Pro tip: if you’re having a hard time getting the kingpin to move, screw the truck into an old board. It can even be broken. Then heat up the baseplate with a torch. The metal will expand slightly and make the kingpin come out easier. You can even stand on the board for leverage, but don’t touch the baseplate as it will be very hot.
Done this a thousand times for the last 40 years of skating, but I have to say the new Indy kingpins are super hard to remove and replace, many of the splines do not match from one kingpin to the next, and they seem to break easier than they used to-especially the Hollow ones. It also sucks that you can't put a regular kingpin from another company in there because the baseplate's recess for the kingpin will not keep the hex-head from spinning. I've been a proud Independent rider for 35 years, but it feels like y'all are steppin' backward, Indy.
To add to it I have old base plates .. Still can't use them cos the bolt pattern had changed this was a gullwing or tracker problems Indy Charing their logo to appease other's views don't seem very independent to top it off I go to the local skate shop I ask is do these come out the chick sez I can't tAke it out if u can't either way they don't have the Indy king pin n suggest I try a reg & me duh ok . I'm gonna take it back
I miss the older truck baseplate design that didn't use the splined kingpins and had a rectangular hole for the head of the king pin to catch in so you could use any bolt that fit. I used to reverse my kingpins back in the 90s to preserve the threads.
The splines definitely make it harder! But I feel like I don't break kingpins as often anymore. Inverted kingpins are so nice, you never snag your kingpin when your grinding. Ahh, the good ol' days! Cheers! 🍻 - Tim
@@tacticsboardshop I had Deadbolt king pins that were for regular trucks to make them like grindking trucks. That was close to 30 years ago. Man I'm old LOL
@@danielockas2586 The stack of boards might be cushioning the hammer strikes a little bit, but the most important thing is just hitting your nail set as hard and as squarely as possible. I had to smack that thing as hard as I was brave enough to swing and hit the nail set. You could also try some bricks, but bricks are brittle and might break if you hit them too hard. Maybe something to try is to heat up the baseplate either with a blowtorch or boiling it so the metal will expand, then try to smack the kingpin in while the baseplate still hot (use a pot holder when handling the hot baseplate). I haven't personally tried that, but it might work. 🤷♂️ Also, make sure the splines are properly aligned otherwise it's not going anywhere. Good luck! - Tim
There's a trick I learned from a motorbike mechanic for installing a lower steering stem race, it would probably be of some help here. Put the kingpin in a freezer, and the baseplate in an oven (not too hot, e.g. 120 C / 250 F). Obviously you will have to use some heat-resistant gloves to handle the baseplate. Heating makes the baseplate expand a bit, while freezing makes the kingpin contract a bit. Together, this should help, at least a bit. There are specialized lubricants to aid in press-fitting parts, you can also use MoS2 (aka Moly) paste (better option) or grease.
Thanks bro, yesterday a bus smashed my skateboard, shape and trucks were destroyed but there's some parts of the truck that I can reuse and the Kingpin is one of then.
good luck with thunders. i think you need a press of some sort to pull it off withought wrecking the baseplate. I made a jig out of hardwood and still destroyed the baseplate.
Awesome video tutorial, because a lot of people think that the broken kingpin means change to new pair of trucks , and isn´t true, is good to see how you can fix your trucks and change for a new kingping and if you want to change a new bushings too. Thank you tactics.🙌✨👏💎🙏👍
If the rubbery pivot cup part is totally mashed and the metal part that sticks into it wiggles around freely and sometimes pops out, then you should replace it. If it's a little beat up, but still works fine, then just leave it in there! Cheers! - Tim
You're gonna have to take off the truck and hold the kingpin in place from underneath the baseplate so you can loosen the nut. I'm not sure what kind of truck you have, but you should be able to wedge something in there to stop the whole kingpin from rotating on you. I hope you can get it figured out! 🙏 - Tim
Me personally I just had that problem over the last 2 days and although this comment is from a year ago, I'd like to share that what worked for me was using the kingpin nut part of a skate tool from the underside, *really* cramming it into the bottom of the truck, and then using a vice grip on the actual nut also held *really* tightly.
i have 2 boards, one is very good but it's in my mom's house. i have another very old one that doesn't even work. it's a kid's skateboard that wont turn. it just goes right everytime. i'm trying to fix it since i haven't skate ever since i forgot my good one in my mom's house. apperently, the kingpin is completely loose in the metal thing that should support it, i can wobble it around and it is even hard to assemble the skateboard again because the kingpin keeps going backwards when i try to put everything in it's place is there any quick salvation to this board? could i just glue the thing? please
What kind of kingpin should I get for primitive trucks? They come on complete primitive boards and they look like the one in the video but I wouldn’t know what size to get
I'm not quite sure for generic trucks that come on pre-built completes. But I imagine it's a pretty standard size kingpin bolt (not a low kingpin). So an Indy kingpin would probably work, or if you can find a more generic kingpin without the grooves and a hexagon shape on the bottom, that might work too. I'm sorry I can't be of more help and I hope you can find what you're looking for! - Tim
Getting a bent kingpin out is definitely going to be a pain, but there's really no other way to get it out than smashing it out with a hammer. If you have access to an angle grinder, you can cut off the bent part so you don't have to smash the whole bent kingpin through the straight hole. But you should replace it because a bent kingpin is gonna be much more likely to break and you don't want it to snap at an inconvenient or perilous moment. Worse case scenario you could always just take a baseplate with a good kingpin from a different set of trucks. Anyway, I wish you luck and I hope you can get it fixed and get out to shred. Stay safe out there! - Tim
When you say it has a hexagon end, I assume you're talking about the base of the kingpin that's fixed in the baseplate? The hexagon end should be nuzzled between two pieces of metal in the baseplate that should stop it from rotating and if your kingpin is wiggling, then it became dislodged. Try taking your truck off and look at the underside and make sure that it is fully pushed into the hole that goes through the baseplate. If it slides in a little further, then you can tighten the kingpin nut to keep it in place. I'm sorry if that was a little confusing! Maybe you could send a photo to our customer service and they might be able to help you figure out the problem! Email the photo to help@tactics.com and hopefully they'll be able to help out.🤝 Cheers! - Tim
Hey I have 2 questions do you have to use a kingpin or just a screw and is it ok if the bushings are a little Bigger than the kingpin im asking because I don't know what brand my trucks are im a beginner lol
It's not a very good idea to just use a regular bolt as a kingpin replacement, because most hardware out there isn't going to be a strong enough grade of steel to hold up against skating. One of my friends in high school used to replace his kingpin with bolts from the hardware store and they would break every week. I'm not really sure of the exact specifications for the proper grade of steel, but it's probably better to get a real truck kingpin. How much bigger are the bushings? Is the hole in them wider than the bolt, or does the bolt not reach all the way through past the top bushing? Sorry for all the questions, I'm just trying to figure it out. 😄 - Tim
@@tacticsboardshop first of all its ok about the questions also thanks for the quick response so the kingpin reaches the top bushing but the bushings hole is just a tiny bit bigger than the kingpin so I'm wondering if it will mess up the bushings at all also im talking about bones hardcore bushings hard just got them today and another question can I tighten up my trucks a bit with the bushings or will they break
@@dark-legion_9997 If the hole in the bushing is much wider than the kingpin bolt, it will probably give the trucks a sloppy feeling to them. They'll still work, but the might have a little bit of flop before the turn is initiated. And for the tightening, as long as there is enough of the bolt sticking out of the top bushing and washer for the nut, then you should be able to tighten them down with no issue. If the bolt is just barely sticking out of the top and there aren't enough threads to accommodate the nut, then it'll probably damage the bushings if you forcefully tighten it on there. I hope that helps! Let me know if you need me to clarify anything. Cheers! - Tim
@@tacticsboardshop this helped alot and really cleared things up thanks so much been stressing for nothing also what brand weels do you recommend for cruising
@@dark-legion_9997 There's plenty of good wheel brands for cruising. Some of the top cruiser wheels are the Ricta Clouds, OJ Super Juice, OJ Keyframes, Bones Rough Riders, and Santa Cruz Slime Balls. Here's a link to a bunch of soft cruiser wheels if you're interested. Cheers! - Tim www.tactics.com/cruiser-wheels
Venture definitely makes replacement kingpins, but they're pretty hard to find these days because of the covid-related skate hardgoods shortage. You could try fitting in a kingpin from another brand, and it'll probably fit, but sometimes the splines on the base are a little different and don't quite fit. But it could be worth a try. If you do try to fit a non venture kingpin in there, let us know how it went! I hope you can fix your truck! 🙏 - Tim
It's hard to say because you can have a set of trucks where the kingpin never breaks, and then you could have a kingpin that breaks in a week. However, it's relatively rare for kingpins to snap these days, so I wouldn't worry too much about it. Cheers! - Tim
can anybody help me??? the kingpin rotates with the kingpin bolt so i cant loosen or tighten my trucks. how do i remove the kingpin bolt to remove every other part?!??! please help
You're gonna have to hold the kingpin from both sides . So take the truck off the board, and use a vicegrip or some pliers or something else to get a solid grip on the bottom part of the kingpin from underneath the baseplate. Then use your tool to loosen the nut from the topside while you're holding the bottom in place. Similar to how you tighten/loosen the hardware from both sides to keep the hardware bolt from just spinning indefinitely. I hope that made sense! I hope you can get it fixed! 🛹🙏 - Tim
If you have a proper drill that will cut it out, then go for it. Just be careful not to expand the slot that the kingpin goes into so you don't have a loose kingpin when you re-install one. Cheers! - Tim
One of the trucks on my board makes a kind of cracking sound every time I lean left or right, I took it apart and noticed the kingpin is a little bit wobbly, could that be the reason the truck is cracking whenever I turn? The kingpin in the other truck is solid and doesn't move so I'm assuming that's the case of the sound. Do you think I need a replacement?
It's possible that the kingpin is what's making that sound. It could also be the bushings are sticky and grip the kingpin and when it finally unsticks and slides it makes a popping/snapping/cracking sound. As long as your trucks work fine, it shouldn't be a problem unless you've noticed something cracked or broken on your trucks. You could try waxing or putting a little dish soap on your bushings to eliminate the sound. If that doesn't work, then it's probably the kingpin. But I don't think it's worth replacing the kingpin just because it makes some noise. I hope that helps! Cheers! - Tim
This can also be caused by the top bushing's washer moving under the nut, banging on the kingpin from side to side every time you lean. This can be caused by a hole in the washer being too big and/or washer being a loose fit on the bushing.
The kingpin sticks out past the hanger? Well you can either replace it or just grind it down with an angle grinder or something like that. That's super weird, new trucks shouldn't have wrong sized kingpins. 🤔
@@tacticsboardshop isn't it?! I thought my locals would know better than that 🤣🤣 it was a siren complete, it was either that or a chocolate complete, I now regret not getting the chocolate board 😆 thanks so much for the advice I'll probably just switch out the kingpin! 👊
If you can find a wrench or socket that's just slightly bigger, like a 5/8" or a 16mm wrench, you should be able to get it over the mashed nut. Or just use something like a crescent wrench or a visegrip and then just clamp down on the nut super hard. I hope you find a solution! - Tim
If your kingpin nut is so worn down to the point where the socket on your skate tool cant firmly hold onto it, you'll have to use some kind of visegrip or a clamp so you can get a solid hold on the nut while you loosen it. 👍 I hope that helps! - Tim
@@tacticsboardshop If all else fails, I guess one can use an angle grinder to grind off the nut and the top of the kingpin off (I would approach in the direction that is perpendicular to the axle). This will most likely damage the top bushing and washer.
How hard are you smacking it and what are you using for a nail set? Also, is your nailset wider than the hole in the baseplate? If the broken piece is sticking out, you don't need the nailset until it's flush with the hole in the baseplate. It's more important to hit the kingpin VERY HARD and squarely than it is to smack it a bunch of times. As soon as you can get it to move a little bit, it becomes easier. But yeah, getting the kingpin out can definitely be difficult. I hope you can get it out! - Tim
@@khaloof.m1117 If the whole kingpin is sticking out, then it should be pretty easy to smack it out because you can just hit the kingpin directly instead of having to use a nailset. If you don't want to fully replace it, you'll have to clean up the threads on the kingpin with a 3/8" inch die with 24 threads per inch. 👍
@@tacticsboardshop Hey man. I’ve got a kingpin that’s fully sticking out but it’s slanted to the left causing my board to move left when it moves. Would it be possible to hammer it out then re insert it properly? Idk what counts as bent but the kingpin is fine apart from the slight slant to the left.
The Busenitz Pro's actually have super good impact protection! Some other shoes that come to mind would be the Etnies Marana, Etnies Joslin or Joslin 2, Adidas 3ST.004, Adidas Tyshawn Pro, New Balance 1010, Nike Dunks, éS Accel Slim & OG, Lakai Atlantic, or any of the FootPrint shoes. There's more but those were just a few that came to mind. Cheers! - Tim
