1950 WOJTP: Steering

Steering
		This is the driver's side steering knuckle. The races (or cups) for the king pin bearings are recessed into the top and bottom of the knuckle ball. It is essential that the races fit flat in the bottom of the recess otherwise you will have false readings on the adjusting of the bearings. You should also check that the ball is not 'stretched' where the caps are installed. If the holes are stretched the metal has probably been weakened thus increasing the likelihood of failure at this point. Care to drive with a missing front wheel? (Thanks for the tip Lew!) The lower race has been installed in the picture and the top is cleaned and ready for the installation of its race. The axle shaft thrust washer in the axle housing is for the Bendix style axle shaft. It, in conjunction with the spindle bushing, control the endplay of the new-style (non-threaded end) Bendix shaft. The Spicer and Rzeppa shafts do not require this thrust washer.

		Pictured here are the main components of the steering knuckles minus the king pin bearings. Components pictured are the knuckle and the two bearing caps. The knuckle in the picture is from the passenger side. The driver's side is similar except in some applications one of the caps is also the steering arm. For the pickups, this is the lower cap - which can be seen in a picture farther down on this page.

		Gotcha #1: Inspect the sealing lip on the back side of the knuckle. On occasion you may find that the lip is narrow to non-existent on some knuckles. This usually occurs in the flat spots on the inside of where the bearing caps are installed. The knuckle on the left in the picture has a reasonable amount of 'lip'; the one on the right the flat actually extends into the housing itself! This can lead to oil leaks (as if you needed another one!) if proper precautions are not taken.

		Gotcha #2: The bearing caps MUST fit flat to the knuckle! If they don't then something is wrong! The pictures to the left illustrates a bad fit (top) and a good fit (bottom). I used the same cap in both pictures. In order to verify whether it's the knuckle or the cap try a different (hopefully known-to-be-good) cap in the knuckle. If it fits flat then the problem is in the cap - REPLACE IT! If a known good cap doesn't fit well or the questionable cap fits properly in a known-to-be-good knuckle then the knuckle is bad. Either the hole was bored 'crooked' or the flat for the cap was machined crooked. Regardless it's time for a different knuckle!

		Gotcha #3: This is a picture of the king pin bearing as it would look installed. This is the lower, driver's side to a pickup - note the steering arm integrated into the cap. The 'gotcha' comes in when new bolts are used to install the caps. If the bolts are too long they will hit the bearing and throw off your adjustment.

Picture not available...		The bearings are adjusted using shims under the top bearing cap (for early models shims are used under both caps.) Adjustment is made without the oil seal in place. Add/remove shims until it require 6 - 9 pounds to move the knuckle. (Later books say 12 -16 pounds.) The easiest way to measure this is to get a reliable fish scale and hook it in to the tie rod hole and pull.

		The main part of the knuckle seal cannot be slipped over the knuckle ball. All of the seal kits that I have used have had a 'split' in it so it could be slipped over the axle shaft as pictured. The metal side of the seal should face the knuckle.

		The remaining parts of the seal include a felt 'washer' and retaining plates. The felt washer can be slipped over the knuckle ball if you have enough foresight to put it on before installing the knuckle. I forgot this so I cut one side of it to slip it on over the axle shaft. The splits in the seal and felt were both placed at the top of the knuckle. Hopefully this will reduce the likelihood of a leak. There is an upper retaining plate not pictured. Lightly coating the ball with grease before seal installation probably will make installation easier. Note: The seal in this picture is installed incorrectly - the metal side of the seal should have faced the knuckle. This was corrected well after this picture was taken.

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Copyright © 2001 David Hoelzeman Last Updated: October 4, 2004