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I pressed out my front spindle bushings and pressed in new ones. I took the spindles to a honing shop along with my king pins for a good fit. One spindle worked out fine. The other appears to have bent during the pressing operation and now the king pin holes are not in line and do not match up. One is off by at least 3/8 inch. Can this spindle be pressed back to its original position or will it crack? Just when I thought I was getting somewhere.
Marty

Do you have pictures? What did you use to press the bushings out/in? I would probably look for another spindle.

Red

If I was in your situation I'd give it a try. What have you got to lose? I'd heat it up first so the metal can "flow" a bit while your bending it, then once in place heat it up again and let it cool slowly. If it breaks off, then all your questions are answered, and you have a clear direction.

KVO

Hi, Are you sure that the spindle was not bent before the procedure? Why did you use a press to get the old bushings out? One does not need a 20 ton press to replace a bronze bushing, whether spindle, steering sector housing, pedal bushings, etc. I place the bushings in the freezer for a few hours, and place the spindle in the hot sun or on top of a hot wood stove for an hour. The bushings get smaller and the hole in the spindle gets larger. Then, with a home made bushing setter that I make on a lathe, I tap the bushing home with a hammer and the setter. I can also use an arbor press ($20 swap meet item), a large vise ($125 garage sale item). I do have a cheap harbor freight 20 ton press which I have NEVER used! One does not have the "feel" in using a hydraulic press. To take out an old bushing, take a hacksaw blade and cut the old bushing in two opposite sides, a hammer and diamond point chisel will easily take it out. To obtain a bushing setter, take all of your new bushings to a machine shop and have them make a few setters. You can use one large diameter round stock and have them cut multiple steps in one. Also, you can take a machine shop class at your local J.C. and make and fix a bunch of items there! Sorry about your spindle. Steve.

Hi again, remember to line up the grease holes, I drill them out after the operation to make sure.

I had my grease holes lined up. I'm not sure if the thing was bent before I did my work. I picked that spindle up in Colorado.
Mike's found me another one and it is on its way.
I will check the new one out before I do anything this time.
Thanks for your help,
Marty

Replacing is the best idea. These old castings are likely not very ductile and the act of bending hardens them making them prone to brittle fracture. Reversing a bend hardens them even more and it is possible that, even if you are successful, cracking may have occurred that you can not see with out appropriate non-destructive testing methods (liquid penetrant or magnetic particle). You don't want one of them to fail on you while you are driving. If you can replace it, that's you best bet.

I appreciate all the help on this and will put the bent spindle in file 13.
thanks,
Marty

SteveK535 wrote:Replacing is the best idea. These old castings are likely not very ductile and the act of bending hardens them making them prone to brittle fracture. Reversing a bend hardens them even more and it is possible that, even if you are successful, cracking may have occurred that you can not see with out appropriate non-destructive testing methods (liquid penetrant or magnetic particle). You don't want one of them to fail on you while you are driving. If you can replace it, that's you best bet.

yea its one thing if its not a crucial item and it breaks but steering especially the one part that holds the brake and wheel to the rest of the truck i wouldn't want any chances. Most likely it would fail after hitting a pothole, RXR tracks, bridge joint etc...

theres ways to stop a vehicle if the engine dies or a brake rod lets loose - even if all brakes go out you can still stop with compression; but steering... its just one of those things that when it goes your going to follow the law of motion and keep going until you stop..