My '77 MGB's kingpins have frozen to the bolt which holds them to the
lower A-arm (a common problem I'm told, resulting from insufficient
lubrication). As a result the bolt has sawed part way through the A-arm
and the arm in turn has sawn half way through the bolt on the passenger
side of the car. I've talked to a place that repairs MG's and am told
it could cost me from $400 and up plus parts to replace one kingpin so
I'd like to consider doing it myself. There seem to be several areas
of concern here though.
* How to get the old kingpin off? The bolt is rusted solid to it and
hence there is no way to remove it from the A-arm. Should I try getting
a saw inside the A-arm and cut through the bolt? There seems to be very
little clearance there. Is the connection to the steering mechanism
difficult to seperate?
* Bushings. New king pins don't seem to come with the bushings installed. Is
this just a question of tapping them into place or should the kingpin
be reamed to match the bushing? If it requires reaming where can I get
it done? Can I buy kingpins with the bushings already in place?
* Used kingpins. Should I consider trying to get a used kingpin off a
junked vehicle or from someone on the net and using it instead of buying
a new one?
* Alignment. On reassembling a new kingpin assembly is there anything
special that has to be done in the way of alignment or shims?
Ron@dvcorp.com
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