FIT YOUR NEW KINGPINS
Remove old bushes
Find washers or an old socket a fraction smaller that the outside diameter of the bushes. Withdraw them using studding and a larger socket – or drive them out with a hammer. Be careful not to damage the bores in the stub-axle casting.
Clean parts
Discard all locking devices and components that will be replaced. Clean everything thoroughly in degreaser. Clean the bores that house the bushes with a wire bottle brush, but don’t remove too much material. Make sure all grease channels are clear.
Pull or press bushes in
Soak phosphor-bronze bushes overnight in non-hypoid oil. Deburr the ends of the housing bores. Use studding and washers or old sockets to carefully pull the bushes home. Make sure any lubrication holes in the bushes line up with those in the housing.
Ream new bushes
Ream the bushes until the new kingpin just turns in them without binding. Use an adjustable reamer lubricated with oil or cutting compound and test-fit the kingpin frequently. Expand the reamer in tiny increments until the correct fit is achieved.
Take great care to ream the two bushes parallel. If the top and bottom bushes are different sizes, ream the smaller bush first, keeping the reamer’s shaft central in the larger bush. Make or buy a pilot mandrel, if necessary.
Fit thrust bearing
Check the bearing faces of the stub-axle casting and vertical suspension link. Carefully remove any high spots with a hand file. It’s likely to either have a ball/needle thrust bearing or an Oilite thrust washer, sealed with a felt washer and steel shroud.
Shim the bearing
Fit the thrust bearing on the side that’s loaded by the weight of the car. Find a combination of shims that either eliminates all movement or gives the clearance specified in the manual (measure with a feeler gauge). Fit the kingpin and check again.
Refit kingpin
Soak felt seals in oil. Trial-fit the kingpin in its carrier and deburr/prepare as necessary. Clean and lubricate all parts and assemble, ensuring the notch in the kingpin aligns with the hole for the cotter pin. Tap in the cotter fully home before fitting the nut.
Reassemble
Replace anything else that’s imperfect. If you’ve removed the wishbones, fitting new bushes is probably a no-brainer. Treating the exposed metal parts to a protective lick of paint is a good idea, too. Put it all back together with new locking devices.