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Lares Corporation Steering Components • CALL 1.800.555.0767 • VISIT www.LaresCorp.com

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kingpin. Normal wear and/or lack of lubricationwill cause the tie rod ends and the steering link-age to loosen up. The problem is that you getused to the play in the steering wheel and com-pensate for the loose steering. Greasing wornjoints will not stop the vehicle from wanderingwhen you are driving straight.

Independent front suspension in Americadid not change much until 1978 when the com-pact rear drive Ford Fairmont and the MercuryZephyr adopted the MacPherson strut suspen-sion which is named after its inventor. It consistsof a strut combined with a spring and a shock ab-sorber that connects the wheel to the frame ofthe vehicle. The strut is cheaper and lighter thanthe double A-frame design. It bolts directly tothe body structure on top and the wheel and con-trol arm with a ball joint at the bottom eliminat-ing the upper control arm. The steering linkagewas changed to rack and pinion which also elim-inated the steering gear box and other steeringlinkage rods. Strut suspension came into com-mon use in the 1980s along with front-wheeldrive and rack and pinion steering.

There are many points of wear on thekingpin style of front suspension. Inspect thetires for under inflation which can cause roadwander and poor recovery. Unbalanced tiresand/or worn inner bushings on the control armscan cause vehicle shimmy. Abnormal wear suchas front tire cupping can be caused by misalign-ment of the front tires and worn coil

Orest LazarowichPresents

Looking BackwardbutMoving Forward

A Continuing Series focused on the Repair and Restoration of your old Car and Truck.

Steering Linkage Part 2

Most North American vehicles built withindependent front suspension (IFS) before themid 1950s used kingpins to support the steeringknuckle. After that time the steering knuckle andthe steering knuckle support combined into oneunit called the spindle support and was sup-ported by ball joints. The kingpin was elimi-nated. In both systems two control arms orA-frames (wishbones) upper and lower locatethe wheel. The control arms allow the wheels to

move up and down andprevent forward andrearward movement.The control arms onkingpin suspension areparallel to their pivotpoints. Each control armhas two mounting pointsto the chassis and one atthe steering knuckle. Onvehicles using kingpinsthe inner control armbushings are screwedinto the control arms andpivot on a shaft. The top

of the outer control arm is fastened to the steer-ing knuckle support by an eccentric pin andthreaded bushing to allow for camber adjust-ment. The bottom of the lower control arm issupported by a threaded bushing and pivot pinso caster can be adjusted. The steering knuckleis held to the steering knuckle support by the

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springs/shocks which will also cause the vehicleto sway and become unstable. A little bit of wearat the kingpins, control arms, tie rod ends, swaybar and steering linkage adds up to a lot of wearand the result is road wander. You may have toreplace kingpins and bushings, tie rod ends andlinkage and the inner control arm metal bushingsand pivot shafts on both control arms. This canbe very costly to repair so troubleshoot everypart of the steering linkge very carefully for ex-cessive wear. Measure the vehicle ride height tocheck weak or sagging coil springs. Use apush/pull tape and measure from the groundthrough the center line of the wheel to the frontfender lip. With a difference of more than aninch check the lower control arms for damageand the springs for bottoming out.

The shock absorbers provide resistance tothe movement of the spring. They also keep thetires in contact with the road surface. If the shockabsorbers are worn, the vehicle bounces downthe road until all the spring energy is used up.Do a ‘bounce test’ on the shock absorbers. Pushdown on one corner of the vehicle, and let go.The vehicle should bounce up and level out. Ifit continues to bounce more than a couple oftimes, the shocks are weak and should be re-placed. The most common type of shock ab-sorber is the telescopic hydraulic shock absorber.If these shocks are dented, bent or leaking oil,they must be replaced in pairs. If your vehicleuses the rotary single or double lever shock ab-sorbers and they show signs of leaking, theyshould be rebuilt/exchanged. If the shafts areworn, they must be reground and bushings andseals installed by a rebuild shop. If there is nosign of oil leakage, check the oil level. Top upwith hydraulic jack oil applied by a squirt bottle.

Support the vehicle on safety standsunder the control arms to compress the coilsprings. With the ve-hicle in gear and rearwheels blocked, wearsafety glasses, andgrab a tire at the topand bottom and try torock it in and out.Move your body

around and look at the kingpin location to see ifthere is any movement. If there is noticeable playat the kingpin check the other wheel. If tiremovement is similar at this kingpin, the kingpinsand bushings need to be replaced on both sides.Do not mistake wheel bearing wear or adjust-ment for kingpin wear. Check the outer tie rodends for wear. Place your hands at the 3 and 9o'clock positions on the tire and move the wheelback and forth. If there is any play in the wheel,the tie rod ends may need replacing. Remove thefront wheels, and recheck for wear at the king-pins and tie rod ends. Steering knuckle supportscan be of two types. One is similar to a straightaxle where the steering knuckle slides over thesteering knuckle support and the kingpin bush-ings are located in the steering knuckle (GM). Inthe other style the steering knuckle fits into thesteering knuckle support and the kingpin bush-ings are located in the steering knuckle support(Ford/Mercury).

Check the coil springs for stress cracksand broken coils.Shiny spots be-tween the coilsindicate thesprings are bot-toming out. Use apiece of 2x4 lum-ber about 4 feetlong against thebrake drum, andpry up to checkfor excessivemovement at thetop and bottomof the steering knuckle support. Wear at thesetwo pivot points will change the caster and cam-ber settings. You can check the upper controlarm inner bushings and shaft for wear by pryingagainst the control arm with a bar. With the coil

springs compressed the inner lower con-trol arm bushings are difficult to checkfor wear. Slide under the vehicle andcheck the idler arm and the center linktie rod connections. Move the parts upand down to check for excessive move-ment of parts. The idler arm adds stabil-ity to the center link and tie rod

PAGE 12 - sKinnEd KnUCKlEs

plaCE safETy sTands hEREgRasp TiRE hERE


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assembly. As it wears the freeplay in the steeringwheel increases. If the ball joints on the centerlink are worn the entire center link must be re-placed. Before you start work make sure you canpurchase good quality parts. Plan your work pro-cedures.

Kingpin Replacement

This procedure is for a vehicle which hasthe kingpin bushings located in the steeringknuckle support. Safety stands can remain underthe lower control arms. Wear safety glasses.Back off the brake shoe adjuster to move thebrake shoes away from the drum. Remove thespindle dust cover, cotter pin and castle nut.Draw the brake drum toward you, and pull offthe drum. Catch the outer bearing, and keep itwith the drum. Remove the four bolts that holdthe brake backing plate to the steering knuckle.The bottom two bolts hold the steering supportarm which comes off with the tie rod end. Sup-port the backing plate and brake shoes to preventstrain on the brake flex hose. The steeringknuckle is now fully exposed. Check for exces-sive wear at the inner upper and lower controlarms. Check for wear at the upper and lowersteering knuckle support. If worn parts need re-placing, make sure you can purchase them be-fore you take anything apart. To remove theworn kingpins first remove the upper and lowerdust caps. New ones come with thekingpin/bushing kit. These caps are actuallyWelch plugs which are an American invention.

Remove the tapered pin that holds thekingpin in place. Note the location of the thrustbearing. Drive out the kingpin using a punch anda hammer. Remove the grease fittings (zerks).This is another American invention by inventorOscar Ulysses Zerk. Use a bearing/seal driver ofthe correct size to drive out the old bushings.You can also use a socket of the correct size.Clean the grease fitting hole with an air blast toremove any old grease. Clean up the bushingsurfaces with emery cloth. Install the new bush-ings using a bushing driver or a socket. Line upthe hole in the bushing with the grease fittinghole. Make sure the bushing goes in squarely.Pressing the bushing in compresses them and it


should bereamed tosize. If youhave theuse of areamer anda pilotb u s h i n g ,ream thebushings.

U s eplenty of cut-ting oil andturn the reamerslowly in aclockwise di-rection. If youdo not have areamer, use abrake hone andcheck the fitfrequently. The kingpin should push into thebushings and not slide through them. Clean theinside of the bushings with brake spray and anair hose. Scrape fresh grease into the thrust bear-ing. Clean the hole in the steering knuckle withemery cloth, and install it into the steeringknuckle support with the thrust bearing in place.

Check the steering knuckle for up anddown movement. Use shims to take up any slackbetween the steering knuckle and the steeringknuckle support. There should not be any up anddown movement of the steering knuckle. Greasethe bushings, and slide the kingpin into the topof the steering knuckle support with the flat sidealigned with the hole for the tapered pin. Drivethe kingpin in until it lines up with the hole forthe tapered pin. Install the tapered pin, and driveit in place. Install the lockwasher and nut andtighten. Install the new dust caps, and hit therounded surface with a ball peen hammer tospread the cap. Install the grease fittings, andpump some grease into them. Move the steeringknuckle back and forth to make sure it hassmooth movement. Install the backing plate andthe steering knuckle support arm. Replace the tierod end, if it is worn. Service the wheel bearings,if the grease is old and not the consistency of

A complete set of kingpin ream-ers designed to fit bushings 11/16”to 11/8” diameter.

Reaming a spindle support for a kingpin


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peanut butter. Install the brake drum, and adjustthe wheel bearing. Use a new cotter key. Installthe dust cap. Install the wheels and hub caps.Check the tire pressure. Lower the vehicle, androad test. Steering should be straight and notwander. If the vehicle does wander and is hardto control, search out a shop that has the experi-ence with vehicles that use eccentric andthreaded bushings for camber and caster adjust-ments, and have the wheel alignment checked.

Ball Joint Replacement

Ball joints are spherical bearings thatconnect the control arms to the spindle support.The control arms allow the wheels to move upand down and are attached to the frame withbushings. The bushings consist of an outer metalsleeve, a rubber or polyurethane bushing and aninner metal sleeve. During the road test if thesteering wanders left to right and you hear aclunking noise coming from the front suspen-sion, suspect the ball joints. Inside tire wear isalso a sign of worn ball joints. To check for balljoint wear when the coil spring is placed be-tween the lower suspension arm and the frameor torsion bar suspension is used, place the safetystands under the suspension arms, and raise thefront tires off the ground. To check the bottomball joint which wears out most often use a pieceof 2x4 lumber about 4 feet long and lever the tireup, and then let it down. If you hear a clunkwhen it is let down, the bottom ball joint is loose.This is excessive play, and the ball joint must bereplaced. Rock the tire, and listen to any soundcoming from the upper ball joint. If it is worn itmust also be re-placed. Removethe wheels, andvisually inspectboth upper andlower balljoints. Look fortorn dust bootsor greasearound the balljoints whichallow dirt andwater into theball joint. Some


ball joints have grease fittings that double aswear indicators. When the grease fittings havereceded into the housing the ball joints need tobe replaced. Use a pry bar against the upper andlower control arms to check for wear at the innercontrol arm bushings. If movement is excessive,change the bushings. Rubber bushings that aredried out or rotate in the metal sleeve can causesqueaks and have to be replaced. Silicone sprayis a temporary solution. If control arm wear isminimal, remove/replace the ball joints. Checkthe tie rod ends, center link and idler arm for ex-cessive wear and replace as necessary. This is thetime to replace the coil springs, if they are weakand starting to sag. Troubleshoot both sides.Order the necessary parts.

Move the safety stands under the framebehind the front wheels to provide workingroom. Wear your safety glasses. Block the rearwheels. Some ball joints are screwed in placewhile others may be riveted, pressed, bolted orspot welded. Refer to the service manual. Thefollowing procedure will cover ball joints thatwere riveted and have been replaced using nutsand bolts. Disconnect the shock absorbers. Dis-connect the sway bar. It may be connected to thecontrol arm with a link bolt. Loop a safety chainaround the coil spring and the hole in the lowercontrol arm to keep the coil spring from flyingout when the lower ball joint is disconnected. Aflying spring will hurt. If you are replacing thecoil springs, cut them in half with a torch andwork safely.

Vehicles of the late 1950s andearly 1960s were still using drum brakesat the front. Disc brakes were optional.To replace ball joints on these early ve-hicles leave the brake drums on unlessyou are planning brake work. Work onthe bottom control arm and ball jointfirst. Slide a floor jack under the lowercontrol arm of the ball joint being re-placed.

Remove the cotter pin and the bot-tom ball joint nut. The cotter pin is an-other American invention. If you do nothave the use of a pickle fork, hit the joint

whEn Ball jOinTwEaR CaUsEs ThisshOUldER TO RETREaTBElOw ThE sURfaCE, RE-plaCEmEnT is REqUiREd.

wEaR indiCaTOR(OUT whEn nEw)

0.050”


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area where the ball joint stud goes through witha heavy hammer backing it up with another ham-mer. The blow distorts the hole in the spindlesupport and loosens the stud. Use this samemethod to loosen the tie rod ends, if they needreplacing. Lower the bottom control arm until itis clear of the ball joint. The safety chain willkeep the coil spring in place. Pull the brake drumassembly forward, and tie it out of the way. Itmay be necessary to remove the tie rod end onsome vehicles. If the control arm does not moveup and down easily, the cross shaft may beseized to the inner bushing. To remove the lowercontrol arm pull the spring out of the frame. Re-move the lower control arm, and bring it up tothe bench. If the control arm is bent, it must bereplaced. Clean off any mud or grease that is onthe ball joint. Spray the nuts and bolts with pen-etrating oil. Remove the nuts and bolts and theold ball joint. On older vehicles you have to re-move one of the bushings first, and then removethe control arm cross shaft and the other bushing.There are a number of ways to remove the shaftand the bushings depending on what tools youhave.

If you have the use of a hydraulic press,you can use the shaft as a driver to press thebushings out. To prevent compressing the con-trol arm use a spacer made out of a piece of pipethat will fit between the inside of the control armbushing locations or use a small bottle jack. Re-move the nut and washer on one end. Supportthe control arm of a piece of pipe larger than theoutside diameter of the bushing. Press on thecross shaft until the opposite bushing is pressedout. Use plenty of penetrating oil. Reverse theprocedure, and press the other bushing out. Onsome models the bushing extends into the insideof the control arm. Use a drill with a ¼ inch bit,and drill out the rubber bushings. Take a punch,and collapse the outer metal sleeve portion of thebushing. Use plenty of penetrating oil on the partof the bushing in the control arm, and drive thebushing out. Remove the shaft, and then driveout the other bushing. If you are lucky and theinner sleeve of the bushing comes out with thebushing itself, do a victory dance. Examine thecross shaft to see if it can be reused. If it is cor-


roded, the shaft has to be replaced. If the innersleeve is corroded on the shaft, do not spend timeremoving the sleeve. Replace the cross shaft.Your life might depend on it.

Clean the control arm. Follow the proce-dure in the service manual for replacing the crossshaft and bushings. Install the ball joint boltswith the nuts facing up. Torque to specifications.Install the new grease zerk. Paint the rebuilt as-sembly with black paint, and install it on theframe. Push it down to its lowest point, and placethe jack under it. Install the new/original springwith the necessary insulators, if used. Slide thespring in place with the tight coils facing up andinto an upper crown in the frame. Raise thelower control with the jack to get some pressureon the spring. Use a bar, and slide the bottom ofthe springs into the dish in the control arm. Fas-ten the safety chain. Raise the control arm andfit the ball joint stud into the spindle support. In-stall the castle nut and torque to specifications.Install the cotter pin. If the hole does not line up,tighten the nut. DO NOT loosen it. Slide the cot-ter pin in, and bend the longer side down overthe nut and stud. Bend the shorter side up overthe nut, and use diagonal side cutters to cut offany extra length. Replace the jack with a safetystand. Hydraulic jacks can and do leak. You wantthe lower control arm to stay positioned and notmove down.

Remove the upper ball joint nut, and pullthe steering spindle off the ball joint stud. Tie thebrake assembly to the frame to prevent strain onthe brake hose. Check for wear at the the uppercontrol arm bushings by moving the control armside to side and up and down. If up and downmovement is limited, remove the control armand replace the bushings. When you disconnectthe upper control arm there should be alignmentshims on the bolts. Remove and identify their lo-cations on either the front or back bolts so theycan be replaced in their original locations whichis probably the original camber and caster align-ment settings. Clean the upper control, and re-move the ball joint. Replace the bushings andcross shaft, if it is worn. Paint the assemblyblack, and install. Connect the ball joint stud tothe spindle support. Torque the nut to specifica-


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tions, and install the cotter pin and set it. Replaceany of the steering linkage parts that are worn.When replacing tie rod ends count the numberof turns it takes to remove the tie rod, and screwthe new tie rod in the same distance to maintainthe toe-in adjustment. Remove the safety stand,and install the shock absorber. Service the otherside. Install the sway bar.

Load the grease gun with a good qualitymulti purpose chassis grease that can be used ontie-rod ends, ball joints and control arm shafts.If you are servicing the wheel bearings that runat high speed and temperatures, you must use aformulated wheel bearing grease. Do not use amulti purpose chassis grease on wheel bearings.Start with the ball joints, and grease the ball

joints until the boot starts to swell. Do not overgrease and damage the seal. To lubricate a sealedball joint use a grease zerk needle adapter at-tached to a regular grease gun. Insert the needleinto the side of the boot where the boot and balljoint meet. Pump in grease until the boot swells.Wipe the grease fittings clean on the steeringlinkage. Grease the tie rod ends, and wipe awayany excess grease. Slide under the vehicle, andgrease the center link and idler arm. Install thewheels, and lower the vehicle. Check tire airpressure. Locate an alignment shop and have thecamber, caster and toe-in checked/adjusted.Road test. Happy motoring.

NEXT MONTH:REAR SUSPENSION

S.K.

Even after reading Orest’s article, areyou still reluctant to tackle the steering onyour car or truck? Why not give the LaresCorporation a call? (See their ad on the backcover of this issue.) Lares specializes in steer-ing - as a matter of fact, that’s all they do.They can advise you as to the parts that youneed, they can supply the parts, or, if you pre-fer, they can do the repair or rebuild on yoursteering system. They can advise you the bestway to remove those parts that might need re-pair, and the best way to send the parts tothem for service.

We advocate you doing repairs your-self, but if you have a problem, a special orunusual steering system, or if you just needhelp, call on the experts; call Lares.


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Originally printed in Skinned Knuckles magazine, and copyrighted by SK Publishing/Skinned Knuckles Magazine. Reprinting of any portion prohibited without written permission of SK Publishing, PO Box 6983, Huntington Beach, CA 92615.

Subscriptions to Skinned Knuckles magazine is $28.00 for twelve monthly issues (within the U.S.). Contact Skinned Knuckles by mail at PO Box 6983, Huntington Beach, CA 92615; Website skinnedknuckles.net and click on Subscribe or PayPal. E-mail [email protected], phone: 714-963-1558.

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