Heavy Equipment Forums Heavy Equipment Community

Kenworth kingpin replacement help

Funkyfullwidth · 2013-03-01 17:43

I got a 2001 Kenworth t300 that I gotta do kingpins on. I've done em on a pete tractor before and they weren't that bad. but when I called to order em for the kent the guy asked who was doing em because there's 2 seperate kits. An oem kit and a "kaiser" kit. He said with the oem kit it requires a reamer when the other one doesn't. Any idea what he's talking about? Is the new kingpin oversized slightly or something? The price difference is about 100 bucks and i'm just a little confused about what the difference could be?

Replies6
  1. #1Mike L2013-03-01 18:25

    never done a Kaiser kit. with the oem kit you put new bushings in your spindle and then ream them to make the kingpin fit. its not hard. I always use a paper flap wheel on a die grinder and go a little at a time and check the fit often. i'm sure its not as true as a reamer but I haven't had any trouble with premature wear.

  2. #2Markat4252013-03-01 18:39

    Here's their website.. http://www.stemcokaiser.com/ Watch the video. I've never used their kit myself, but I'm told it is very good.

  3. #3Dualie2013-03-01 23:13

    I HIGHLY recommend the kaiser kits. Not even worth fooling with a the reamer required kits. Keep em greased and you will never need to fiddle with them again

  4. #4Funkyfullwidth2013-03-02 05:16

    ya, i'm gonna go with the kaiser kit. How bad would it have to be to need an oversized kit? And assuming periodic grease, how long can these kingpins last?

  5. #5ben46a2013-03-02 06:59

    Kingpins will last forever if maintenance is kept up.

  6. #6Jumbo2013-03-02 13:37

    OK, what does “normal maintenance” include? On the trucks I am around, the kingpins are greased at least weekly, sometimes twice a week depending on conditions, tie-rods and drag links etc. are greased ad kept tight on a similar schedule. The only difference is that we all average around 50 to 100 miles a day off highway driving, compared to all highway miles. I am driving a 2000 W-900 with around 900,000+ miles on it and had the 3ed set of kingpins installed around 30,000 miles ago. I have only been driving this truck the last 80,000 miles, so what happened before I cannot say. However, on log trucks around here, this seems to be somewhat normal. Some last longer, some do not. With your comment, I am now challenged to make the current kingpins last “forever.”