Lift in MK1 king pins

[baconsdozen]

Sometimes the king pin on a Mk1 or 2 will 'lift' enough to fail an MOT even though the thrust bearings are still serviceable and capable of going a while longer.The play can be taken up as follows BUT this is not OK if the play is excessive due to badly worn or disintegrating thrust bearings.
Jack up the van and take of the road wheel.
Preferably remove the disc(or drum) and back plate and clean arond the king pin assembly.
Place a small jack under the bottom of the swivel and jack up,then satisfy yourself the amount of lift is not excessive enough to need the thrusts replacing.
Remove the top grease nipple and replace with a small bolt and lock nut.Screw down untill it its tigh,back off half a turn and lock with nut.Remove the jack and using a lever make sure the 'lift' is now reduced.
Remove the top blanking plug complete with nut and bolt.
Make a brass,copper or alloy disc the same thickness as the protruding thread of the bolt and the diameter of the housing,drill a 1/8 hole in the centre to allow grease to go through.
Reassemble dry with the disc under the cap,check the steering is free and there is just measureable lift in the finished assembly.Fit nipple.
Grease the top and bottom nipples.
Fit wheel etc.
Order new thrust washers for the future.
As I said to take up slight wear this works,but to try and cover up badly worn thrust bearings its a no no.

[greek]

Handy tip when some of these testers are a pain in the butt

[transitgeoff]

good tip there

[baconsdozen]

People are often put off changing king pins because of the difficulties removing them and the pins that hold them in.
I've found that its easiest in the long run to take off the axle,after removing the hubs and brakes and then use a really solid steel block (the heavier the better) as a backing and a heavy hammer to drive them out.With plenty of releasing fluid squirted round a day or two before you start and a bit of heat and they normally come out without too much bother.