do the king pin bushes need to be reamed once installed for the king pins to go into them?? or are they just a really really tight fit???
i know that the assembly needs to be heated and the king pins pressed in, but wondering if the bushes are the right size for the king pin to be pushed through.
thanks for any help

they have to be reamed to the exact size a little at a time, wit han adjustable reamer.

thanks.. am gonna try and locate an expandable reamer now.... i think we have a set.

ok... have the adjustable reamers... but was advised to use sleeves with them to make sure the two bushes line up.. but dont have the sleeves...
would this be the best way to do it or is reaming each bush individually ok?

They need to be align reamed, thats the whole point of reaming them after installation, so the bush bores line up perfectly for the pin.

thanks... looks like i will be off to the engineering place to get them done.

I suggest you find a good VW shop who knows how to ream them properly

thanks

ok... next question... filing the slots in the bushes for the thrust bearing... i assume this is to be done before they are reamed so that you remove the burrs created from filing by reaming? would this be correct?

just wondering how you go about reaming both bushes or align reaming the bushes if both are different sizes after all the machine work has been done, has anyone got a pic of the sleeve needed ,also the reamer helps get the bush round after being pressed into the stub axle, nn[ Edited on 6-9-2005 byt2 ]

u2u rob king he might help ya

with the reamer you need to use a sleeve with a cone on on it to sit against the bush not being reamed so that it is kept in line with it... then you disassemble the reamer and turn it round to ream the other bush while being located inline with the bush you just reamed... this process is repeated until finally you have the correct size for a press fit of the king pin. I will get the correct sizing etc from an engineer here at work... taking into account that it will be pressed in whilst at about 90DegC...
I will see if i can get some pics of it all and post em.
To insert the bushes i made up a puller out of a stud with two nuts and two washers, one i filed down to match the outside diameter of the bush so that i could recess it a fraction from the edge where the spindle bit fits in, the other washer had to be bigger than the outside shoulder. then all i had to do was put the stud through the hole where the bush goes.. slide the bush over the stud, put on the small washer, screw on the nut and start winding the nuts... this pulled the bush into place.
All i have to do is file the square sections on the bushes and they are ready for reaming.