Bushes - Reaming King Pins & rear springs

[Bob Culver]

The Girling hubs do not require a blind reamer which is a huge convenience, esp where non standard sizes involved. An adj reamer with guide can be used by a skilled person. The original kp was slightly under .5” to give clearance in a standard reamed .5 inch hole, and the axle eye was smaller still to give tight fit. Present kingpins often slightly thicker, and many oversize exist. In theory loose bushes may fit over the pin; usually generous metal is allowed which is convenient as most hubs are now misaligned to some extent, altho it makes reaming more difficult. The prime problem is the state of and fit in the axle eye and this needs to be sorted before all else. (In this country any heating welding is technically illegal and needs to be masked although all have been heated in the past. An eye reinforced with weld can hardly be less strong)

[GK5268]

You need to ream the bushes after they are pressed in, as was said above, they will deform slightly.

I took the plunge & bought the special reamer for the stub axles, it gives excellent results, and well-worth the money. Even if you use it only twice, (each side) you could always sell it on, think how much you would have to pay someone to do it for you, or accept something that is not quite right by making do with an ordinary 1/2" reamer, I did pay someone to fit new bushes in my front stub axles, but they clearly didn't have the correct reamer as after only a few hundred miles there was excess play, so I have now done them myself, I have a second car, so will get used for that and I look after my Uncle's as well, so I thought it a good investment.

The Girling pins are about 89mm long, so the ones you have are the Girling type (detachable back plates). The fillers to the top & bottom are just core plugs, same as that used on the head, the brass threaded ones (electrical fittings!) are for the longer earlier type.

When fitting the new bushes into the stub axle, make sure they are the correct way around, flanged top is the lower bush and align the cut-out in the top bush with the grease nipple. The hardened thrust washer fits between the flanged top and the axle eye (bottom) and just a packing washer to take up any slack, no vertical movement and the stub axle must rotate freely (otherwise the steering will be affected).

Thank you for that info...the car has Morris Minor Hydraulics, so Girling stub axles would make sense. At least the lead melted on top of the king pin kept the muck out of the top...better than the whittled wooden core  "plug" in the head!
What lubricates the upper bush, the cut out from the nipple only seems to look after the lower bush!
I will take the stub axles, bushes & (hang the expense!) new  king pins into the tool-room where they are used to operating in microns (whatever they are...I do know really!)

The grease nipple should be up the top and the grease passes into the top bush and then goes down inside the king pin to lubricate the bottom bush, the grease should ooze out between the axle on each side, that way you know it is all lubricated! On the car, these only fit one way, off the car, they can be on wrong as they will fit, but nothing else will!

[Viteran]

Hi interested in the comment from Jim about the core pugs coming out when pressurised with grease.
I replaced the king pins about 30 years ago when I got the car , I remember reaming them out but not a lot more details, too long ago.I assumed the plugs “ blew off “ on greasing because I had not fixed them correctly at the time.
The car has been off the road for a while and I recently greased the king pins but kept the core plug in place by putting a G clamp on the pin before greasing so that I was fairly certain the grease penetrated the joints.
‘37 A7 Ruby
Ian

[AustinWood]

Ian,
A clamp across the stub axle to keep the core plug in is a very good idea. It's a long time since I've had Girling axle car but it will help with the Austin brakes too. The threads holding the screw-in plugs on mine are not good, I suspect caused by the top bush being driven in from above instead if pressed in from below. I find the grease also comes up along the thread.
I have the grease extension from A7 Components. When the cap is removed it screws into the king pin itself and allows the bottom bush to be greased directly. Often the grease won't go down the pin and just comes out around the top bush.

[Steve Jones]

There is another way.

I'm not alone in abandoning grease to king pins a long time ago replacing it with heavy oil. This gets round the problem with grease of it going hard at the bottom of the pin and blocking the hole.  With the earlier type stub axle things are easy as it's simply a case of unscrewing the brass plug and filling the pin with the oil from the oil can. You get the satisfaction  of seeing traces of oil around the king pin/stub axle indicating that it's got to where it's supposed to. 

With Girling stub axles it's a little more difficult. As when using grease, there is a tendency for the core plugs to the bottom and top of the stub to be displaced by the pressure of the grease/oil gun. Like most I struggled around this for a long time until Ian Sly showed me the solution. Ebay produced some small flip top oilers and with a bit of modification to some old, square block type, right angle grease nipples the oilers were able to be fitted into the greaser hole in the stub. Topping up is now easy and, of course, you still see traces of the oil around the king pin/stub axle. Yes, it does, sometimes, put a small drip down the inside of the tyres but that's easily wiped up and it does prove the oil's getting to where it should. 

   

Steve

PS: I was quite amused a couple of years ago to be told by a scrutineer that I appeared to have a hydraulic fluid leak to the Ulster's front brakes given the evidence of fluid around the stubs etc. He was a touch embarrassed when I pointed out the brake cables and explained to him what they did!!

[Viteran]

Interesting feedback, I think I may go down the heavy oil route in future
Ian

[AustinWood]

I've been think of going over to lubricating king pins with oil.
The 1930s and 40s Daimlers I used to run used ST 90 gear oil. This is a straight oil with about the same viscosity as SAE 30 I believe.
I don't know if there are harmful additives using engine oil.

[Ian Sly]

I have used oil in kingpins for years, originally 140 gear oil. I now use steam oil with excellent results.

[Bob Culver]

The additives in EP oils are reckoned activated only at high temp. Many Brit cars had steer boxes with bronze bushes and were filled with EP140, not now widely available.
I used to solder the pressed steel plugs into place. They will never resist a lever gun.
Great claims are made for grease with moly.

[Steve Bryant]

The  additives in EP oils are reckoned activated only at high temp. Many Brit cars had steer boxes with bronze bushes and were filled with EP140, not now widely available.
I used to solder the pressed steel plugs into place. They will never resist a lever gun.
Great claims are made for grease with moly.

Why not just use Molyslip ? It's pour-able that is if it's still available

Stephen