Whoa and I thought I was overcharged at €30 for both.

Paolo. My new washers were way too thick. Using the groove ,I put the edge of some 2×4 timber in it at an angle and spent about an houf on each pushing back and forth on emery paper to bring them down to size. Soooooooo boring bug a nice snug fit

Hi everyone
I have run into a problem that does not seem to have been mentioned in this thread; the hole for the king pin down through the sviveling part of the assembly, the stub axle part, is too large. The hole seems to be worn, so that it is now oval, and the king pin rattles about. Knocking in the locking pin would probably fixate it so that I cannot move it by hand, but it certainly won't be enough to take the load on the road.
So what do I do? What have others done? Is it possible to get hold of just the stub axle part, one with a round hole and a snug fit for the king pin?

martin fiatrovs

Martin...there's a LH one on eBay.uk just now.
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/183208901572

Which side do you need. I have some spares but postage to Denmark may be expensive.

I think that I may have a new one but will need to check what side it is. I came across this same problem one time.

thank you Peter and Toshi.
Yes, I saw the one on Ebay.
But I need the right hand one.
Great if either of you could help me out.
My mail is [email protected]
martin

Rovs said:

thank you Peter and Toshi.
Yes, I saw the one on Ebay.
But I need the right hand one.
Great if either of you could help me out.
My mail is [email protected]
martin

Click to expand...

I had a search in my garage and found the part but it is for a later 126 so not suitable for a 500, sorry about that.

Thanks for trying!
martin

As these suspension units are difficult to find, have you thought of speaking to a local (to you) engineering firm and having the 'no longer round' hole machined out and a steel sleeve shrunk into it---then fit new bushes. For reaming out the new bushes you need a looong reamer that can ream both the top and bottom bushes at the same time. This is so that the bushes are exactly in line. A neat trick for getting the bottom'plug' out of the upright is to drill a large hole in it first; there is then less chance of the 'plug' breaking its locating ridge as it come out.

Thank you, Hobbler.
I did go to a local shop, recommended by local classic car owners. He said he thought it would be a difficult job to drill a hole, put in a sleeve and finish it to right diameter. But willing to try.
However, in the meantime I have had a visit from the national "supplier" of parts for the Danish Fiat 500 club. He believes he can find me a good, used stub axle. Så right now I'm just waiting...
Peter has kindly offered another solution, that I hope to take him up on, if the Danish one peters out (sorry, he he).

The rest of the job is done

martin

Rovs said:

Thanks for trying!
martin

Click to expand...

Been doing a little tidying and found a good used complete stub axle assembly just in case you have not got this sorted

wow, i've just joined to check out the kingpin situation. having trawled through this thread carefully i find myself feeling slightly dispirited.

for every solution there seems to be problems and i dont have the knowledge or engineering skills a lot of you guys have.

even if you do manage to carry out the repair it seems you have to repeat the ordeal in a year's time anyway.

is there any such thing as a ball joint conversion?

Don't despair. It's easy to get already overhauled exchange or even brand new units. Most owners feed them regularly with grease, which wouldn't have happened in the old days. Mileages are often quite low and although I probably shouldn't even think this, with the exemption from MOT, we have a bit of leeway regarding the exact amount of play we can get away with.[emoji4]. So get out there and give it some Welly. [emoji4]

viago said:

wow, i've just joined to check out the kingpin situation. having trawled through this thread carefully i find myself feeling slightly dispirited.

for every solution there seems to be problems and i dont have the knowledge or engineering skills a lot of you guys have.

even if you do manage to carry out the repair it seems you have to repeat the ordeal in a year's time anyway.

is there any such thing as a ball joint conversion?

Click to expand...

fiat500 said:

Don't despair. It's easy to get already overhauled exchange or even brand new units. Most owners feed them regularly with grease, which wouldn't have happened in the old days. Mileages are often quite low and although I probably shouldn't even think this, with the exemption from MOT, we have a bit of leeway regarding the exact amount of play we can get away with.[emoji4]. So get out there and give it some Welly. [emoji4]

Click to expand...

thank you.

welly is something i am good at.

controlled welly in the correct place, less so.

breaking things, i'm your man.

Paolo66 said:

Here's something I've got Sean which seems to confirm what Peter has said. I can't find what the part numbers are but it says 2 at the top with the seal and 1 at the bottom.

Damian

D3.14 Steering Knuckle

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fiat500 said:

Just a photo for reference of a brand new Fiat 500 stub axle assembly which unusually, has two grease nipples...obviously the better arrangement.

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The kingpin grease zerk on my steering knuckle matches that shown in the @Paolo66 D3.14 PDF attachment, w/ a single zerk on the moving part, NOT like that shown in the @fiat500 image, w/ two zerk fittings, one each on the stationary parts.

The kingpin and the rest of the steering stuff looks new on my vehicle.

My zerk fittings were greased by me this weekend. It appears this was the first time these parts have been greased. It appears that very few miles have been added since the vehicle was completely restored, including adding these new steering parts.

wingless said:

The kingpin grease zerk on my steering knuckle matches that shown in the @Paolo66 D3.14 PDF attachment, w/ a single zerk on the moving part, NOT like that shown in the @fiat500 image, w/ two zerk fittings, one each on the stationary parts.

The kingpin and the rest of the steering stuff looks new on my vehicle.

My zerk fittings were greased by me this weekend. It appears this was the first time these parts have been greased. It appears that very few miles have been added since the vehicle was completely restored, including adding these new steering parts.


View attachment 438098

View attachment 438099

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Both of my king-pin/hub assemblies have the "2-grease-nipple" arrangement, which are given a fairly regular greasing. Having done quite a lot of king-pin/hub overhaules when I worked in a Fiat garage (many, many years ago), I know what a bitch of a job it is if you don't have the correct very long reamer, so I cheat. I have a colleague in North Somerset who DOES have the correct facilities, so I get him to overhaul the units for me---with 2 grease-nipples and the correct bronze bushes. I will concede that it is not a 'cheap' job, but they are done correctly.

Why not use three grease zerk fittings, one on the moving part and a pair on the upper and the lower stationary parts?