swivel pin shims question

[masonater]

Can someone explain the swivel pin shimming process? I am trying to put the front axel back together with all new seals and gaskets but one of the swivel balls is giving me trouble. When i took them apart last winter both sides had a lot of shims in them. I put one back together using the same shims as i took out and it works fine, the other not so much. It is very tight to turn the swivel ball even after i took most of the shims out. Does one normally replace the same amount of shims when rebuilding?

[jac04]

It is very tight to turn the swivel ball even after i took most of the shims out.

You remove shims to increase the amount of preload (make it harder to turn). So it makes sense that it is difficult to turn with most of the shims removed.

Does one normally replace the same amount of shims when rebuilding?

Not me. I always re-shim to achieve the proper amount of preload. Follow the instructions in the service manual and you should be fine.

[I Leak Oil]

Think of the top pin as a wedge shape, point down. If you add shims it raises the wedge, creating a looser fit, creating less preload. If you remove shims it lowers the wedge, tighter fit, more preload. If your assembly is tight, add shims. Common mistakes are people don't tighten the bolts (laziness) or have installed the seal prior to checking the preload.

[masonater]

thanks for clearing that up for me, i had it bass akwards. Makes sense now. One more question, what wears out over time to require more or less shimming?

[I Leak Oil]

The top pin and bushing usually wear out which is what creates too little pre-load.

[masonater]

ok, im starting to understand all this now. Is there a way to adjust for acceptable preload with out having a spring scale?
thanks

[I Leak Oil]

A fish scale is cheap and will do the job just fine. I guess if you do it enough you could do it by feel. I just use my $11 fish scale though.

[TedW]

A fish scale is cheap and will do the job just fine. I guess if you do it enough you could do it by feel. I just use my $11 fish scale though.

Same here: fish scale works great.

I found that the big seal adds an insignificant amount to the preload - almost indetectible (at least with Mr. Fish Scale). Maybe half pound or less. This was when I rebuilt my front end with new balls, seals, etc. and had everything lubed up good.

Just my $0.02.

[bkreutz]

Another thing getting the preload set correctly will help is the dreaded "death wobble". I've seen instances where all kinds of parts were replaced with no significant improvement then the kingpin preload was set and like magic, no more "wobble".

[gudjeon]

IIRC the manual calls for setting the preload without the large seal in place (just hanging there). This eliminates its extra drag to determine the proper value, I set mine at the high end of the tolerance so once it wears in, your still in the ball park

[TedW]

IIRC the manual calls for setting the preload without the large seal in place (just hanging there). This eliminates its extra drag to determine the proper value, I set mine at the high end of the tolerance so once it wears in, your still in the ball park

That's exactly right. The thing is, when I rebuilt my swivels I adjusted the drag with the seals off; then I rechecked the drag after I installed the seals and the difference (according to my scale) was almost undetectible.

That said, always follow the green bible if you can....................

[singingcamel]

I've got a swivel pin rebuild on my site if you still have ????
www.singingcamel.com[




QUOTE=masonater;67429]thanks for clearing that up for me, i had it bass akwards. Makes sense now. One more question, what wears out over time to require more or less shimming?[/QUOTE]