Joined: Jan 29, 2015 Posts: 8 Location: Kingwood, TX
Posted: Thu Jul 23, 2015 12:33 pm Post subject: King Pin Rebuilding - 53 M38A1
Alright, I'm going to see if I can put all of this in words to get some feedback from you guys.
So far, I have done the passenger side only and have the drivers side torn down all the way. But I have a question about the king pin shims -
I ordered new king pin bearings and races from Kaiser Willys or Vintage Jeeps (can't really remember) that have been sitting in my garage for a couple of months. This week I decided that I needed to go ahead and get the front end of the Jeep finished up. Beginning with the passenger side, I tore down the steering knuckle and cleaned all of the parts up. Removed all of the old bearing races and replaced with the new ones I received. When I removed the king pins, I was sure to keep the shims separated and knew which ones went on the top/bottom. I started putting everything back together and put the shims back as they came out. Initially I didn't even need to use the spring gauge because the steering knuckle flopped around as it did before. There were 4 shims that went on the bottom and 4 or 5 that were on the top. Well long story short, I ended up removing all of the shims in order to get the recommended 6-9 lbs on the spring gauge.
I am assuming (because I didn't think to check this initially) that the new bearing/race setup that I received is shorter overall when installed into the knuckle than the old bearings were, which is why I didn't need any shims. The only thing that kind of worries me is that as things settle in, since I don't have any shims in there and had to crank down on the cap bolts in order to get the 6-9 lbs, is that I do not have any adjustment at all now. Which could help put me right back to the "death wobble" state that I am in now. Is a fix as simple as maybe getting a washer that is large enough to go around the king pin and put it between the king pin and bearing so that I can shim/adjust as needed? Or should I just call it good? For reference, I could only get about 6-6.5 lbs on the gauge. With the oil seal and retainer installed, I get about 8.5 lbs on the gauge. I'm going to be flat towing this thing back and forth to the deer lease (around an hour drive one-way) and I just don't want to tear it up.
Another question I have is that I read somewhere that there should not be any shims on the bottom. All of the shimming is done on the top king pin, so I removed any shims that were on the bottom and will only be shimming from the top (if I need to). Is this correct?
Sorry for the dumb questions, this is my first time rebuilding the king pins. Overall the process has been very easy, I'm just a little confused on the shimming part. I didn't see anything specific to shimming in the TM 9-8014. I could have overlooked it though. Also, my google searches were not helpful either...
Any help you guys can provide or suggestions you have will be welcomed and thanks in advance!
John _________________ John
1953 M38A1 - Hunting Jeep
Joined: Feb 20, 2007 Posts: 606 Location: Illinois
Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2015 4:26 pm Post subject:
You are correct in that shims are only added under the top pin cap. If taking out all the shims still doesn't get you the correct pre-load, you can add a washer under the top bearing cap between the cap and bearing. This procedure is detailed in a book I have; "Service Manual for Universal Jeep Vehicles" on page 193. You can find machine bushings of various thicknesses and diameters at your local well-stocked hardware store back where they have all the small parts in little drawers. I found just the right size for my M38. Once the washer is in, adjust pre-load using shims. The civvy book calls for a pre-load of 12 to 16 lbs without the oil seal installed. I think what happens is that road shock and the pre-load applied to the king bearings over time warps the knuckle housings out of round just enough to make it a hassle to get the proper pre-load with shims installed. The washer will take up the slack. _________________ 1951 M38
Early dana axles shimmed top and bottom. Late only top. It pays to keep the civvy manual SM-1002 on your work bench. Many old civilian jeep parts have found their way over the last 50 years onto these late m38's. The civvy manual shows you both and makes it clear which get which program. While you are shopping for a copy of this manual use the pages I have already loaded into my photo album.
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on your work bench. Many old civilian jeep parts have found their way over the last 50 years onto these late m38's. The civvy manual shows you both and makes it clear which get which program. While you are shopping for a copy of this manual use the pages I have already loaded into my photo album.
