kingpin question

[downtempo]

I have been advised by my mechanic that i need to replace the kingpin on the driver's side. I have been experiencing vibrations recently, especially under braking. What symptoms can be expected from a fault kingpin?

[maxnix]

Ball joint maybe? Ain't no kingpin on a G50. Usually abnormal tire wear on that tire and vibration on more worn balljoint will be a giveaway.

[downtempo]

I beleive there is a kingpin, it is shown in the diagram of the Front Suspension from the service manual and Q45tech had an older posting of replacing his

[DAEDALUS]

Yeah top of the link. Kingpin rides in 2 bearings I believe. The looser/more worn out the system the more vibrations you'll feel. If there's lateral play in the link kingpin sounds plausible. Definitely won't hurt.

[elwesso]

I know where the kingpin is, but what does it do???

So if you can move the upper link toward the car and away from the car, then kingpin is the issue??

[squeefoo]

King pin provides rotation between the steering knuckle and the "third link" which is what the upper transverse link bolts to on the outside. Takes a lot of abuse, just replace the bearing and race, use Mobil 1 grease in it after you clean it out good. I did mine right after I bought it since both were bad at 135K.

[sijoko]

I am going to replace the kingpin bearings on my 94 Q, this weekend.

From what I have read in the manual, it doesn't look too hard. The only thing is you might need access to a hydraulic press to install the bearings.

I thought the looseness in the front was caused by worn upper links, but turned out it was the kingpin bearings.

My car has over 199k so the kingpin bearings are probably due for replacement anyway.

My plan is to replace all the wheel bearings just to bring the car back up to original specs.

-sijoko