willysmjeeps.com

Hi all, I haven't done this job before.
Now I rebuilt my front hub, new hubs, bearings seals ect about 3 years ago.

It's now time to do the king pin bearings which I got (Timken) at my local bearing trader for less than half the price of my vintage jeep parts dealer!

I've looked at TM 1804 A page 125. If I'm reading it correctly they advise to completely remove the axle.

Now, my question is, do I have to take the axle out and completely dismantle the front hubs, knuckles and all to change the top and bottom king pin bearings? or is there an easier way to do it?

In my simple state of mind I thought I could remove the king pin retaining bolts and king pin and then use a slide hammer through the king pin hole to pull up the cup?
Looking at the M38A1 manual it looks like I should be able to pull the entire wheel , hub, and shafts out, replace the bearings and then slide the whole lot back? is that feasible?

Thanks,
Dave.

Hello Dave,
The outer knuckle shell that the oil seals fasten to must be removed from the spherical shaped end of the axle housing because I believe the bearing races will not fit through the hole left in the outer knuckle half when you remove the king pin.

do I have to take the axle out

The axle main housing is left in place under the jeep. I imagine you could leave the jointed axle shaft assembly in the main housing but this is a good time to remove it and inspect it. Removal of the axle shaft at this point is simply grasping it and sliding it out of the main housing.

Dave, replace the knuckle sealing also. I did it a few moths ago and the steering is more stable when driving. The sealing creates a kind of damping.
Erik

Hi Erik,
It has almost new felt seals but on your recomendation (and I happen to have a set on the shelf) I'll put new ones back on.

When you replace the king pin bearings and races, you may have to adjust the shims to get the correct bearing pre-load. That will be very difficult to do unless you remove the steering linkage and knuckle oil seals. The drive shaft will also be in the way. Overall it will be easier to remove the wheel, hub, brake backing plate, knuckle oil seal, drive shaft and then tackle the king pin bearings. Check the manual for the procedure on pre-load measurements. You can check out brakes and wheel bearings and wind up with nice tight steering in the end!

Hi, thanks,
in the end this turned out to be a really easy job. Don't know now whet I was woried about.

I did the pre poad with the force meter (played with the shims) with the whole lot reassembled but the wheel off and the steering disconected.
Set them to as close as i could get to 40 Newtons.

And even nipped up the wheel bearings that had settled in nicely since they were all renewed. as we say, 'Job's a gud'un, chuffed t'bits' well that's what they say south of where I live.

Hio Eric,
as requested a picture. A certain feeling of deje vu.