Hi All, I have a 1994 Caterpillar DP25 forklift which has excessive play between the upper end of the kingpin and the upper yoke hole it fits in, on one side. I believe there is a needle roller bearing in both the top and bottom yoke holes. I've never changed anything like this before, so is it a straighforward job to put a new kit in ? Or are presses/ heat/ reaming tools etc involved ? Looking at the parts included in the kit it looks easy... Any help appreciated. I guess it's time to get a workshop manual !! Spudgun
Welcome to the Forums SG! Glad to have you. Unfortunately I am of no mechanical help however we have many knowledgeable members here that are more than happy to help. You may want to post a picture of the kingpin. Good Luck!
Hi, thanks, I'll add a pic or two !!
Here we go y'all...what do you think ?
I just did one on basically the same machine a month or two back. Pull that bolt out that holds the king pin in, disconnect that tie rod, and drive it on out, I can't remember having any trouble in removal, but I did have trouble putting it back together because where the knuckle recieves the needle bearing was so worn away. But I didn't worry about it too much I just put it back together. The proper way would have been to weld/braze and the sand/grind back to the right size.
Thanks for the reply. What you posted is what my mobile forklift repair man said about a year ago in that welding and resizing would be required and it wouldn't be cheap !! He said it was a weak point and needed plenty of regular greasing which I have done..but it still wore away. How does the knuckle wear away ? I can understand problems with wear of the needle bearing, so does it seize up and spin in the knuckle or something ? And does the new needle bearing spin too, due to excessive clearance ? Thnks.
That would be required for the proper fix. I'm not sure if they choose too soft of material for the knuckle receiving end, that would be my guess. If this was a vehicle going over ten miles per hour and on a road I would have fixed it proper, but since this is a forklift used around the yard and not going too fast I didn't. Looking at your pictures again, you have what looks like a lot of meat on the knuckle. If yall aren't driving to fast I think you should be ok. What do you use your forklift for?
We make precast concrete products. The forklift doesn't do a lot of work, and we use it with a lot of mechanical sympathy, but the yard surface is poor hardcore and quite rough and uneven etc. If the forklift breaks I have to mend it or pay for it to be mended !! One other thing, I recently noticed ( and soon rectified) that due to bad setting of the tie rods, the tie rod on the bad side had been hitting the hub part on full lock which I guess has knocked out the bearings etc. I'll order a kit and have a go. I've had a search for bearing securing compounds to see if any could take up the play and withstand the loads that would be applied. Any thoughts ? Thanks for your help
I think your bearings will be ok. Will eventually wear over time but I think you will be fine if you put the new kingpin, needle bearings, and grease when you finish!
Thanks for your help...I'll give it a go !!