LARES S E CO RP OR AT IO N · 2020. 7. 1. · inner control arm is pivoted on a cross shaft with screw-in style bushings. At the bottom outer control arm, a threaded bushing and pivot

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

Art

icle

con

tent

pro

vide

d by

Ski

nned

Knu

ckle

s M

agaz

ine.

LARESC O R P O R A T I O N

SKINNED KNUCKLES

ARTICLE

On the solid axle the movement of onewheel is dependent on the movement of the otherwheel on the axle. The steering knuckles whichcontain the spindles are connected to the axle bya kingpin. The steering linkage and thereby thesteering knuckles are connected by a single ad-justable tie rod. The connection from the steeringgear box Pitman arm to the steering knuckle isthrough a steering rod called the drag link. Whenthe driver turns the steering wheel the Pitmanarm rotates and transfers the motion through thedrag link to the steering knuckle to turn the frontwheels.

The independent suspen-sion system is mounted on coilsprings and allows each of thewheels to move independently ofthe other one. On independentfront suspension, a steeringknuckle support is located be-tween the upper and lower con-trol arms. The steering knuckle isjoined to the steering knucklesupport by a kingpin. On vehi-cles after the mid-1950s, balljoints connect the control arms toa steering knuckle assemblywhich combines the steeringknuckle and support into oneunit. In most North Americancars the steering linkage consistsof three parts. The Pitman armtransmits gear movement to the

Orest LazarowichPresents

Looking BackwardbutMoving Forward

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

Steering Linkage Part 1

On rear wheel drive vehicles the steeringlinkage consists of a number of steering rods thatconnect the steering gearbox to the front wheels.They convert the rotary motion of the steeringwheel into angular motion of the front wheels sothe vehicle can be steered to its destination. Thetype of steering linkage depends on whether thefront axle is solid ( I-beam) or independent frontsuspension (IFS). The solid axle was used onmany early cars and trucks and is still used onmany pickups and larger trucks. The vehicleweight is carried by flat springs or coil springs.

#! - Upper arm#2 - Wheel Knuckle#3 - Stabilizer bar link#4 - Wheel bearing and hub#5 - Rear lower arm#6 - Front lower arm#7 - Stabilizer bar

FRONT SUSPENSION

PAGE 10 - SKINNED KNUCKLES


Art

icle

con

tent

pro

vide

d by

Ski

nned

Knu

ckle

s M

agaz

ine.


SKINNED KNUCKLES

ARTICLE

left end of a relay rod or center link. An idler armparallel to the Pitman arm is attached to theframe to support the right end of the relay rod.Two short tie rods connect the relay rod to thesteering knuckle arms which transmit the move-ment to the steering knuckles to turn the wheels.Ball joints between the tie rods and steering armsallow steering movement even when the suspen-sion moves up and down over rough road sur-faces.

Road testthe vehicleover smoothand roughroad surfaces.Roll down thewindows, andlisten fornoise (clunks,s q u e a k i n g ,banging) thatcomes fromthe front sus-pension. A vi-bration on thes t e e r i n g

wheel at speeds below 50 mph might be causedby tire problems or tire balance. Tires fail be-cause of wear or road damage. If the vehiclepulls to one side or wanders in the lane, the sus-pension parts need to be inspected for wear.Wheels can be bent by hitting potholes. Springscan break or sag. Shock absorbers can leak and

fail. The flexible connections (tie rod ends) inthe steering linkage can fail because of wear.Some vehicles use rubber bushings which be-come brittle. King pin bushings wear out as doball joints - especially the bottom one. Any bang-ing or thumping noise when going over potholescan be caused by worn ball joints. Steering gearboxes do wear out over time. Most vehiclestoday are built with ‘sealed’ ball joints and tierod ends. When the factory filled grease dries out

the joint wears out. Youshould establish somesort of maintenanceschedule that includesgreasing these parts, ifthe parts are not worn orthe rubber boots aroundthese parts are not torn. Ahypodermic needle typeattachment on a regulargrease gun will allowyou to pierce the rubberboot and pump in thegrease. Do not burst theboot. Older vehicleshave grease fittings to

allow lubrication. Aftermarket parts will havegrease fittings when you replace original parts.Power wash all the entire front suspension partsto remove the road crud

Before you raise the front of the vehicleon safety stands, check the steering gearbox forsteering wheel free play. If the vehicle has powersteering, start the engine. Wheels in straightahead position. Stand outside the vehicle, dri-ver's window down, and turn the steering wheel.If you can move the steering wheel more thanone to one and a half inches without moving thewheels, the steering gearbox may need adjust-ment or a rebuild. Wear safety glasses to protectyour eyes and mechanic's gloves to protect yourhands. Place the safety stands under the axle onsolid axle vehicles. On independent suspensionvehicles place the stands under the control armsso the weight is on the suspension. Block the rearwheels. Inspect the tires for irregular tread wear.Two common causes of early tire wear are im-proper inflation and tire misalignment caused byimproper camber, toe-in and caster (alignment)

KINGPIN ASSEMBLYGREASE NIPPLE

NEEDLEBEARING

KINGPIN

AXLE

WHEEL HUB

NEEDLEBEARING

GREASENIPPLE

{

}

SEPTEMBER 2018 - PAGE 11


Art

icle

con

tent

pro

vide

d by

Ski

nned

Knu

ckle

s M

agaz

ine.


SKINNED KNUCKLES

ARTICLE

adjustments. Any unusual tire wear patterns canbe caused by worn or loose parts. Check thewheel lug nuts/bolts for tightness. Lug nuts/boltsshould be tightened with a torque wrench.Tighten in a star pattern alternating from the lugnut/bolt to the one that is directly across from it.

Torque setting for steelwheels is 90-100 footpounds. Recheck after100 miles. If you heard agrinding noise comingfrom the front wheels,check the wheel bear-ings. A loose front wheelbearing will cause un-even tire wear. Spin the

wheel to check for bearing roughness as it ro-tates. Push/pull on the tire to check for bearingside movement. Bearing side movement must beminimal ( 0.001”) and max (0.005” ). Any morethan this and the bearings should be removedand inspected for cracks, pits and scoring. Ifbearings and bearing surfaces are okay, they canbe repacked. If they are damaged, they must bereplaced. Check both sides as they are exposedto the same road conditions. If ball joints, king-pins, bushings and tie rod ends are good, refer tothe wheel bearing section at the end of this arti-cle.

Kingpin Check

To check for kingpin wear remove thesteering knuckle dust cap and the cotter key.Tighten the axle nut to remove all wheel bearingend play. Place your hands at the top and bottomof the wheel and try to rock the wheel. On astraight axle see if there is any movement at thesteering knuckle. Check the other side. If thereis, the kingpins and bushings need to be re-placed. On many early type independent suspen-sions with the coil spring between the frame andthe lower control arm check the kingpins forwear at the steering knuckle and the steeringknuckle support. The steering knuckle supportattaches to the outer upper and lower controlarms. At the top outer control arm, the steeringknuckle support has an eccentric bushing and apivot pin that adjusts the camber angle. The topinner control arm is pivoted on a cross shaft with

screw-in style bushings. At the bottom outercontrol arm, a threaded bushing and pivot pin areused to adjust the caster angle. The inner bottomcontrol arm is attached to the frame by a crossshaft that pivots on bushings. Rock the wheel tocheck for movement at the kingpin. Check theother side. If kingpin wear is evident, replacekingpins and bushings.

Remove the front wheels. Use a pry bar,and check for wear at the steering knuckle pivotsat the upper and lower control arms. Check forwear at the outer upper and lower pivot pins ofthe control arms. If there is excessive wear at theupper or lower pivot pin, it will be difficult to setthe camber and caster wheel alignment adjustersto specifications. Camber is the tilting angle ofthe front wheel. If the camber is out of adjust-ment, tire wear will be on the inside or outsideedge of the tire. It also causes excessive wear ofsuspension parts. Caster is the tilting of the up-permost point of the steering axis. If the casteris out of adjustment, the vehicle will wanderand/or pull to the side. Caster has little effect ontire wear. Check for wear or binding at the innercontrol arm cross shafts. If there is minimal wearat the control arm pivot points but the kingpinwear is excessive, start with replacing the king-pins. Repeat this test on the other front wheel.

Ball Joint Check

Ball joints are flexible joints that allow thesuspension to move up and down and side to sideusually in a full 360-degree rotation. During theroad test, a banging sound coming from vehicle'sfront corners is usually caused by worn balljoints. With the safety stands under the lowercontrol arms you can check the bottom ball jointfor wear. Look for any signs of rust, a torn greaseboot or grease leakage around the ball joint. Grabthe top and bottom of the tire, and rock the tire.There should be little or no movement, if the jointis okay. Any noise or excessive movement com-ing from the bottom ball joint remove the wheel,and visually inspect the bottom ball joint. Someball joints have a grease fitting that serves as awear indicator. When the ball joint is new thebase protrudes about 1/16 inch from the rubbercover. When worn the base is flush with the

1 4

3 2

5



Art

icle

con

tent

pro

vide

d by

Ski

nned

Knu

ckle

s M

agaz

ine.


SKINNED KNUCKLES

ARTICLE

cover. To checkthe top ball jointyou have tomove the safetystand under thefront cross mem-ber to put a loadon the top balljoint. If the bot-tom ball jointneeds replacing,it is easier tocheck the upperball joint whenthe lower controlarm is discon-nected.

Check Tie Rods

W h e e l sand tires should stay straight when you drive un-less you turn the steering wheel. Loose tie rodends will cause the steering to wander during aroad test. Front alignment will be off, and tirewear will be uneven. The tie rod end is a ball andsocket. It can be the half-ball type or the full balldesign. With your hands at the 3 and 9 clock po-sitions move the tire in and out. If there is anyplay in the wheel, it could be the outer tie rodends. Remove the wheel, and examine the tie rodend. If the boot is torn, road dirt has probablyworn the joint. Move the steering knuckle in andout. If the tie rod does not move, the tie rod endis worn and must be replaced. Check the otherside. On single tie rod styles used with straightaxles replace the tie rod ends and adjust the draglink. On independent suspension there are two tierods with adjustable tie rod ends. Check the outertie rod ends, and then slide under the vehicle andcheck for wear at the center link (where the tierod arms attach and at the idler arm and the Pit-man arm connection). Grab the center link, andmove these parts up and down. Excessive up anddown movement at any of the connections meansreplacement of the worn parts. Make sure the Pit-man arm nut is tight. There should be a lock-washer under the nut. On vehicles where a balljoint is part of the Pitman arm, the Pitman armhas to be replaced, if the ball joint is worn out.

Solid Axle With Flat Springs

Raise the vehicle on safety stands placedunder the front axle and block the rearwheels. Remove the wheels. Inspect thespring bushings, pins and brackets (shackles)for wear by inserting a pry bar between thespring and the frame and moving the bar upand down. Bushings wear at different rates,but noise, poor road handling (wandering),and tire wear, if the kingpins are okay, indi-cate that the bushings and pins need replac-ing. Bushings can be metal or rubber andusually wear down because of friction andstress. Spray with silicone to contain rubbersqueaks. Check the spring for broken leaves,broken center bolt and sagging condition.Loose U-bolts can break the center bolt or theleaves. If only one leaf is broken, it can be re-placed. If two or more leaves are broken, theentire spring assembly should be replaced. If

one assembly is being replaced, the other sideshould also be replaced. U-bolts should alwaysbe replaced. Spring repairs must be fixed beforekingpin replacement. You must move the safetystands behind the front spring rear brackets toservice the springs. The following procedure isfor kingpin and bushing replacement when thespring assembly does not need service. The bush-ings are driven into the steering knuckle. Thesafety stands stay under the axle.

This is a weekend project so order the nec-essary parts in advance. Have the parts 'in hand'before you start any work. Some vehicles withwood spoke wheels do not have front wheelbrakes so there is no brake drum (1928 ACMEtruck). You remove the wheel hub. On vehiclesusing front brakes back off the brake adjustmentso the drum can be removed. Remove the wheelbearing dust cap, cotter key and spindle nut. Asyou pull the brake drum off, catch the outer bear-ing in a cloth; do not drop the bearing on the floor.Wheel bearings can be the ball bearing type or thetapered roller style. If a previous test indicatedwheel bearing problems, inspect the bearings, andgrease or replace them and the seal before re-assembly. Wipe the spindle clean of any grease.Remove the bolts that hold the brake backingplate to the steering knuckle. Do not remove the

NEW WORNWEAR INDICATOR

NEW WORN

BALL STUD

BEARING

RUBBER HOUSINGPRESSURE SOCKETRING



Art

icle

con

tent

pro

vide

d by

Ski

nned

Knu

ckle

s M

agaz

ine.


SKINNED KNUCKLES

ARTICLE

brake hose but tie the backing plate out of theway. Wrap some masking tape around one end ofthe tie rod, and identify it as either the left or righthand end to aid in assembly. To disconnect the tierod from the steering knuckles remove the cotterkey and the nut. If the tie rods are worn and needreplacing, you can use a ‘pickle’ fork and a ham-mer to separate them. A ‘pickle’ fork can damagea good grease boot on a tie rod end that is stillserviceable. Use a tie rod puller tool or back upone side of the steering knuckle with a hammer.With another hammer hit the steering knucklearound the tie rod shaft to break the taper fit free.Disconnect the drag link at the steering knuckle.Remove the cotter key and then the ball plug.There is a special socket for this, but a large flatscrewdriver will also work. Remove the seat andthe spring and pull the drag link off the steeringknuckle. Examine the ball stud; if there is a flatspot, it will cause the steering to bind when thewheels are turned. Replacement ball studs areavailable for some vehicles.

Replacing Kingpins

Order a kingpin kit and right and left tierod ends. If available, purchase a kingpin/bush-ing kit that includes pre-sized bushings. Do notstart any work until you have the replacementparts ‘in hand’. Wear safety glasses. Remove thekingpin locking bolt nut, and use a punch todrive the bolt out. Notice that it is tapered andhas a flat side that locks against the kingpin.New bolts come with a kingpin kit. On some ve-hicles, there is a grease cap seal at the top andbottom of the steering knuckle. The cap is madeof soft material so strike it with a sharp chisel toget under the lip and then remove the cap. Drivethe kingpin downwards to remove it. On others,the cap is part of the kingpin, and the kingpin isdriven upwards to remove it from the axle. Spraysome penetrating oil directly into the locking pinhole. Allow some time for the penetrating oil todo its job. Drive the kingpin up or down using aheavy hammer and a punch. If the kingpinmoves after a number of hits, apply more pene-trating oil. Keep hitting and applying penetratingoil until the kingpin comes out. You should bethis lucky. If the kingpin does not move after re-

peated hammer blows, it may be necessary toheat the axle or remove the axle and use a hy-draulic press to press the old kingpins out.

With the steering knuckle free of the axleremove the grease fittings, and clean the steeringknuckle. Clamp the steering knuckle in a largebench vise. Use a bushing driver or sockets ofthe correct size to drive out the old bushings. In-stall the new bushings so the holes in them lineup with the grease fitting openings. Clean up anyburrs on the outside of the bushings. The newkingpin should slide into both bushings on itsown weight. If the kingpin does not fit, use areamer or a brake cylinder hone to slightly en-large the bushing allowable clearance (0.001” to0.003” ). You want to push the pin in by hand. Itshould not drop out by gravity. If using a brakecylinder hone, keep it and the drill in a straightline, and use WD40 to flush out the cuttings. Donot push the spinning stones all the way throughbecause they and the spring loaded arms will getdamaged. If you have no way to remove/ replacethe bushings or hone the bushings, if necessary,use the services of a machine shop. Clean theaxle kingpin hole with emery cloth or the honeto remove any corrosion. Hand grease the bear-ing. Set the steering knuckle on the axle with thebearing on the bottom and the writing facing thetop. Check for any up and down movement ofthe steering knuckle. If there is any, install asmany shims as possible to minimize this move-ment. Lightly grease the kingpin so it will slideinto the steering knuckle. Keep the notch in thekingpin lined up with the hole in the axle. Tapthe kingpin down until you can insert the lockingbolt with the flat side to the kingpin. Install thespring washer, and tighten the nut. Install a newgrease fitting, and lubricate the bushings. Sameservice to the other side.

Replacing Tie Rod Ends

Hold the tie rod in a vise. Measure thedistance from the end of the thread on the tie rodend to the adjusting sleeve with a steel ruler.Write this measurement down. Loosen the tierod clamping bolt on the adjusting sleeve. Un-screw the tie rod end. You can count the number



Art

icle

con

tent

pro

vide

d by

Ski

nned

Knu

ckle

s M

agaz

ine.


SKINNED KNUCKLES

ARTICLE

of turns it takes to remove the tie rod end. Be ac-curate to ¼ turn. Write down the count. Doingthis will make sure the toe-in adjustment staysthe same. Apply anti-seize compound to thethreads of the new tie rod end. Screw the new tierod end into the adjusting sleeve the exact num-ber of turns that you counted. Check the threaddistance with the ruler. Tighten the clamp bolt.Remove/replace the other tie rod end. Brush offany rust, and paint the tie rod, tie rod ends, axle,steering knuckles and springs with black enamel.Connect the tie rod to the steering knuckles.Generally the clamp bolts of the adjusting sleeveface to the rear of the vehicle. Lubricate the tierod ends until the boot is full of grease. Paint theback of the backing plates, and bolt them to theto the steering knuckles.

Wheel Bearings

The front wheel bearings support theirshare of the vehicle weight. With drum brakes aworn front wheel bearing will cause the brakeshoes to drag and the wheel bearing lubricantwill leak past the inner brake drum seal onto thebrake shoes. On disc brakes you may feel a pedalpulsation when applying the brakes. With thefront of the vehicle raised on safety stands re-move the wheel. There are two complete sets ofbearings per wheel, and they should be replacedas pairs. On tapered roller wheel bearings thereis a tapered inner and outer bearing that rides onthe inside taper of the inner and outer wheelbearing race which is pressed into the brakedrum hub. Back off the star adjuster or adjustingbolt to move the brake shoes away from thedrum which makes the drum come off easier. Ifthe vehicle has front caliper brakes, remove thecaliper bolts or sliding pins, and hang the caliperout of the way with some wire. Remove the dustcap by prying it off with a large screwdriver.Straighten the cotter pin, and remove it. Unscrewthe castle nut. Pull the brake drum/disc forward,and catch the small outer bearing and washer inyour hand or into a shop rag. Pull the inner bear-ing off the spindle, and move the brakedrum/disc to the workbench. Wipe the spindleclean of grease, and inspect for wear and/orcracks. Remove the other drum/disc and mark itleft or right. Place it on the workbench.

Work on each brake drum/disc separately.Pry out the seal, and remove the inner bearing.Wash the bearings, and dry with compressed air.Inspect the bearings. Rotate the cage assemblieson your fingers by hand NOT air, and look forany scoring, chatter marks or obvious wear pat-terns. Any blue metal is because of overheatingdue to lack of lubrication. Clean all the oldgrease out of the hub and off the spindle. Checkthe bearing races for similar wear and damage.If there is no damage, the bearings can berepacked with fresh wheel bearing grease andreused. Install a new seal. Any sign of damageor wear on the bearing race or the bearing andthe bearing assembly has to be replaced. Wearpatterns on the old race and bearing match sonew bearings must be installed as a set. Installingonly a new bearing will shorten the life of thebearing assembly. Order new bearings and thegrease seals.

To remove the bearing’s races you willfind two notches inside the hub just behind theraces, 180 degrees apart. They are in this posi-tion so you can use a hammer and a pin punchto drive out the race by alternately hitting therace at one notch and then the other. If you havethe use of a hydraulic press and a short piece ofpipe with a diameter just shy of the bearing race,you can press the races out. Before you drive therace in make sure its land is clean and free ofburrs. Keep the new bearing and the race to-gether as a set. The new bearing race is installedwith the taper facing up. Do not install it back-ward. You can use a bearing race and seal driverkit or a hydraulic press to install the new races.Be sure the race is going in square and is tightagainst the land when you are done. A hammerand brass punch can be used to drive the racesin. You can also take the hub to a machine shopand let them do the removal/replacement of thebearing races.

Lubricate the old or new tapered rollerbearings with wheel bearing grease using apacker or by hand. When packing by hand, startwith about a golf ball sized mound of grease inthe palm of the left hand, if you are right handed.Scrape the grease up into the wide open end ofthe bearing until grease appears at the top of the



Art

icle

con

tent

pro

vide

d by

Ski

nned

Knu

ckle

s M

agaz

ine.


SKINNED KNUCKLES

ARTICLE

bearing cone. Be sure the grease is thoroughlyworked into the cage and the rollers. Pack the in-side of the hub cavity with grease. Coat the in-side of the dust cap with a light coating of greaseto prevent rust caused by condensation. Lightlygrease the bearing races. Install the inner bearingand then the grease seal with the lip facing in-ward. Apply a light coating of non-hardeningsealer to the outer edge of the seal, and drive theseal inward with a seal driver or block of wood.The seal should be flush with the top surface ofthe hub. Install the brake drum assembly backover the spindle. Install the outer bearing, washerand adjusting nut on the spindle. Use a torquewrench, and tighten the adjusting nut to 50-footpounds while turning the brake drum/rotor as-

sembly to seat the bearing. Back off the adjustingnut one full turn and re-torque to ten-foot poundswhile turning the brake drum/rotor. Back off theadjusting nut ¼ turn, and install the new cotterkey. Bend one end of the cotter key over the spin-dle and the other over the adjusting nut. End playmeasured with a dial indicator should be between0.001” and max 0.005”. Readjust, if necessary.Install the dust cap. Adjust the brake shoes. In-stall the caliper. Lubricate the caliper pins,sleeves and bushings with brake grease duringinstallation. Make sure the rotor spins freely. In-stall the tire and wheel. Happy motoring.

NEXT MONTH:Steering Linkage - Part II

S.K.

Antique Truck Club.................40Auto Electric Rebuilders.........29Coilman..................................16Daytona Parts Co....................45Eastwood Co...........................29H3R Performance...................40Harnesses Unlimited...............17

Hirsch Auto Products..............17Hirsch Halogen Lights............45J.C.Taylor Insurance......

...Inside Front CoverKanter Auto Products.....

...Inside Back CoverLares Corp.......................

...Back Cover

Midwest Classic Insurance....17Olson’s Gaskets......................45Otto Gas Engine Works..........16Vintage Truck Magazine.........29Vintage Vehicles.....................40Williamson’s Instruments.......17

Tell them, “We found you in Skinned Knuckles Magazine!”DISPLAY ADVERTISING INDEX

Even after reading Orest’s article, are you still reluctant to tackle the steering on your caror truck? Why not give the Lares Corportation a call? (See their ad on the back cover of this issue).Lares specializes in steering - as a matter of fact, that’s all they do. They can advise you as to theparts that you need, they can supply the parts, or, if you prefer, they can do the repair or rebuild onyour steering system. They can advise you the best way to remove those parts that might need repair,and the best way to send the parts to them for service.

We advocate you doing repairs yourself, but if you have a problem, a special or unusualsteering system, or if you just need help, call on the experts; call Lares.



Art

icle

con

tent

pro

vide

d by

Ski

nned

Knu

ckle

s M

agaz

ine.


SKINNED KNUCKLES

ARTICLE

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.

Documents

LARES S E CO RP OR AT IO N · 2020. 7. 1. · inner control arm is pivoted on a cross shaft with screw-in style bushings. At the bottom outer control arm, a threaded bushing and pivot