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I'm looking for some advice on my kingpin bearings.The upper bearing is doing just fine however the lower bearings are worn very badly. I can't figure out how to remove these from the axle. I also can't find a source for these so I am contemplating having them refurbished. Have any of you dealt with these bearings?

Are these the bearings you are referring to?

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Can't help with the sourcing of bearings, of course making the pin itself doesn't present any significant problems. I'd guess the king pin installation is pretty similar to what was used just a couple of years later and if so, removal is quite straight-forward. See attached from the parts book for 33-36 seniors and particularly note the threaded top cap and the locking cross-pin.

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G'day all, This is a procedure which the Victorian Region of the Packard Automobile Club of Australia published in 1977. I refurbished my 533 very easily in this way in 1977 and it uses common Timken taper cup and cone sets. Volkswagen front wheel bearings if i remember correctly. Best Regards Peter Toet

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34PR, those are the bearings in question. There are nine of them total in each cup and each ball bearing is supporting about 3 percent of the cars weight. The only time they move is when the car is turning so 99% of the time they just sit there and take all the pounding from the road. Since they are more or less static most of the time they have worn .010 deep divets in to the upper and lower bearing races. The spindles actually snap to a straight ahead position now as the spring washers at the top of the assembly push the bearings back in to their divets while exiting a turn.

Owen D, that section looks to be from a later model where Packard engineers have discovered the advantage of "off the shelf" kingpin bearings. The earlier kingpin has a flange at the bottom that acts as a bearing surface as shown in Peters drawing above.

Peter, it looks like you guys have solved this problem already. The only thing missing from your print is the bearing part numbers. After I get the pin pressed out I'll take some measurements and get you this info. I live just outside of Detroit so the machine work should be easy to get done and there are a number of large bearing companies in the area.

Thank you all for your advice, maybe I'll write up a how-to tech article when it's done and back together.
Todd

Todd, I look forward to your "how to" article. Looking further at front axle drawings in the parts books, it looks like the new style as in the picture I posted commenced with the 10th series and remained thru the 14th series (on senior cars).

I would like to add my two cents worth to Peter's advice regarding new replacement king pin bearings. These comments are based on my 633's which I believe are the same as the 733.
I restored my first 633 using the Volkswagon bearings. I have since restored another 633 and have found what I believe are better bearings.
The top bearing can be replaced by a new bearing identical to the original. The number for the top double row ball bearing is YSB 5304-2RS.
The bottom bearing can be replaced using the lower king pin bearing from a Nissan Patrol 4WD, Its a Koyo Hi-Cap bearing number 3030 4A JRRS with seal. the advantage of this bearing is that it has a much higher load capacity and most importantly it incorporates a thrust face seal eliminating water ingress that can be a problem.
When grinding back the radius for the balls on the original king pin it will be necessary to measure the new bearing and lower housing to ensure some compression of the new seal. Also the lower bearing housing has 2 holes to allow a pin punch to be used to remove the bearing. These holes should be blocked with say Silastic to prevent entry of dirt and water into the new bearing which is open on the bottom.
I would have attached a sketch but failed after many unsuccessful attempts.
David Australia

Dave, the Patrol was never offered in the US so I may have a hard time finding those bearings on this side of the planet. I have found a similar bearing but it like most taper bearings doesn't come with a seal. Do you know what year the bearing you specified was used and for what purpose?

In other news, I removed just a single kingpin last night. It took almost an hour using a 5 pound mini sledge hammer and a brass driver.

I bought the bearings from a general bearing supply business where I take all of my old bearings for new replacements, they have been very helpful over the years in finding bearings that either fit or can be adapted. The person who served me commented that it was the same bearing used in the lower end of the king pins on a Nissan Patrol but did not say the year. The part number is not a Nissan part number, its a bearing number which suggests that it does have other applications and is probably available in US using the part number.

I talked to two bearing supply houses in town(Detroit)and neither of them could help so I searched eBay Australia and found a gentleman to sell me a Nissan Patrol kingpin rebuild kit which has the sealed bearings in it. It was an expensive way to get the bearings but I should have them in about a week.