[Spridgets] Front suspension question

[Robert Weeks]

Thanks to everyone who answered my leaking gas tank question.

I noticed something else when I was working on the brakes yesterday. On 
the driver's side front axle the swivel axle has a bit of slop up and 
down on the kingpin. It's maybe 1/32 - 1/16 of travel.  I pulled the 
cotter pin from the castled nut at the top of the kingpin to see if I 
could adjust it tighter but the nut just turns without tightening which 
leads me to believe that it or the kingpin is stripped. I put the cotter 
pin back in and figured I'd leave well enough alone for now.

My question is, is this at all dangerous? I checked for any up and down 
play on the passenger's side and there is none but I did notice that 
there was another nut on top of the castled nut, so maybe the nut or 
kingpin is stripped on that side too.

We've been hit with a lot of unexpected bills & expenses lately and my 
wife has informed me that the MG expenditures need to be cut back 
substantially for a while. Translation: "we really tight".  So I just 
want to make sure it's safe to drive like this. I'm not looking to 
replace any of this for a good long while if I can avoid it.

Thanks,

Robert