Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[PAUL BEAUMONT]

The king pins on my Jowett are of antediluvian design. The pin is anchored by a cotter in the eye at the end of the axle beam and the stub axles have 2 brass bushes. The lower budh as a semispherical form and has a matching thrust washer.
At my last MOT the tester commented that I had a little movement in the pins, but this led on to a general discussion about adjusting the thrust on the set up. I said that there is no provision for such adjustment - because I have never found any way of adjusting it! (I have serviced the pins on several Jowetts)
Recently I pulled a spare axle to pieces with a view to commissioning this for use on my vehicle. I was surprised to find that on that axle the thrusts were shimmed, with pretty pukka looking shims - definitely not something that someone had made with tin snips. I have never seen shims listed as part of the king pin kit and no reference to such can be found in the parts book. My question to you all is: is this original equipment that is conveniently ignored by the replacement parts people, or has someone gone to the trouble to source and fit the shims? does anyone with pre-1950's experience have any thoughts?

Paul

[RUSTON]

Not familiar with Jowetts but have replaced literally dozens of kingpins on solid axles over the years on both vans and trucks and it is quite usual to put shims between the top of the axle and upper mounting even though they would not have been used originally as of course the parts would not be worn! The garage where I worked had a tin of assorted shims, but they can be easily cut from shim steel sheet.

Pete.
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Measure twice...cut once!

[ukdave2002]

I have turned oversized thrust washers and made shims for some morris 8 owners as the kits are only supplied with a standard thickness thrust washer, after 70 years of wear on the knuckle it is inevitably too thin leading to vertical play.

So to get some shims is a plus

Dave

[baconsdozen]

Im doing the king pins on my Mk1 transit later,they were fitted with shims as standard.
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Thirty years selling imperial hand tools for old machinery(Now happily retired).