| Author |
Message |
Henry 96A3 (Hank)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, June 07, 2006 - 1:57 pm: | |
Folks,
I brought my bus in to get the steer and drive tires replaced. They told me the king pins need to be replaced. I've read over the proceedure in the manual and it doesn't look totally impossible to do. Any thoughts?
Hank 96A3 |
Ross Carlisle (Rrc62)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, June 07, 2006 - 2:12 pm: | |
Not counting the time it took to take the knuckles to the truck shop to have the bushings pressed and reamed, the job took about 2 hours on my MC9. An hour to pull it apart and an hour to put it back together. I started the job mid morning and it was done by around 2PM. The truck shop charged me $50 to press and ream the bushings. Like everything else, if you have the right tools, it's an easy job.
If it's never been apart and threads look rusty, heat the nuts red with oxy/acetylene and they will spin right off. If you don't heat them, you'll fight with it for days and probably break either bolts or tools. |
Henry 96A3 (Hank)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, June 07, 2006 - 2:30 pm: | |
That's encouraging. Their quote was coming in around $2500+ I have the tools and a torch too. Thanks.
Hank |
Ross Carlisle (Rrc62)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, June 07, 2006 - 4:21 pm: | |
Highway robbery. The truck shop here quoted me 4 hours labor to do one side @ $60 per hour which I thought sounded fair. I just prefer doing the work myself if I have the means. I got the pin and bushings from Luke.
One trick the truck shop told me about regarding getting the tapered kingpin out without a press was to heat the knuckle and hit the pin with a brass hammer. I did that, hit it one time and it came right out. If I'm not mistaken, you don't have tapered pins. I was told the non-tapered pins are easier to get out. |
truthhunter@shaw.ca
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, June 07, 2006 - 4:34 pm: | |
Be very cautious about heating forged/heat treated steering parts (critical failure) that are going be replaced as it changes the properties of the component. The absolute expression that is often ignored is never heat suspension parts that are going to be reinstalled in the garbage can. Seized King pins are always a possibility; but even fabricating a king pin press ( weld a box and add a hydraulic jack) or even buying one is likely going to be cheaper than the shop labour and you will have a new tool, As long as you feel your able to do the job and enjoy all the what ifs that come up (such as those marginal link bushing, tie rod and air bag , brakes. bearing and the corrosion that you couldn't help but notice while your in there) |
John Jewett (Jayjay)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, June 07, 2006 - 11:24 pm: | |
A very effective way to do the heating for removing bolts/nuts/kingpins etc. is to use a welding tip, and hold the tip still until just one spot is red, then spin it off. It is just as effective as using a cutting tip, it's safer, causes less stress on adjacent metal, and uses less gas. Great for exhaust manifold nuts, and cuts down on overheating your wrenches and sockets. Cheers...JJ |
Henry 96A3 (Hank)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, June 08, 2006 - 1:36 pm: | |
The guy at the garage told me that I had a Rockwell 930 front end and that I needed the Kayser Plus kingpin kit which is apparently prefit and does not need to be reamed. He kept asking my why on earth I had a bus? He just shook his head and said how expensive and miserable they are to keep on the road. I didn't know what to say. Um, I guess I'm just nuts. |
Ross Carlisle (Rrc62)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, June 08, 2006 - 3:00 pm: | |
Well, paying his service prices, it surely would cost a fortune to keep it on the road.
Call Luke and ask him about the kingpins and what the job requires. I'd be surprised if the new bushings didn't have to be reamed after they were pressed in, but I've been wrong before. The reason you ream them is to exactly fit them to the pin after they are pressed in. The pressing process can cause some distortion. |
Henry 96A3 (Hank)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, June 08, 2006 - 3:47 pm: | |
Yeah, you ain't kidding! What you say about distortion makes sense. I was planning on getting them from Luke or IBP. I know they'll set me up with the right stuff and give me good pointers. |
David Dulmage (Daved)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, June 09, 2006 - 1:54 pm: | |
That price sounds way out of line. You need to find a mechanic who is experienced with buses and who likes working on them.
DaveD |