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Sun Jan 07, 2007 6:06 pm

well guys i need some info on the right way to lower the rear of my 63
what would be the easiest and best way?

Sun Jan 07, 2007 6:40 pm

http://www.geocities.com/aussiebug1970/rearaxle.html :wink:

search next time, itll make it easier for you in the long run :lol:

Sun Jan 07, 2007 7:54 pm

Try this link - it helped me:
http://www.meyersmanx.com/garage/garage_suspend.htm

Wed May 30, 2007 2:09 am

Get professional advice.

________________
Mike
Kenwood TS-480HX / TS-480SAT - TS-480HX/TS-480SAT HF/50MHz All-Mode Transceiver by Kenwood Communications Division

Tue Jun 12, 2007 4:37 pm

I have been at it the last couple of days getting my car leveled out.I finally got it with the help of a chart that a fellow Samba member posted.It is in this post and is very usefull.http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=237102

Fri Jun 15, 2007 4:29 pm

Will this work on a 66 Type 1 ? Seems fairly straight foward. All four parts are there to watch start to finish. I'm sure it was easier since it had already been lowered a few times but still gives you a good idea how to do it correctly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WA5jYrkwewg

Sun Jun 17, 2007 11:00 pm

junk4cash wrote: Will this work on a 66 Type 1 ? Seems fairly straight foward. All four parts are there to watch start to finish. I'm sure it was easier since it had already been lowered a few times but still gives you a good idea how to do it correctly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WA5jYrkwewg

It's similar..but that is IRS not swingaxle. Basically the same procedure..

Mon Jul 09, 2007 6:53 pm

firemanjim wrote: I have been at it the last couple of days getting my car leveled out.I finally got it with the help of a chart that a fellow Samba member posted.It is in this post and is very usefull.http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=237102

I've been looking for this chart for a couple of weeks now and just could not remember where i seen it. Thanks.

Mon Jul 09, 2007 7:19 pm

Just did mine this past weekend. One big tip, by an inclometer ! I thought I would be able to mark the teeth and just go one notch but it wasn't that easy. Didn't have the best lighting and when you pull the spring plate off, you sort of have to pull it all the way off and then try to figure out what one click would be. I did both sides, let it down and the thing was so low, I couldn't get the jack out from under it. The tires were buried. I'm guessing it was down 3 clicks. I left it for the day and went back the next day to do it alllll over again. This time I had an inclometer and checked the angle. The spring plates were straight across or at 0 on the meter. I went what felt like one click and the new number was near 10. When I bolted everything back together, the number was 5 on both sides. I lowered the jack and the thing looked like it was back to stock height. I was just sick to my stomach. All that work and nothing gained. I then remembered what my buddy told me about the wheels being pitched in at the bottom when you first let it down. So I backed it out and the thing dropped quite a bit. Not sure if I'm one or two clicks down, but I'm very happy with where it sits and how it drives. I'll post pics asap.

Wed Aug 08, 2007 7:24 am

Does anyone have a template or dimensions for notching the springplates?

Wed Aug 08, 2007 9:38 am

Lee. wrote: Does anyone have a template or dimensions for notching the springplates?

Tue Aug 14, 2007 8:26 am

I can't be the only one who thinks bugs look like sh*t when people lower the rear by screwing with the splines. It looks like the car is trying to take a dump. Not to mention the increased tire wear and the decreased safety as your contact patch is now halved. Honestly, if I wanted to lower my car I certainly wouldn't do it this way. Can't you get a late model double jointed tranny and do it that way?

Tue Aug 14, 2007 11:32 am

owokie wrote: I can't be the only one who thinks bugs look like sh*t when people lower the rear by screwing with the splines. It looks like the car is trying to take a dump. Not to mention the increased tire wear and the decreased safety as your contact patch is now halved. Honestly, if I wanted to lower my car I certainly wouldn't do it this way. Can't you get a late model double jointed tranny and do it that way?

If you don't have anything nice to say, then just keep your mouth shut.

Fri Aug 17, 2007 9:45 am

Germanpride wrote: owokie wrote: I can't be the only one who thinks bugs look like sh*t when people lower the rear by screwing with the splines. It looks like the car is trying to take a dump. Not to mention the increased tire wear and the decreased safety as your contact patch is now halved. Honestly, if I wanted to lower my car I certainly wouldn't do it this way. Can't you get a late model double jointed tranny and do it that way?

If you don't have anything nice to say, then just keep your mouth shut.

Consider it a public service announcement. If it prevents someone from lowering their ride that way and making it unsafe, great.

Fri Aug 17, 2007 3:30 pm

owokie wrote: I can't be the only one who thinks bugs look like sh*t when people lower the rear by screwing with the splines. It looks like the car is trying to take a dump. Not to mention the increased tire wear and the decreased safety as your contact patch is now halved. Honestly, if I wanted to lower my car I certainly wouldn't do it this way. Can't you get a late model double jointed tranny and do it that way?

The neat thing about radial tires is that the contact patch stays about the same. The inner sidewall just flexes more.

Apart from that, this is a "how to" thread, not a "should I?" or "how does it look?" thread.

Wed Aug 29, 2007 3:47 pm

has anyone used the table that firemanjim posted? im lookin to lower the rear of my '64. the guy i bought it from said it was lowered in the back one notch (he didnt say inner or outer). i only have the adjustable front beam all the way down; no drop spindles. if i took the back down another notch would it be close to level? maybe still stick up a little more than the front? i dont want it to be lower than the front and i dont wana put drop spindles on it. i would go get professional advise but the local dude wont look at anything without charging somthin.

Sat Sep 08, 2007 10:30 am

I had the same problem lowering the rear of my 67. What felt like on spline endend up slaming the sucker to the floor. Then what felt like one back up ended up giving me a enough ground clearance to be a 4x4. make sure you mark where you started with a chisel so if you go like me and do it three times you will know where you originaly started. Practice makes perfect. I think the rear looks good taking a "dump". Also make sure you dont pull the torsion bar out of the inner splines when taking off the spring plate or you will have a whole nother issue. Some grease makes things move alot easier! Inclometer is a must also if you want to be absolute.

Wed Sep 19, 2007 3:08 am

|I've been having the same problem trying to return to stock height, i found this link http://www.swayaway.com/TechRoom_VWguides.php and thought it might be useful to post here

Wed Sep 26, 2007 8:37 pm

Just thought I would add two suggestions....

1. I used a hack saw blade to cut a scribe line at vertical with my rear in my jackstands fully extended...that marked both the inner and outer splines for reference.

2. When pulling the swingarms out, I set my air hamer at about 20 psi in the center of the torsion bar...this ensures the inners stay in and allows me to easily pull the swingarms out.

Thu Sep 27, 2007 3:32 pm

67 Shane wrote: I had the same problem lowering the rear of my 67. What felt like on spline endend up slaming the sucker to the floor. Then what felt like one back up ended up giving me a enough ground clearance to be a 4x4. make sure you mark where you started with a chisel so if you go like me and do it three times you will know where you originaly started. Practice makes perfect. I think the rear looks good taking a "dump". Also make sure you dont pull the torsion bar out of the inner splines when taking off the spring plate or you will have a whole nother issue. Some grease makes things move alot easier! Inclometer is a must also if you want to be absolute.

:lol: Sounds like me. When I lowered mine, I did it by eyeball, and got it just right. My friend says "That's too low.", so I try to raise it some.
After about 6 attempts (that's a hella lot of work: take it apart, put it together, set it down. Repeat, repeat, repeat, etc) I bought the inclinometer/protractor thingy and did it right.