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W113 Pagoda SL Group
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Drive train, fuel, suspension, steering & brakes
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King Pin Replacement
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Topic: King Pin Replacement (Read 4801 times)
ddodson1
Guest
King Pin Replacement
«
on:
March 25, 2016, 18:31:18 »
I recently had my service shop quote $5,000 to replace the king pins on my 1965 230SL. This seems very excessive to me.
What is the experience of others for this job?
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mait
Full Member
Junior Level
Canada, MB, East St Paul
Posts: 16
Re: King Pin Replacement
«
Reply #1 on:
March 25, 2016, 19:36:32 »
Sounds excessive to me too. My MB flat rate manual reads:
Oper. No 33-30 King pin bushing and/ or steering knuckle support. Install new ( one). 1.1 hrs.
That 's not including parts of course.
Just out of interest: This manual has a series of comptational tables in the back that let the service manager or whoever tell the customer the exact labor cost - hourly rates begin at$3.00 increasing at 0.25 iincrements. The final table calculates labor @ $8.50 per hour.
Try that one at your local dealer!!
Good luck in finding someone to do the work at a reasonable rate.
Mait
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m8 - 63 230sl
Benz Dr.
Vendor
Platinum
Canada, ON, Port Lambton
Posts: 7219
Benz Dr.
Re: King Pin Replacement
«
Reply #2 on:
March 25, 2016, 20:16:03 »
You can't do that job in 1.1 hours. Maybe when the car was new but not today.
You will need to replace the bushings and those will need to be honed at a machine shop after installation. I would replace the upper and lower pivots as well because they're likely to be worn out. Remove the upper pivot and after you remove the tie rod end along with the brake line the whole hub assembly will slide off of the king pin. Remove the lower pivot (I cut them off with a torch ) or remove the lower pivot screw with an impact gun. The BBB has assembly instructions. You will need a front end alignment afterwards.
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1966 230SL 5 speed, LSD, header pipes, 300SE distributor, ported, polished and balanced, AKA ''The Red Rocket ''
Dan Caron's SL Barn
1970 3.5 Coupe
1961 190SL
1985 300CD Turbo Coupe
1981 300SD
2013 GMC Sierra
1965 230SL
1967 250SL
1970 280SL
1988 560SEC
stickandrudderman
Vendor
Platinum
United Kingdom, England, Richmond
Posts: 2914
Re: King Pin Replacement
«
Reply #3 on:
March 27, 2016, 23:39:50 »
1.1 hrs is just to renew the bushing with the stub axle removed and on the bench.
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Stick
www.colinferns.com
lurtch
Full Member
Silver
USA, CA, Santa Rosa
Posts: 374
" ICON 66 "
Re: King Pin Replacement
«
Reply #4 on:
March 28, 2016, 00:38:17 »
This is the invoice for that job, done on my car last May here in California.
I hope this is helpful - -
Larry in CA
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Larry Hemstreet in N. Cal.
1966 230SL (restored) Met. Anthracite w/ Maroon leather
1981 300TD-T (Concours condition, 86K, GETRAG 5sp.)
1982 300TD-T (parted out)
1986 560SEC (totaled)
1991 300TE (gifted)
1998 E320 (sold)
2004 E320 wagon (gifted)
2008 CLK550 Cabriolet
ddodson1
Guest
Re: King Pin Replacement
«
Reply #5 on:
March 28, 2016, 14:16:16 »
Thanks all! Sounds like I need to find a different shop. Thanks for sharing the invoice, Larry. You had more work done than I need and was still less than half their quote.
I've already done the brakes, tie rods and shocks.
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erickmarciano
Associate Member
Gold
Canada, Quebec, montreal
Posts: 544
Re: King Pin Replacement
«
Reply #6 on:
March 28, 2016, 18:33:51 »
Larry it looks like he charged you labour for the things that needed to come off anyways like drums pads bearings ,links....
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1994 E500 W124
1971 280sl
1989 Porsche 930 coupe
1988 e30 m3
2001 ducati mh900
2006 ps1000
1962 Vespa GS160
Benz Dr.
Vendor
Platinum
Canada, ON, Port Lambton
Posts: 7219
Benz Dr.
Re: King Pin Replacement
«
Reply #7 on:
March 28, 2016, 19:39:22 »
You pretty much need to pull everything apart and go through all of those parts so you can see what needs to be replaced. This all takes time and if you can do it yourself you can save on the labor bill. Removing and installing the king pin bushings is best left up to a machine shop while everything else is possible in a typical shop at home.
Logged
1966 230SL 5 speed, LSD, header pipes, 300SE distributor, ported, polished and balanced, AKA ''The Red Rocket ''
Dan Caron's SL Barn
1970 3.5 Coupe
1961 190SL
1985 300CD Turbo Coupe
1981 300SD
2013 GMC Sierra
1965 230SL
1967 250SL
1970 280SL
1988 560SEC
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Pagoda SL Group
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W113 Pagoda SL Group
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Drive train, fuel, suspension, steering & brakes
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King Pin Replacement