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Thu Apr 12, 2007 4:35 pm

Alright fellas...

What is the difference between King/Link Pins and Ball joints?

How can you tell the difference and what are the pros/cons of either?

Thu Apr 12, 2007 5:00 pm

cars up thru 64 used king and link pin beams. 65 up used ball joints. The two are not interchangeable, you have to use the one you frame is made for. In a buggy, off road the king and link pin beam is more rugged. For an on road car the ball joint is easier to keep aligned, and is easier to repair.

Thu Apr 12, 2007 5:18 pm

Thanks for the reply...

So... I have a '65 with a narrowed beam. The PO did that, I like it, but I'm having an issue with the front passenger side assembly... (It um... shimmy's in and out so I can't exactly drive it right now).

Due to the aftermarket beam, it would be safe to say that I have balljoints? Or is there the chance that my ride has king/link pins?

How can I tell visually?

Thu Apr 12, 2007 5:23 pm

The ball joint started in '66 not '65.

A quick search in the gallery found these...

Link

Ball

Thu Apr 12, 2007 5:33 pm

it appears I have king/link pins...

Thanks all.

Thu Apr 12, 2007 6:07 pm

So... another quick question:

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being "Put Gas in the Tank" and 10 being "Replace the Heater Channels"....

How hard is it to replace the King and Link pins?

I'm sure I can find manuals, but the books are all fairly un-biased; how hard do you guys think it is?

Thu Apr 12, 2007 6:48 pm

I believe links shock towers are straight up and down .. balljoint kicks to outside at top.. im sure i will be corrected if im wrong..

Thu Apr 12, 2007 6:58 pm

Everpress wrote: So... another quick question:

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being "Put Gas in the Tank" and 10 being "Replace the Heater Channels"....

How hard is it to replace the King and Link pins?

I'm sure I can find manuals, but the books are all fairly un-biased; how hard do you guys think it is?

The links are pressed in the carrier so you will need a press to do it . any vw shop should be able to do it no problem . They are real easy to take off.

1 take tire off
2 take drum off
3 brakes & baking plate off
4 tie rod off
5 unbolt trailing arms
6 take the spindle and carier to shop
7 bring home , eat pizza then reverse to install. They need to be shimmed to get the camber correct.

Thu Apr 12, 2007 7:04 pm

Damn...
Every shop around here has either a) Tried to rip me off ($400 is terribly excessive) or b) Can't be bothered on a weekend when I'm off the clock at my own job.

I know the parts to replace both sides barely hits $100 with next-day-air shipping... I'm willing to be an hour of labor at a shop where they know what they are doing (I might not know how to do it myself, but if I can replace a clutch in about an hour, I doubt it's too much tougher than that, right?)

So I guess this is a call out of sorts... Anyone want to PM me with some good places within the Winston-Greensboro area that can do this kind of job?

Thanks to everybody for helping me out with this by the way; you guys are great.

Thu Apr 12, 2007 7:12 pm

you know slowlow , hes is from kingsport. tenn. he know alot of people around that area . dont know if this is close to you at all. lok slowlow up he has a green split in his avatar. go here he has posts in here.
pm him.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=224340

Fri Apr 13, 2007 5:14 am

Go to B&M in High point to get the kings and links. They have them on the shelf so no shipping charges. You can try Craver's down on 150 in Davidson County to get them installed. I would stay away from that jackass on Union Cross Rd. at all cost!!!

Fri Apr 13, 2007 5:33 am

Holy crap!
Before reading your post this morning (5 min ago) I called Craver's; seems like a nice, in-th-know guy with decent prices (still a bit high to me, but that's the magic of not knowing how to do something- you have to pay to find the person that does know how to do it).

But that man on Union Cross was the second guy I talked to a month or so ago... He was... Not willing to work with me to say the least.

Thanks fifty-five...

Thu Sep 04, 2014 5:18 pm

My buddy an I rebuilt his '64 link pin front end at home. He has a press that came from Harbor Freight for a little over a c-note. Bushings press out and in easily and we used a socket wrench for a driver. The bushing kit comes with all the parts you need.

Sat Mar 21, 2015 7:16 pm

Kingpin set up, right?
While I'm going the king/link pins. anything else worth doing while its a part?
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Sat Mar 21, 2015 7:28 pm

Here are videos on how to do it. 5 part video. Not saying this is the perfect way to do it but it will get you through it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHB9GpN_sdw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtBltm9ZQF8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYpLTLjuqf8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHAgmh2qqtg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTnGs4NoiQk

Sat Mar 21, 2015 7:53 pm

Replace your tie-rod ends...the rubber boots look cracked.

How are your brakes? You'll be removing every brake part...good time to replace worn parts.

Sun Mar 22, 2015 4:53 am

Thank you both.
so when I spin the wheels I get a grinding sound on and off, like something is warped and only rubbing some of the time.

the drivers side makes same sound as passenger, but
driver side spins much more easily and passenger side feels like it needs lubrication of new bearings.

Hard part about this front end is I bought a 66' kit car and the front end is a king pin set up, which they didn't make in 66' so I'm thinking the front end here is an older year. kinda cool i think. but not sure what year this front end is.

So I'm thinking a break rebuild kit, but 65' is a slightly different set up than all years before it.

*How can I tell if the front end is a 1965, or older?

Sun Mar 22, 2015 12:27 pm

Check the backing plates. Look for a couple of indents in the backing plate near the wheel cylinder. These indents have a flat area that the shoe rests on. See this image from the classified of a 1965 backing plate. The 1958-1964 backing plates lack that, as well as another 2 resting spots by the adjuster (that are harder to see from the back.) The backing plates, wheel cylinders, shoes, and adjuster screws where changed in 1965.

Sun Mar 22, 2015 12:55 pm

Everpress wrote: Thanks for the reply...

So... I have a '65 with a narrowed beam. The PO did that, I like it, but I'm having an issue with the front passenger side assembly... (It um... shimmy's in and out so I can't exactly drive it right now).

Due to the aftermarket beam, it would be safe to say that I have balljoints? Or is there the chance that my ride has king/link pins?

How can I tell visually?

You say it moves in and out. It may just need an adjustment in one of the link pins. Verify if they are wore out or just loose before throwing parts at it.

Mon Sep 18, 2017 9:40 am

camit34 wrote: The ball joint started in '66 not '65.

A quick search in the gallery found these...

Link

Ball
the ball joint front end was first available in late production 65 models. ( I have one). And I seen several. Although most 65's were link pin they did produce ball joint cars as well