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So I'm wanting to replace/rebuild what I think is the outer thrust bearings and steering knuckle king pin.

I'm wondering A if any special tools are needed and B how to remove them.

I jacked up the car to install new brake pads and noted the right front hub is loose/has play. I checked if all bolts tight good to go. Left side has zero play when moving side to side.

It looks as if mine have never been replaced and if I'm honest I don't see how to disassemble it.

Please help.


God Bless

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Sounds like to just need to buy a new king pin kit which will include the thrust bearing and an assortment of shims to get the correct up/down preload as well as the other necessary parts. When removing the old pin after you remove the upper and lower end caps you'll find it's retained by a tapered cross pin which engaged a corresponding groove in the pin itself. The cross pin, as it's tapered, only comes out from one end, it's quite obvious when looking at it which end is smaller.

It's possible you might need a ream to size the new bushings, though with the kits currently on the market I've found this unnecessary; other than that no special tools required. The shop manual may refer to "burnishing" the bushings but I've never done that with the modern kit bushings. If you need a ream and can't find one at a tool store you can set up an adjustable ream for that size.

Really a pretty common and simple job and it should all be quite obvious and apparent once you get a closer look at it. No reason to be apprehensive about it if you're mechanically handy. The shop manual should provide the information on the selection of shims to get the preload on the thrust bearing.

If you kit only comes with a single grease fitting for the top, make sure the passages are clear to allow the grease to pass all the way to the bottom. And I'd recommend packing the thrust bearing with grease when assembling.

Does the wheel-hub have play if you grasp the top and bottom
of the wheel or just side to side, if just side to side
perhaps it is play in a tie-rod end etc.

Right you are Kansayboy, and a very good point - an inspection should be undertaken to confirm where the looseness actually is. The upper and lower spindle support bushings are also a possibility. That said, my experience is that the Safe-T-fleX suspensions are fairly hard on kingpins.

For sure about the Safety Flex, the thing that caught my
attention was that the other side was tight.

I thought I had King Pin wear in my 54 Cavalier as I get a little motion top to bottom but side to side is tight.

I bought a King Pin set from Kantors which includes the bushings and the thrust ball bearing but havent gotten up the nerve to replace them yet. I'm not sure the alignment is fully up to snuff.

I get some steering wander when the road is groovy.

It appears once you start the project you have to finish and you may need some special tooling to remove and then replace the bushings and then you will need adjustable reamers.

Jim

Jim, you may not need a reamer at all for your 54 but if you do, you shouldn't have to consider an adjustable. Your king pin size is the same as many Chevrolet 34-54, Corvette thru 1962, and many GMC and Chevy trucks from prewar thru 1959 so a fixed reamer (0.868") is a pretty easy find at larger flea markets and older service shops looking to clean house.

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There's a "how to" in my blog. Starting with post #22.

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