Friends,

I've made the terrible mistake of buying a conversion "kit" that has everything I need to convert my from brakes to discs and like usual it came with no instructions and nothing fits properly. Nevertheless, I'm too far in to return the kit and now I have to make it work.

My current issue seems to be placing the grease seal for the spindle which is supposed to go under the bottom end of the top bushing. However, both bushings were pressed flush with the inner faces of the spindle holes. There is nowhere for it to go.

Do I need to c-clamp/press the top bushing in further or am I just an idiot who doesn't know where the seal goes? I do have a bushing removal tool at my disposal that I can use to press the bushing up just a pinch further if needed.

Thanks in advance. Pictures below.

 

You are right that bushing needs to go in just a little bit more to fit the seal.

When my machine shop that said they knew how to do the bushings also pressed them in flush.
The other thing they did wrong was the reaming of the bushings.
They did 1 bushing at a time to fit the pins.
A few months later when I went to put it together I found issue with the seals and the pins would not slip all the way thru, only 1 side at a time

I hope you do better that I did.
Dave ----
btw I did not use the seals and I had to hone the bushings and force the pins in, yes it is too tight.

 

I had a similar problem with the bushings. Mine came pre-installed which I thought was awesome. However, they were reamed too large. The pin would slide right through with just gravity. On the truck I can rock the spindle enough that I can hear the tick off the pin being not 100% tight. I suppose when they wear out I'll just press new ones in and ream them to the right fit.

Thanks for your input.

 

I cant believe they reamed 1 side at a time and not line ream!
I have since bought the right reamer and maybe one day will pull it apart to ream.
Right now the steering wheel will not return to center but I have put 4000 miles on the truck in less than a year and kind of use to it.
Dave ----

 

I just converted my front drums to disc with a similar looking conversion kit. Had the same issue with the seal. However, when I disassembled the stock spindles/king pins, there was no seal and the top bushings were also flush. So I didn’t worry about the seal in the new spindles. The new king pins fit great in the new spindles and with 2 shims on the top, they are perfectly tight - so I’m not too concerned about grease loss.

 

I shimmed the top as tight as I could to compensate for not having a seal. Hopefully it'll be enough 😬