Silver steel for making car kingpins?

[Morrisman]

I have a hot rod tube axle with worn king pin holes, and I’ve toyed with running some weld along the outer end, to heat shrink back to size. Not a keen fan of that idea though, but I wondered if going up from 11/16” to 18mm with an adjustable reamer, both axle and bushes would be an idea?

Silver steel, which is good quality carbon steel, ground finish, sounds perfect for the job.

I’ve just ordered an adjustable reamer the right size, from RDG, but for £12 I’m not expecting the greatest tool money can buy.....

 

[Shox Dr]

King pins are a lot harder than untreated Silver Steel. I would say for any longevity, Heat treatment a must.

 

[Brad93]

No way should you use silver steel for such in my mind. An engineering steel like EN19 or EN24 as a minimum.

 

[Morrisman]

King pins are a lot harder than untreated Silver Steel. I would say for any longevity, Heat treatment a must.

The kingpins I have in there now aren’t hardened, they can be filed easily. I think they are Ford Pop pins, as are the stub axles.

 

[Wallace]

I had a couple of LDV Pilot/Sherpa pins somewhere, can't remember the o/d but may have been 1".

 

[Gritineye]

Aren't king pins normally case hardened, or nitrided?

Except of course the ones I bought at great expense from Americas premier Chevy parts store, which were made of Chineesium, and similar to cheese in harness!

 

[Hopefuldave]

Silver steel's a bit brittle for kingpins, motorbike wheel spindles etc., I have seen a rear spindle that's sheared very neatly under excessive load, not something you want to risk with a safety-critical part... I'd be happier with case hardened mild steel than silver steel, you want something that'll deform, not snap!

Dave H. (the other one)

 

[Morrisman]

I had a couple of LDV Pilot/Sherpa pins somewhere, can't remember the o/d but may have been 1".

I actually had Sherpa axles front and back on my old Morris. Well, the front was a hand made tube axle, but Sherpa kingpins, with needle bearings, stub axles, brakes etc. Somewhat overkill for a 1000kg car..... but nothing broke in 5000 miles I did in it, and it’s still on the road 15 years later.

 

[Morris]

Do it properly. Bore and sleeve the boss and use new kingpins from Small ford spares. No moaning about the cost, it's a hotrod, it's supposed to leave you broke.

 

[Morrisman]

Do it properly. Bore and sleeve the boss and use new kingpins from Small ford spares. No moaning about the cost, it's a hotrod, it's supposed to leave you broke.

There's not a great deal of material in the axle boss to start with so taking enough out to do the job, if I could find a place that would/could do the job properly, would weaken it I fear.

I saw a pair of king pins on Pop Browns old website, £75 a pair. The ones I have are not too bad, no wear on them.

I have put a couple of runs of weld down the outside of each end, the bores has shrunk a touch, and I await the arrival of the adjustable reamer ... to see if it actually cuts steel.....

 

[graffian]

There's not a great deal of material in the axle boss to start with so taking enough out to do the job, if I could find a place that would/could do the job properly, would weaken it I fear.

I saw a pair of king pins on Pop Browns old website, £75 a pair. The ones I have are not too bad, no wear on them.

I have put a couple of runs of weld down the outside of each end, the bores has shrunk a touch, and I await the arrival of the adjustable reamer ... to see if it actually cuts steel.....

I am in agreement with the answer above.
But as your going to have to increase the bore for bushes, I can't see a reason to not try a larger pin first.

Good luck with the adjustable mess maker, er reamer. I am happy taking a few tenths out with one, to size a previously reamed/bored hole.

And another vote for EN24 for the pins if your not going to have them cased. Originals are cased and ground aren't they.

 

[stormin]

I would've thought original pins would be softer than the axle end if no bushing, so the replaceable pin wears first. Hardened oin is just going to lead to more wear in the harder to relaxed axle.
Of course replaceable bushings are the way to go, for cheapness and ease of maintenance.

 

[Morrisman]

I would've thought original pins would be softer than the axle end if no bushing, so the replaceable pin wears first. Hardened oin is just going to lead to more wear in the harder to relaxed axle.
Of course replaceable bushings are the way to go, for cheapness and ease of maintenance.

The pins are fixed in the axle ends, locked with a grub screw, and the stub axle pivots on the king pin, on bronze/brass bushes.

The axle itself is ‘home made’ by the company who originally built the car, Jago.

I think the brass bushes are actually quite good shape, but the axle boss holes had worn or fretted away from use, or bad workmanship.

 

[stormin]

The pins are fixed in the axle ends, locked with a grub screw, and the stub axle pivots on the king pin, on bronze/brass bushes.

The axle itself is ‘home made’ by the company who originally built the car, Jago.

I think the brass bushes are actually quite good shape, but the axle boss holes had worn or fretted away from use, or bad workmanship.

Ahh! Different set up than I thought then.

What about an engineering grade adhesive to fix the loose pins In the worn axle end? No machining needed just a good clean up.

 

[Morrisman]

Ahh! Different set up than I thought then.

What about an engineering grade adhesive to fix the loose pins In the worn axle end? No machining needed just a good clean up.

I thought about Loctite, but the pins have to be pushed in through one brass bush, through the axle boss, and into the next bush, so any adhesive would get spread everywhere.

Some axles have a cotter pin through the axle, locking the kin pin a lot more solidly than my little grub screw.

 

[stormin]

I thought about Loctite, but the pins have to be pushed in through one brass bush, through the axle boss, and into the next bush, so any adhesive would get spread everywhere.

Some axles have a cotter pin through the axle, locking the kin pin a lot more solidly than my little grub screw.

View attachment 257524

Wax the pin before installing with the adhesive. Then remove and refit the full assembly once the adhesive has set in place.

 

[pressbrake1]

I wouldn’t use silver steel as it’s a toolsteel.
I wouldn’t use en 24 as it’s through hardening steel . I don’t like the stuff if there’s potential for shock loads
I’d use a case hardening steel, a quick google of case hardening still screen shot attached