F1 King Pins

[Eagle43]

I just finished replacing the king pins in my 1952 F1. Before tackling this job I did find a number of posts on this topic which were helpful. Since I don't have a press or a set of reamers, there were two challenges. Unlike some other manufacturers Ford decided to put heads on their pins. This makes it difficult to hammer out the pins without taking off the axle. I solved the problem by first cutting off the heads and taping a short piece of 3/4" rod on top of the pin with duct tape. I then supported the axle on a block of wood with a hole to receive the pin as it came out. After rusting in place for seventy years the pins were in there pretty tight. I used the "if it doesn't move find a bigger hammer" approach and it took three or four solid blows with my biggest sledge hammer to get them to move. Once they broke loose they came out relatively easily.

To ream out bushings I used 100 grit sandpaper. I turned a dowel down to a bit smaller than the pins and hot glued a strip of sandpaper along an edge and rolled it to fit inside the bushings. I chucked the dowel in a drill and ran it back and forth inside the bushings. It didn't take long to get them to the proper size.

I'm glad I decided to replace the king pins even though they weren't really worn that bad because the bearing at the bottom was rusted solid and it would have been difficult to get any grease to the bushings. Everything inside was dry and rusted.

[Tinker]

Aren't the bushings brass.

[GB SISSON]

Originally Posted by Tinker

Aren't the bushings brass.

Yes, but there is a thrust bearing in there that takes the weight of the vehicle and I think that's what he found.

[Eagle43]

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

Yes, the bushings are brass and need to be reamed out to fit the pins. There is a thrust bearing that carries the weight of the vehicle below the axle. If that bearing is rusted solid than steering is going to be a lot harder.