King pin play

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Fri, 22/06/2012 - 21:52
bocaj
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I went to have my 87' swb MOT inspected today. Only comment was play in left hand side king pin bearing.

So my question is: Can I fit thinner shims? And will I have to take the CV joint apart to do so?

Regards
Jacob

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Fri, 22/06/2012 - 23:03
#1
Russ280
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Re: King pin play

I guess you can alter the shims but I certainly wouldn’t bother trying. If there’s play it’s the king pin bearings (unless they’ve miss diagnosed wheel bearing play) so you need to change them.

Simply change the king pin bearings and don’t mess with the shims IMHO. You can get them from any bearing supplier or of course MB. You don’t need to dismantle the CV.

Russ

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Tue, 26/06/2012 - 12:40
#2
Pistonhead
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Re: King pin play

Hello Jacob,

Kingpin play cannot be adjusted; you will need to replace the bearings which is possible to replace without touching the wheel bearing.  You will have to remove the drive shaft with the hub.  The shims merely, adjust for the pre-load.  Like Russ280 mentions, do make sure the wheel bearing play is properly diagnosed.

You could try removing the kingpin caps and pack with grease firstly, before deciding to replace the kingpin bearings.

I have serious issues with my computer and cannot guarantee getting access to the forum, so I do not know when, next I can have access.

Cheers,

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