FSMajor wheel wobble

[Hair Bear]

Just a thought, if at sometime in it's life it's had a hard run into something and just tweaked the axle back slightly at each end, that would give a toe in effect.

[Billy26F5]

Good point Rob, and given how tight the bolts were that might be an indication of something like that, again pics would be great.
Sandy

[LesLock]

I will try the original left hand kingpin and see if the toe-in is reduced, preferably eliminated. The steering arm on that side is 3/8” further from the tyre than the right hand one (this has the effect of causing toe-in). By my reckoning, if I could somehow turn that steering arm towards the tyre by that 3/8” it would turn the outside of the wheel by 3/4” (reducing the toe-in). This would result in the 1.5” discrepancy being eliminated, resulting in parallel front wheels! This, I think, is the key to the problem. Hope you can keep up with this Sandy.

So the dimensions I would like from you Sandy are the distances from the centre of the grease nipples on the top of the steering arms to the wall of the tyre at the fattest point. In my case I believe both measurements should be 2.75”. Of course you will probably have different tyres but it will be of interest to know the distance. I have cast iron wheels with Good Year ribbed tyres using the original mould but now produced in Turkey. Thanks for sticking with this Sandy, it has helped focus my mind and I can see what I need to achieve now.

[LesLock]

I noted that both kingpins from APUKOnline were stamped ‘FNM977’. I had assumed they were the same from Agriline as the left hand kingpin bore that signature. Just opened the right hand one and it is ‘FNM981’. Good sign? Not sure what the number signifies. If you imagine a line from the centre of the top of the kingpin, where the splines are, to the end of the arm bearing the wheel, that line passes more or less between the splines. It may be wishful thinking but I think there is a slight difference between the right hand APUKOnline one and the Agriline one. This small discrepancy would be enough to make a difference. We will soon see.

[Billy26F5]

I haven't been able to measure anything yet (been cleaning Super Billy yet again!) but I can say right now that apart from the tyres the wheels also make a difference. I assume you have the Power Major type wheels in which case I can't be sure that they will be exactly matching, there is a difference in wheel track between the early cast wheels and the 6.00-19 pressed wheels on NP Super Major's and there might be with the late cast wheels too but I don't know as we don't have any of those. I'll check the position of the splines too.
Sandy

[LesLock]

Problem solved! As suspected the APUKOnline left hand kingpin was not as it should be. The splines were slightly rotated (probably 6 degrees or so) from where they should have been. I have just installed the Agriline left hand kingpin and the front wheels are now parallel. So there are good kingpins out there but you must be prepared to get more than one until you find one that fits! Once you get your eye in you can detect these slight discrepancies in the positioning of the splines as I explained previously. Probably a good idea to take measurements before changing kingpins.

I don’t expect wheel wobble now but I have yet to take the play out of the steering box. I do hope this little saga will benefit someone and hopefully avoid some of the work arounds that I have read about. Thanks for your support Sandy.

[Billy26F5]

Thanks for keeping at it on here. I would go for a test run before doing the steering box, you might find that you're fine. Also check the drag link, if it's not ok that should make a big difference. Definitely worth comparing new and old spindles, looks like APUKOnline won't be getting a good reputation from this. I never got round to the measurements in the end but I did note that the pressed 6.00-19 wheel track is 1" wider than the early cast equivalent. Good to know that the Agriline ones are still ok. When you do the steering box make sure you keep count of all those shims as they're very important for setting the correct clearances (no play nor preload).
Sandy

[LesLock]

I had installed a new drag link Sandy. APUKOnline have collected the kingpins and I have had a few conversations with them and they are going to look into the kingpin issue. Seems strange that both of their kingpins bore the same ident (FNM977). Old20 Parts checked their kingpins and they had idents of FNM977 (lefthand) and FNM966 (right hand).

I spoke to Sparex on a few occasions and again today. My concerns had been commented on and they tell me that new idents are to be used on their kingpins but I don’t know what idents they currently use and whether this will actually affect the quality.

At least 2 people have suggested changing the steering arm to compensate for the kingpin discrepancy. My reply is that the steering arm must also be defective if it compensates for a defective kingpin! Two wrongs can make a right?

I will report back if I find anything else of interest but I am glad I persevered and was successful in the end.

[Billy26F5]

Others have said this before but I can't say for sure, as our spindles seem to all match each other. As for the cast marks I have no idea if they're supposed to identify both sides or something else, there's no reason the same marks couldn't be used for both as the splines are machined later.
I'm glad you did too, as all these repro parts seem to have stories of some kind. I'll be keen to see what answers they come up with, especially as there should only be two spindles, and they will do E27N axles too, as the early Major ones were unchanged from the E27N. They later got a new heat treatment and slightly thicker splines to combat the arms coming loose but the spindle arms were still the same size.
Sandy