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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - Cotter pin removal

Hi... another newbie here.
I am currently in the process of replacing the fulcrum pin and the king pin on the off side front steering/suspension unit on my 1963 MK 1. However, I am now stuck as I cannot seem to remove the cotter pin located at the base of the king pin... I have loosened the nut, as the Haynes manual, and hit it.. as the manual, but will it move? Does anyone have any ideas as to how this can be done?
Many thanks, Nigel.
N Cox

Nigel. If you are replacing the king pin you will have to put in new bushes which will require reaming. If you don't have the reamer it costs about £80. You can get king pin/stub axle assemblies already built up on an exchange basis for much less than that from various suppliers. I got mine from The Welsh MG Centre. Also, there will probably be wear in the bottom pin and/or the wish bone so even when the cotter pin is removed you may still have to attack the bottom pin with an angle grinder to free it from the wishbone.

Bernie.
b higginson

Nigel,

I had similar woes on my car. Once I had the kingpin mounted in something solid, it came out ok, so ensure you are whacking it with the kingpin against something solid, otherwise the energy is going elsewhere.

DH2
DH2

I worked in a bike coop for a while and that cotter shows up in ralegh bikes from the period on the cranks. It is made of really soft stuff and easy to distort. I would reccomend slackening off the nut but nt removing it. It can help the cotter take the blow of the hammer if left on but loosened. If you cant get it out in two or three good firm whakcs you will probibly have to drill it out. Sometimes if you're lucky it will. many times it won't.

For more reading

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/cotters.html
S.A. Jones

This thread was discussed between 05/06/2011 and 08/06/2011

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