455 kingpin removal

[Hemmjo]

I have a 455. 2wd. industrial with back hoe and loader. The front end needs some work. I got the steering cylinders apart currently looking fr seals and a piece of 20mm hydraulic rood to replacec the one that is bent.

This post is in regard to removing the king pins in order to replace the bushings and thrust bearing, The bushings are totally worn away, I am hoping the spindle castings are not hurt too badly. The thrust bearings are completely gone. Needless to say it does not steer very well. I got the tapered pin sout without too much trouble. Lots of PB Blaster and my small pneumatic hammer pushed them right out.

The king pins are altogether a different situation. 3-4 good hits with a 5 pound sledge did not even budge the pins. This tractor has spent the last 10-15 years primarily doing commercial snow removal. There has been lots of exposure to salt and moisture. After the season it would just sit for nine months. I actually got it for free, when the guy gave up his snow removal business, and no one wanted the rusty tractor.

I am thinking i need to heat the axle and force the pin out. I have no way to get this ti a press, short of removing the whole axle. I have a 20 ton hydraulic jack. Does it make sense to put the jack under the pin to push up, and chain the axle down to the jack? Then heat the axle and try to jack the pin out? Does the pin come out the top or the bottom, or does it matter?

I cannot work on this for a few days so I am trying to think of the best way to proceed.

Any suggestions are appreciated.

 

[Sean in PA]

The main spindle pin should have a grease fitting on the bottom. You might try pumping it full of grease and moving the spindle back and forth several times before trying to remove it.

 

[Hemmjo]

The spindle is loose and flops around. The bushing are shot. The king pin is stuck in the axle casting.

 

[JoeM(GA)]

My 345C was like that, I took a grinder and cut the pin so I could get the outer knuckles out of the way, then I pushed up on the pin pieces with a hydraulic jack and hammered down on the axle. It they are as far as yours look, you may need new knuckles or have a machine shop build them up until you can get a new bushing to fit and also level the edge the thrust bearing rides on. Good luck, take your time, it is a real chore!

 

[shaun wallace]

I have seen couple 550s and 555s that had to pull axle so could build up thrust bearing surface on bottom. Either built up spindles or replaced them. I got by just welding the thrust surface on my 4500 spindles.

 

[pomester]

I have a 455. 2wd. industrial with back hoe and loader. The front end needs some work. I got the steering cylinders apart currently looking fr seals and a piece of 20mm hydraulic rood to replacec the one that is bent.

This post is in regard to removing the king pins in order to replace the bushings and thrust bearing, The bushings are totally worn away, I am hoping the spindle castings are not hurt too badly. The thrust bearings are completely gone. Needless to say it does not steer very well. I got the tapered pin sout without too much trouble. Lots of PB Blaster and my small pneumatic hammer pushed them right out.

The king pins are altogether a different situation. 3-4 good hits with a 5 pound sledge did not even budge the pins. This tractor has spent the last 10-15 years primarily doing commercial snow removal. There has been lots of exposure to salt and moisture. After the season it would just sit for nine months. I actually got it for free, when the guy gave up his snow removal business, and no one wanted the rusty tractor.

I am thinking i need to heat the axle and force the pin out. I have no way to get this ti a press, short of removing the whole axle. I have a 20 ton hydraulic jack. Does it make sense to put the jack under the pin to push up, and chain the axle down to the jack? Then heat the axle and try to jack the pin out? Does the pin come out the top or the bottom, or does it matter?

I cannot work on this for a few days so I am trying to think of the best way to proceed.

Any suggestions are appreciated.

My experience... https://forums.yesterdaystractors.com/threads/question-about-4500-spindles.1347707/

 

[Bern]

I have a 455. 2wd. industrial with back hoe and loader. The front end needs some work. I got the steering cylinders apart currently looking fr seals and a piece of 20mm hydraulic rood to replacec the one that is bent.

This post is in regard to removing the king pins in order to replace the bushings and thrust bearing, The bushings are totally worn away, I am hoping the spindle castings are not hurt too badly. The thrust bearings are completely gone. Needless to say it does not steer very well. I got the tapered pin sout without too much trouble. Lots of PB Blaster and my small pneumatic hammer pushed them right out.

The king pins are altogether a different situation. 3-4 good hits with a 5 pound sledge did not even budge the pins. This tractor has spent the last 10-15 years primarily doing commercial snow removal. There has been lots of exposure to salt and moisture. After the season it would just sit for nine months. I actually got it for free, when the guy gave up his snow removal business, and no one wanted the rusty tractor.

I am thinking i need to heat the axle and force the pin out. I have no way to get this ti a press, short of removing the whole axle. I have a 20 ton hydraulic jack. Does it make sense to put the jack under the pin to push up, and chain the axle down to the jack? Then heat the axle and try to jack the pin out? Does the pin come out the top or the bottom, or does it matter?

I cannot work on this for a few days so I am trying to think of the best way to proceed.

Any suggestions are appreciated.

Pin is straight and can come out either way. Heat will be your friend, and I'm not talking about a butane torch, I'm talking an acetylene torch with a rosebud. If you're lucky, it will pound out after getting the axle housing red hot - this usually is sufficient. However, I did have one once that required me to literally cut (lance) it out with a cutting torch.

One more very important thing - that king pin is hardened and can fracture if hit wrong. Safety glasses would be a very good idea when pounding away on it.

 

[Hemmjo]

Thanks for all of the input. That gives me some confidence I am on the right track. Will keep you posted on the progress

 

[Welding man]

I replace king pins in trucks all the time. If they don't come out easy, I cut them in 3 pieces with a 6 in slicer disc. The piece that is left in the axle, believe it or not can be drilled with a good bit. I drill a 1/4 in hole in the center and then enlarge it to a 3/8 or so and take a torch and split it and it will knock right out. I did an International 4900 last week. As far as you spindles, you may have to have them bored out and a bushing made and then sized for the king pin bushings. We did a front axle on a Case back hoe awhile back that had been let go too long. Not cheap, but Case wanted $9000.00 for a new axle.

 

[Fritz Maurer]

For this job, you need a decent set of torches, lots of oxygen and a new, No. 3 torch tip. You have plenty of room where the thrust bearing was, blow the bottom of the king pin off. Jack up the knuckle next and blow the top of the king pin off and remove the knuckle.

You're not going to be able to lance very deep into the kingpin with a torch before it overheats. The best way is a caldo lance torch, if you can rent or borrow one. If that is not feasible , there was talk on other forums about a makeshift one with a piece of 1/4" steel brake line with oxygen blown through it. This would take two people, one to heat the pin to welding temperature while the other operates the torch. Some small part of the pin has to be ready to melt so the oxygen can burn the carbon in the steel.

I don't have much faith in the heating the axle eye method... many guys go at it with their Harbor Freight torch kit, where the rose bud can't do much more than burn the paint off.

Second, the idea is to expand the eye so the pin gets loose and drops out. Great theory, doesn't work. In order for this to occur, the eye has to be somewhat red while the pin stays relatively cool. In the heating process, the eye, welded to a few hundred pounds of steel, is passing the heat to the axle and has no chance to get red until this transfer slows down. Meanwhile, the pin is being heated at the same rate and there never is a diameter difference. You can't heat this chunk
of steel fast enough without heating the pin.

Last, I am dubious of the heat and beat method , not everywhere but in is particular case, because if you actually do reach a red temperature, it is also soft. Were you to try hammering at this point, you can literally rivet the pin in the eye and make removal even worse.

The idea of heating the pin and NOT the eye works because the red hot pin in a cold eye compresses the metal structure... when it cools to room temperature the pin is smaller.


Once the pin is out, I weld a T handle to its remains and use it for a clean-out tool. Put some valve grinding compound on it and work it until it goes all the way through, then the new pins slip in nicely.

I know I gave you no real answer, no direct solution, just hoping you avoid the temptation to start whaling on it right out of the box and make your job harder.