What are the benefits of replacing kingpins??

[Dauntless]

I'm tellin' you that vibration is not a symptom of king pin wear.

 

[mndriver]

Hendrickson says I should have 0.003" play measured at the knuckle.

Outside that, it's wore.

You won't be able to detect 0.005- 0.010" play without a dial indicator.

That's all it takes.

 

[Dauntless]

I know what it takes. I'm sayin' you are probably the only guy that changes your king pins before noticing irregular steer tire wear.


oops, I didn't notice that a new guy jumped in there.

 

[Getfit Tommy]

If youre kingpin broke.....

tires would be the last of your concerns.

What is it with you guys?

So much information here and half the people don't wanna listen... or, as usual, want to argue.

I thought this was a help forum

Yeah, just ignore it. Keep driving. Spend your money on some new lugnut covers and a drop visor instead, maybe some dummy stacks....a few decals and such

Peace

 

[Dauntless]

If your king pin broke it would be the first time ever.

 

[Dauntless]

So much information here and half the people don't wanna listen... or, as usual, want to argue.

I'm here to help my fellow truckers, not argue. But if you are gonna call me out on something about truckin, you better know wtf your talkin' about.

 

[Getfit Tommy]

If your king pin broke it would be the first time ever.

That, mi amigo, is a bold statement.

You been at this a long time, huh?

I suppose trailer kingpins never break either?

Who has ever manufactured something that is unbreakable?

Now I'm curious. You seem to have some powerful insight here.

 

[Dauntless]

Now I'm curious. You seem to have some powerful insight here.

More like common sense. I know a king pin has never broke while the truck is being driven down the road. And I'd bet that there has been very few if any that has broke in a crash.


It sounds like you want to argue.

 

[mndriver]

Had one broken on a Mack superliner.

Of course I had also had a Taylor 20T forklift back into the steer tire too.

 

[r3gulator3]

Obviously dealing with a trucker "expert" here. I have replaced more seized and broken kingpins over my 20 years as a technician. As well as broken spindles...to say they never break is ridiculous.

When DOT really wants to do road checks they will jack up the front end of your truck and if there is any movement you are OOS. Simple as that.

Trying to argue an invalid point with no proof and saying my points are BS. Well that's just plain silly, you have no argument other than your own thinking. Which is not based on fact.

 

[Injun]

Regarding the comment about repairing an item before tire wear shows..

I'm guilty of that. In fact, I preemptively ordered replacement of all of my rear bearings and races when one was found to be bad. I was glad I did, too, because all of them were severely worn, even though actual symptoms were only shown on one.

Now, I know that's not steering kingpins, but the relevance is if I was shown my kingpins were worn, I wouldn't drive the truck another mile until the pins are replaced. Period. We have exactly three inputs to the trajectory of a truck while we're driving it: Acceleration, deceleration and directional control via the steering mechanism. Of these, I would assert that directional control is the most important and must be maintained to the highest standard.

I will needlessly spend $900 and be sure my equipment is safe and serviceable rather than know there is wear on an essential part and wait for it to fail in a catastrophic fashion.

The O/P did the right thing.

 

[ironpony]

My point is that if anything in the mechanal assembly of your steering mechanism, including the kingpins and bushings, is out of whack enough to tear up tires, you will have felt the vibrations through the steering column long before your tires are irreplaceably damaged.

If you are even close to doing your job, you will have at least wondered about your tires and their condition before setting out on your latest trucking adventure. Per regs its implied to be a daily thought. Checking your tires for excessive wear is best done with your hands. You will feel an unusual wear pattern long before it is visible to your eye.

Personally, I'd rather indulge in a little curiosity, than shell out another $1000+ on yet more tires if possible. And the idea of having a critical maintenance item like the mechanical condition of my steering components in good repair, is something I'd prefer to invest in by pulling into a competent shop rather than paying through the nose out on the road.

YMMV.

 

[Injun]

YMMV

 

[r3gulator3]

Your mileage may vary

 

[Injun]

Maybe that's why acronyms are discouraged around here. This ain't Twitter. We're not limited to 140 characters.

(ironpony.....)

 

[ironpony]

 

[Truckerjay777]

@Truckerjay777 I apologise if I say something someone else has said. Three biggest concerns for shot king pins.

1 it is an out of service if dot catches it. That 900 bucks to do it in the shop will be triple for them to do it at the scale or double once you factor in a tow bill if your close to a shop.

2 could lock up locking you wheel in what ever direction it's pointed and your just along for the ride till it stops at that point.

3 your steering hubs can fall off the axle.

I recommend getting them replaced asap. 900 is actually very reasonable for replacement.

Thanks I didn't realize it was that dangerous. I have gotten them replaced and all is good thanks

 

[mndriver]

My point is that if anything in the mechanal assembly of your steering mechanism, including the kingpins and bushings, is out of whack enough to tear up tires, you will have felt the vibrations through the steering column long before your tires are irreplaceably damaged.

If you are even close to doing your job, you will have at least wondered about your tires and their condition before setting out on your latest trucking adventure. Per regs its implied to be a daily thought. Checking your tires for excessive wear is best done with your hands. You will feel an unusual wear pattern long before it is visible to your eye.

Personally, I'd rather indulge in a little curiosity, than shell out another $1000+ on yet more tires if possible. And the idea of having a critical maintenance item like the mechanical condition of my steering components in good repair, is something I'd prefer to invest in by pulling into a competent shop rather than paying through the nose out on the road.

YMMV.

Bought my truck on July 25, 2012. It was a 2007 Century with 703K miles. Before I picked it up out in Ridgefield WA at the dealer, I had a 3rd party shop look at it. All was good. Pacific Truck gave it a clean bill of health. July 28th, I got home with it and had my own mechanic look at it in Minnesota to have the MN DOT inspection sticker put on the truck. It was good. So far, there were 3 independent (from each other) mechanics look at the king pins. By August 10th, I had chewed (scrubbed) off a set of steers. I took it to a fourth shop to have it inspected and looked at again. Even putting dial indicators on the hubs / spindles and looking for wear. It was at the high end of spec, but still in spec. the ONLY indicator was the inside edge was disappearing in about 1100 miles.

August 16, they put new kingpins in the truck. Mainly because I tossed another set of cheap used steers on to work for 5 days while the parts were in-transit for the kingpin repair and install.

There was no vibration. No bounce. Nothing. Just the inside rib scrubbed off the tire in less than a weeks time. Not even 21 days of truck ownership and it's cost me $2600 in tires and kingpins. A month later, another $1600 to install exhaust manifold gaskets. All on a truck that was thoroughly inspected supposedly by no less than 5 different mechanics at different locations.

 

[Truckerjay777]

Bought my truck on July 25, 2012. It was a 2007 Century with 703K miles. Before I picked it up out in Ridgefield WA at the dealer, I had a 3rd party shop look at it. All was good. Pacific Truck gave it a clean bill of health. July 28th, I got home with it and had my own mechanic look at it in Minnesota to have the MN DOT inspection sticker put on the truck. It was good. So far, there were 3 independent (from each other) mechanics look at the king pins. By August 10th, I had chewed (scrubbed) off a set of steers. I took it to a fourth shop to have it inspected and looked at again. Even putting dial indicators on the hubs / spindles and looking for wear. It was at the high end of spec, but still in spec. the ONLY indicator was the inside edge was disappearing in about 1100 miles.

August 16, they put new kingpins in the truck. Mainly because I tossed another set of cheap used steers on to work for 5 days while the parts were in-transit for the kingpin repair and install.

There was no vibration. No bounce. Nothing. Just the inside rib scrubbed off the tire in less than a weeks time. Not even 21 days of truck ownership and it's cost me $2600 in tires and kingpins. A month later, another $1600 to install exhaust manifold gaskets. All on a truck that was thoroughly inspected supposedly by no less than 5 different mechanics at different locations.

Wow that sounds like me right now. How's the kingpins holding up since your did them?

 

[mndriver]

Wow that sounds like me right now. How's the kingpins holding up since your did them?

Been fine.

Make sure they tighten your bearings correctly. I've had seven 3-axle alignments done in four different shops and always had funny wear on my right steer.

Even measured the bearing play myself twice and two other mechanics do it. Came back correct each time.

Finally in May I pulled the hub apart only to find out it wasn't preloaded like it was supposed to be. Finally got rid of any wear and vibration issues.

Spent way more money getting it to this point than it should of.

Been told I needed u-joints, a power divider, motor mounts etc.

Not happy with a lot of people.