I knew something looked odd about the king pin the day I bought this backhoe... One day I was pushing around dirt for about an hour and then parked the machine. I checked things over after parking it and noticed a huge gap now between the axle housing and king pin. There used to be a thick shim (incorrectly) hammered in there. Comparing it to the other side and service literature, there's supposed to be a LOT more in there. Out of two cover plates, two orings, two snap rings, three bearings, two thrust plates, and one seal, there was only one plate and a snap ring remaining! 2/12 parts! Somehow there was enough metal left in the housing to firmly press the new bearings into place.

I made the mistake of not lining up the king pin to install the lock pin (locks the king pin to the spindle). I will be keeping an eye on it after each use to catch it when it lines up as it rotates some while in use.

All in all, the repair was a success!