King pin lubrication

[JohnW]

So I have the o/s king pin apart. Interesting that the split pins and washers holding the brake shoes to the backplate were missing as was the nut on the end of the kingpin cotter pin
Upon inspection of the new and old parts throws up a question - from looking at the old parts the king pin is lubricated through the grease nipple in the top bearing -the grease then travels through holes in the kingpin to lubricate the bottom bearing - excess then comes out of the hole in the lower bearing or is there supposed to be another grease nipple in this hole?
The reason I ask this is because the new kingpins do not have a hole going through the middle to feed grease from the top to bottom so there is no way to lubricate the bottom bearing.
So are the new king pins wrong or is there supposed to be another nipple to allow greasing of the bottom bearing?

I think I am going to have to go right through the car and see what else is missing or wrongly assembled as this is not the first time I have found mistakes.

Any help VERY greatfully recieved.

[Steve Simmons]

The kingpins are not supposed to have holes in them. They should be solid. There is a grease nipple for each end. The lower grease nipple is actually in the steering arm. Grease travels through a hole in the arm into the knuckle.

I'm away from home but I can post a photo tonight if it would help.

[JohnW]

The kingpins are not supposed to have holes in them. They should be solid. There is a grease nipple for each end. The lower grease nipple is actually in the steering arm. Grease travels through a hole in the arm into the knuckle.

I'm away from home but I can post a photo tonight if it would help.

A photo would be most helpful thank you

[JohnW]

Have had another look at my car and it is now obivous to me that the lower grease nipples which should be in the steering arm are missing - hence the grease coming out of the hole (which should have the nipple in it) in the steering arm.
When I greased this side I could only get grease out of the top bearing cap, nothing out of the bottom bearing.
Upon taking the assembly apart the top cap was loose so the grease took the path of least resistance and the lower bearing didn't get any grease hence it's worn. I never realised that the bottom nipple was missing.
The other side was getting grease to the lower bearing as it was travelling through the holes in the king pin.
I conclude from this that the pins are after market but the bushes could well be OE as they have the Vandervell Products logo stamped on the back. Many years ago I worked for Vandervell Products and they used to supply most major European and many American vehicle manufacturers with their OE requirements.

[Duncan M]

There is an upper and lower grease fitting for kingpin. 2-

[Steve Simmons]

Here's a photo.

[JohnW]

Here's a photo.

Thank you for that.
The bottom grease nipples were missing and after looking at things a little harder so were all the grease nipples in the steering joints. In my defence for not seeing this earlier the car has hardly been used as I have been messing about with other things on it.
Is there a list somewhere of all the grease nipples on the car so I can check what it should have?

The king pins have now been sorted and all the missing (that I have found so far) nipples replaced and filled with grease. The front suspension and steering is now all much tighter and it should drive a lot better. I am looking forward to testing it when the weather decides to cheer up a bit.

[Steve Simmons]

There is a lubrication chart in the TC manual. I've attached a copy. Hopefully you can read it. (Click for larger)
Here's another source: http://www.tcmotoringguild.org/techinfo ... _check.pdf

[JohnW]

There is a lubrication chart in the TC manual. I've attached a copy. Hopefully you can read it. (Click for larger)
Here's another source: http://www.tcmotoringguild.org/techinfo ... _check.pdf

Thank you again