a slight touch up.
 

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