Many modern cars, especially SUVs, require certain ones. Most car owners start by modifying transmission components. This is necessary for many reasons: preparing the car for use in certain conditions, or making the movement more comfortable. An important factor is to increase the reliability of the units, and one of the solutions may be to install a modified front kingpin. The kingpin is a fairly important part and is used to connect the rods to the wheel hub to ensure full control of the car. Let's take a closer look at the method of application and device.
Item Specifications
The steel pivot pin on the UAZ Patriot is divided into 2 parts, which ensures installation of the drive shaft of the front wheels in the hinge. The fist is placed on a hinge, which has spherical recesses for installing bronze cups. A metal cover is attached to the rear of the rotary assembly housing. Inside the king pin there is a channel with an external grease fitting that pumps lubricant to the rubbing surfaces during maintenance of the unit. The cups have grooves through which the lubricant is evenly distributed.
The pin has a tapered section allowing the element to be centered using a split threaded bushing. A swing arm is attached to the bottom of the knuckle with 4 bolts. The controlled elements are connected by a rod that provides symmetrical deflection of the controlled wheels.
The ball pins are angled to reduce stress on the cup and ball head.
The kingpin is a steel rod of variable profile.
The modernized unit is distinguished by a tapered bearing, which is used instead of a cup. The outer ring of the support rests on a special stand, mounted or welded to the standard hole of the bridge hinge. It is necessary to install a pin in the inner ring, on the body of which a restrictive washer is provided (does not allow the pin to excessively enter the inner ring of the bearing).
Centering is carried out using a split threaded bushing; the pin is closed on top with a cover held in place by a nut.
Pros and cons of kingpin on bearings
Product advantages:
- Frequent adjustments or tightening are not required;
- if over-tightened, the wheel easily deviates to the sides;
- The kit includes parts for rebuilding the steering knuckle joint.
Read: how to tighten the king pin on a UAZ Patriot
The kit includes parts for rebuilding the hinge.
Disadvantages of the unit noted by car owners:
- the installation procedure is more labor-intensive (compared to standard elements);
- shock loads and vibrations destroy the rings and raceways of the tapered bearing;
- if moisture gets in, the support rusts and fails;
- in case of insufficient tension, accelerated wear of the rubbing surfaces occurs;
- If the bearing fails, the fist may become jammed.
Types of king pins
These SUVs are equipped with 4 types of joints, which differ in the type of bearing:
- plastic cup;
- bronze cup;
- steel ball;
- needle bearing.
At the factory, only plastic and ball joints are installed as standard. A bronze cup is installed instead of a plastic one without modifications, so such tuning increases the service life of the kingpin and does not constitute changes to the design of the car. Installing a bearing joint requires major modifications to the steering knuckle and is therefore considered a modification to the vehicle's design.
When is it necessary to replace the king pins on a UAZ Patriot?
During the operation of the car, gradual abrasion of the cups made of non-ferrous metal occurs. As the element deteriorates, the gap is compensated by tightening the ball pin and bushing; when critical wear is reached, the steering knuckle begins to jam. The pivot pins on the UAZ Patriot may need to be replaced.
The driver hears extraneous sounds from the front suspension and notices a deterioration in handling. The cause of the failure can only be determined after disassembling the rotary assembly.
What is a pivot knot
New ball kingpin for UAZ Patriot
In short, the kingpins in the UAZ Patriot are large hinges, the purpose of which is to give another degree of freedom to the front wheels. That is, root nodes can significantly improve the car’s handling. They are located directly behind the front wheels, under the steering rod bipods. It is not possible to see them from the outside, since each kingpin is pressed into the body of the front steering knuckle. To see the kingpin, you will have to press it out of there (how to do this will be discussed below).
Signs of a part failure
Manifestations indicating damage to the ball pin or cups:
- knocking noise when driving in a straight line or in turns;
- fist jamming felt on the steering wheel;
- pulling the car away from a straight path at a normal wheel alignment angle;
- an increase in the turning radius due to the impossibility of rotating the wheels to the maximum angle (limited by a mechanical stop).
The car pulling away from a straight path is a sign of a faulty king pin.
Adjusting and pulling the king pin
Algorithm for adjusting a standard type unit:
- Place the car on a horizontal platform or on a lift, securing the rear wheels with wheel chocks.
- Remove the front wheels (when working in a garage, you will need to jack up the body and install safety stops under the sills).
- Rock the steering knuckle to determine the play.
- Using a 24 mm wrench or socket, unscrew the nut securing the upper pin.
- Using a copper hammer, force the finger against the cup with several blows, striking the threaded tip.
- Turn the split nut with a special wrench 15-20°, while simultaneously shaking the fist to determine the residual play.
- Repeat the operation with the lower pin, and then replace the removed covers and parts (after filling the cavities of the pin with thick lubricant).
- Check the ease of moving the fist to the sides while simultaneously rocking to check for the absence of gaps in the “finger-cup” pair.
- If the adjustment procedure does not eliminate the backlash or jamming of the controlled unit is observed, then it is necessary to remove the pins and conduct a visual inspection of the parts (damaged elements must be replaced with original or upgraded parts).
Replacing the kingpin on a UAZ Patriot - instructions
Instead of a standard assembly with cups, it is better to mount parts with tapered bearings that do not require frequent adjustment. Work is carried out in a garage box or on a lift. You will need a set of plumbing tools and the skills to independently maintain a car.
Required Tools
To perform repairs you need to prepare:
- a set of wrenches or sockets;
- wheel wrench;
- flat blade screwdriver;
- syringe for injecting lubricant;
- mounting blade;
- hammer.
To replace the kingpin, you need a set of wrenches.
Stages of repair work
Brief algorithm for performing the work:
- Drive the car onto a lift or into a box and remove the front wheels (when performing repairs in a garage, install stops under the sills).
- Unscrew the screws and remove the caliper, pads and brake discs. Carefully place the caliper on the suspension parts, avoiding twisting or breaking the rubber hose.
- Unscrew the steering end fixing nut, having first removed the wire cotter pin. On some vehicles, it is necessary to disconnect the ABS system sensor plug (you must first disconnect the battery from the vehicle's on-board network).
- Unscrew the nuts securing the ball pin covers, unscrew the jammed elements after preheating with a gas burner.
- Remove the front wheel steering angle limiter plate.
- Unscrew the mounting bolts, remove the steering knuckle from the axle housing and the drive shaft tip.
- Place the assembly in a vice, and then unscrew the bolts securing the rear cover and the element used to limit the angle of deflection of the wheels (it is recommended to first measure the offset of the element).
- Remove the additional parts and remove the joint from the knuckle.
- Wipe the element from old grease and dirt, and then weld guide cups for tapered bearings to the body. It is recommended to carry out the work in a service center equipped with special equipment for marking the position of parts.
- Press the bearings into the cups, and then reassemble the steering knuckles.
- Adjust the tension of the bearings using a threaded bushing, checking the play and ease of deflection of the fist by hand.
The quality of manufacturing of kingpins and how it affects performance properties.
Here many parameters must be taken into account: the quality of the bearing and the material of the parts, heat treatment of surfaces, tolerance and fit, alignment of the part (bearing fit, cone, thread cutting must be done in one “installation”).
Which, unfortunately, in many cases (i.e., kits offered by trade organizations for installation) is most often not found. And touching on the quality of the pivot sets on the bearing, I would like to expand a little on the topic of “wobbling” (English: wobbling, wobble, death wobble, “shimmy” effect, or popularly - spinner, razdolbass, raskolbas, etc.) I would like to clarify that is "shimmy". Shimmy is the name of a popular at the beginning of the 20th century. a dance characterized by rapid swaying of the shoulders left and right. “Wobbling” is the effect of the occurrence at high speed of increasing oscillations (~4–10Hz) of the front wheel of a bicycle, motorcycle, car or aircraft chassis relative to the heading direction, so we will consider and talk about wobbling or death wobble.
One of the main tasks of the theory of calculation of oscillatory circuits is to calculate the stability and predictability of behavior in the operating range of oscillation frequencies.
Any structure is an oscillatory system that has its own resonant frequency. To reduce resonant amplitudes, it is necessary to minimize backlash in the connections of structural elements. Eliminating the appearance of resonance effect. Resonance (French resonance, from Latin resono - I respond) is the phenomenon of a sharp increase in the amplitude of forced oscillations, which occurs when the frequency of external influence approaches certain values (resonant frequencies) determined by the properties of the system. An increase in amplitude is only a consequence of resonance, and the reason is the coincidence of the external (exciting) frequency with the internal (natural) frequency of the oscillatory system. Resonance is a phenomenon that at a certain frequency of the driving force the oscillatory system is especially responsive to the action of this force.
So, at manufacturing plants, when designing elements of the front suspension, steering and other systems, they calculate oscillatory circuits. This calculation makes it possible to create structures that allow systems to operate in a design mode not bordering on resonant frequencies during actual operation of a car, motorcycle, airplane, etc. Only the presence of large backlashes in the vertical rolling plane of the wheel, namely, destruction of the hub bearings, backlash ball joints, torque rod bushings or all together are the REASON for the occurrence of “Wobbling”, since they change both the natural frequency of vibrations and its amplitude.
To reduce resonant amplitudes, it is necessary to minimize suspension and steering play, increase the weight of the wheels, install a steering damper, etc. Therefore, a well-made and correctly installed set of pins on a bearing can never lead to a resonance effect.
