Fleet Maintenance - 31

other great thing that customers appreciated was
that they could do the repairs themselves instead
of sending the bushing out to a machine shop to
get repaired. The steel bushing allowed the user
to just twist the component in and be done with
it, and that's what made it attractive.
As more customer stories came out, people heard
the stories and decided to give the spiral steel bushing a try for themselves. Over
time, more and more customers
found that the Kaiser kingpin
kits with the spiral steel bushing provided significantly more
life than kits equipped with
other bushing material.

The more lubrication you have between the pin
and the bushing, the longer the kit will last. If
you're looking for more information about how
to perform a quality kingpin replacement, follow
the maintenance practices in the Technology &
Maintenance Council Recommended Practice 651.
The spiral steel bushing took time to catch on,
but when it did, the fit was right for the industry.

What are the
characteristics
of a high-quality
kingpin kit?
Ayala: The bushing selected
should be the one that's going
to last longer in the application. For the overall kit, the
quality of the components
also adds a lot of value to the
durability of the kit. For example, the lip seal in the kingpin
kit is a small component but
avoiding contamination in the
spindle can save thousands of
dollars in the long run.
What advice would
you give to fleets who
are sourcing kingpins
for their vehicles?
Piper: If you want to do a great
kingpin repair, look at the
axle bore, make sure it's up to
factory minimum/maximum
specifications, and install a
quality kingpin. Then you're
going to drive past your next
three kingpin repairs. The
fit is important, the finish is
important, and it's how all the
material mates together. Even
if you have a quality kingpin
in there, it won't matter if the
fit isn't right.
Ayala: Find a quality supplier that is a recognized brand
in the market. Then, select
the bushing type that is going
to keep your cost per mile
the lowest. It's not about the
cost of the kit itself, it's about
how much maintenance cost
the kit is going to save you
over the life of the components. Make sure to do the
fit test when installing the
bushings, because if there
is a side load on the spindle
knuckle, those bushings will
also wear prematurely. And,
always lubricate during the
installation and maintenance.

VehicleServicePros.com/10122738

DRAKE PIPER is the sales manager for Kaiser, GAFF and
Equipment. He has been with Stemco for over 20 years
and has recently returned to Stemco Kaiser to share his
passion for their line of kingpin kits.
ALEJANDRO AYALA is the senior product manager for
Kaiser Products. He is passionate for understanding and
providing fleet solutions and has been doing so since
2000. As the liaison between user-to-manufacturing, he
is always looking for ways to simplify technician and distribution tasks in supporting trucking fleets.

http://ta-petro.com http://www.VehicleServicePros.com/10122738

Fleet Maintenance

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