TheSamba.com :: View topic

Tue Feb 07, 2012 7:22 pm

You got an odd ball there. The torsion tubes are farther apart on the ball joint beam and the towers are link pin. Id go for the link pin versions and you would probably sit 1" higher than the full link pin version on deflation. If the LP ones lays pan with the offroad lower mount relocators, you should be very close with the bj beam with lp towers.

Tue Feb 07, 2012 9:09 pm

Ace wrote: You got an odd ball there. The torsion tubes are farther apart on the ball joint beam and the towers are link pin. Id go for the link pin versions and you would probably sit 1" higher than the full link pin version on deflation. If the LP ones lays pan with the offroad lower mount relocators, you should be very close with the bj beam with lp towers.

OK so what air shock # MA ???

Sun Feb 12, 2012 3:31 pm

Airkewld wrote: buggyboyshane wrote: support is minimal, and never more than a sentence.

Are you serious?

pm sent

Wed Feb 29, 2012 3:33 pm

Maybe stupid question, but it is always better to ask before doing.
WHY DO NOT USE THE SAME AIR SHOCKS AS IN FRONT AT THE BACK OF 1959 BUG? Right now I have the same (not air ride) in front and back.
Thanks in advance for all answers.

Wed Feb 29, 2012 3:52 pm

Buncol wrote: Maybe stupid question, but it is always better to ask before doing.
WHY DO NOT USE THE SAME AIR SHOCKS AS IN FRONT AT THE BACK OF 1959 BUG? Right now I have the same (not air ride) in front and back.
Thanks in advance for all answers.

I think because your shocks in a standard application are only dampening the up and down movements of the suspension. Therefore the same valving and travel rate in the shocks for the front and rear are acceptable. In the front end of the air ride set up, we are wanting to use them to also provide some weight support to achieve the desired ride height as well as some dampening.

Wed Feb 29, 2012 4:15 pm

surfbeetle wrote: Buncol wrote: Maybe stupid question, but it is always better to ask before doing.
WHY DO NOT USE THE SAME AIR SHOCKS AS IN FRONT AT THE BACK OF 1959 BUG? Right now I have the same (not air ride) in front and back.
Thanks in advance for all answers.

I think because your shocks in a standard application are only dampening the up and down movements of the suspension. Therefore the same valving and travel rate in the shocks for the front and rear are acceptable. In the front end of the air ride set up, we are wanting to use them to also provide some weight support to achieve the desired ride height as well as some dampening.

Does it mean that if I use harder shocks (for example from Jeep or so) it would work OK as they are provided for heavier cars.
I am thinking about AirKewld Air Shocks in front (or similar) and Monroe Air-Max Shocks (like this: http://www.monroe.com/products/Max-Air/Shock-Absorbers) at the back, do you think it can work propery?
Thanks!

Wed Mar 14, 2012 9:02 pm

The po put 2 1/2" adjusters on my front beam. What all do I need to do to my front in to make it pop up and down? I don't care about dragging the beam as it is already low. I just want to have fun with it. Thanks go easy I'm new to all of this

Thu Mar 15, 2012 4:05 am

I've found these fittings.

http://www.staniosindustrial.com/Parker_4BLEN4_B_GR_Cap_A_LOK_R_Tube_1_4_In_Thr_p/02p4blen4-b-gr.htm

looks like they will fit straight on and take a 1/4 DOT pipe as supplied in most of the kits. Im in the UK and its about $3 to buy and $60 to post so its not worth the risk.

Can anyone in the US get these, id be quite happy to reimburse them via paypal if they don't work or if you can get more and post them cheaper?

Monroe and their stupid SAE fittings!!!! they need to change to an NTP size male thread so we can all get the fittings easily.

Sat Mar 17, 2012 4:40 pm

Guys I was just thinking, for emergency purposes id like to install a schrader valve into the air line on a t piece, can anyone help me to figure out a way to install a Schrader into act piece in an air line?

Sun Mar 18, 2012 12:45 am

hi Shane im just up the road from you. :)

the best way to do this would be incorporate a tank into your system and fit a schrader valve onto one of the outlet ports, some tanks come with one already installed.

The shocks come with a schrader tee piece but the unions either side are the same as the shocks 7/16-20 UNC. you could use a die to reduce to 1/8 and find a 1/8 to quickfit piece like this.....

http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/fittings-push-in/3719381/

Wed Mar 21, 2012 12:05 pm

I've added shocks to the front with an airlift system, budget around £200 all in. Viair 200 PSI setup ordered with home brew electric valves and 2.5 gallon tank

The compressor mounts to the wing bolts so no drilling required. I used existing holes for all the pipe work and only had to drill for the pressure switch under the dash. I can get the original trunk liner in with no adjustments.

I have an adjustable beam which is about 2 inches from the bottom of the shock tower to the ground so running quite low. I noticed that the height has increased even with no air in the shock but this might settle as its been up on jacks. The torsion leaves are still in place but when i remove the grub screw it will easily hit the floor. The adjusters are at about half way.

After some experimentation I used 1/8 to 1/4 DOT quickfit pipe and tapped it out to 7/16-20 JIC, for the UK guys you can get these fittings from RS cost was £15 for a bag of 5. The tap was £4 on ebay and i used a 9.5 mm bit to get loads of bite on the thread. The most important thing is no air leaks :)

Worked quite well and tested to 100PSI over night and lost 3 PSI. Finding fittings for monroe shocks in the UK is a pain in the ass.

85PSI

0 PSI

Beam at 10PSI 2 inches off the ground and at 1/2 way on the adjusters

100PSI

10PSI

I'm going to run like this for a month or so and then take the adjusters out. The ride even at 100PSI is surprisingly comfortable. 30 secs up and 10 secs down.

Surprisingly the car sits higher at 0 PSI now than on my original shortened shocks. I know i will badly want to hit the deck as im not entirely happy just yet.

By the way what p code are the 756s?

Thu Mar 29, 2012 10:38 am

Mr. Unpopular wrote: I have some new pics of my bug. For those of you scoring at home, Monroe MA-756's, 5" narrowed BJ beam (cut shock towers and body below the gas tank). Wheels are now Marathon 15x4.5 ET34. Front tires are 155-60-15, rears are 205-60-15. It will go low enough to set the shock towers on the ground. I am thinking of trimming the bottom of the shock towers off at the bottom torsion tube and capping them, and cutting the lip off on the front of the pan where the beam sits. I can then go about 1/2" lower. Rear is 2 inner clicks down. Thinking of going down one more inner click if I have tire room.

BTW, the white line in front of the bug in this pic is the shock tower leaving it's mark. The other one is there but feint.

You have drop spindles right?

Thu Mar 29, 2012 10:59 am

Rust2Rods wrote: I've been watching this thread and interested in doing this to my bug. Just wondering why go through the trouble of trying to locate grade 8 all thread?
I found these:

http://www.dealparts.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=P...gory_Code=
Empi Thru Rods $17.20 pr

http://www.dealparts.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=P...gory_Code=
Empi Beam Clamps $15.40 qty 4

So for about 33 bucks for these parts plus shipping, no need to install adjusters on the beam, add the air shocks for another say $70.00 and you are good to go.
I was also going to look into the delrin bushings for my beam or was going to go with the Empi Urethane kit since it should be rebuilt.

So is there any reason why this can't be done this way using the air shocks, the thru rods, no beam adjusters installed? I would imagine it's the same thing as setting up a offroad front end using coil overs.

Can someone explain how the through rods work and attach??? Pics?

Thu Mar 29, 2012 1:35 pm

Take a look at Pete's website. He's got it nailed down. Check out the parts and watch the videos.

http://airkewld.com/index.php?page=shop.product_de...Itemid=252

Thu Mar 29, 2012 2:25 pm

The Airkewld through bars from Limebug (authorised dealer in the UK) are more than $250 :shock: seriously where do you find the $217 difference from the EMPI ones? Its just a bit of threaded bar and some washers and thread locking nuts.....

If i was going to splash that much i would get something thats properly engineered like the bars used in the red9design coilover kit. They actually allow you to keep the original torsion bar grub screws in the trailing arms and beam adjusters as well and the beam looks totally stock. I believe they can make any length you specify but come in several off the shelf sizes. They are stabilized in the middle with your adjuster grub screw and the ends allow the trailing arms to swivel freely with no side to side movement on cornering.

The big bonus is there is no chance your steering will foul on those washers and castle nuts sticking out the end. I wouldnt feel safe with those anyway.

some images.

through bar ends

middle grub dimple

in the kit.

In no way am i affiliated with red9 (other kits are available)

Just my 2 pence (cents)

Thu Mar 29, 2012 7:22 pm

So I ordered the Airkewld shocks last weekend, should be here soon. I have a 3 1/2 inch narrowed beam with adjusters I got used from a friend and I have CB Performance dropped spindles. The way my adjusters are in the beam were designed for my friend's car that did not have dropped spindles. With my spindles, and the adjusters all of the way up, I am still very low.

The question is this, can I remove the center screw on the beam and then run my air shocks to raise it back up a bit? Will there be any issues using the stock (but shortened) beam torsions with no grub screw? If I need to buy through rods, I will but my beam as I said is 3.5 inches narrowed, not 3 or 4 like what Airkewld sells.

thanks

Fri Mar 30, 2012 12:42 am

surfbeetle wrote: So I ordered the Airkewld shocks last weekend, should be here soon. I have a 3 1/2 inch narrowed beam with adjusters I got used from a friend and I have CB Performance dropped spindles. The way my adjusters are in the beam were designed for my friend's car that did not have dropped spindles. With my spindles, and the adjusters all of the way up, I am still very low.

The question is this, can I remove the center screw on the beam and then run my air shocks to raise it back up a bit? Will there be any issues using the stock (but shortened) beam torsions with no grub screw? If I need to buy through rods, I will but my beam as I said is 3.5 inches narrowed, not 3 or 4 like what Airkewld sells.

thanks

dont remove the centre grub screw if you are running torsions (shortened or stock) you will get side to side movement of the trailing arms especially when you corner. That centre grub screw is stopping this motion. that is the whole point of through bar that the torsions arms are tightened in from each end and held firm.

Your ride will be even stiffer with shorter torsions the more pressure you have in the bags.

You need to buy a bar thats just longer then your required length and cut it with a grinder. I think alot of people are missing the point here. This is just a long piece of threaded bar. Its nothing special and you can get it cheap-as-chips from most hardware stores.

Fri Mar 30, 2012 8:07 pm

Okay, I think I got the idea here. Use a grade 8 threaded rod and cut down, this means no grub screw or I suppose one could drill the rod and make an indent for the grub screw. Also I like the idea of the locking nuts on the end, anyone know the specs of the locking thru rod clamps from empi? Also what diameter and thread pitch should I look for in the rod?

Fri Mar 30, 2012 11:17 pm

Earlybay wrote: surfbeetle wrote: So I ordered the Airkewld shocks last weekend, should be here soon. I have a 3 1/2 inch narrowed beam with adjusters I got used from a friend and I have CB Performance dropped spindles. The way my adjusters are in the beam were designed for my friend's car that did not have dropped spindles. With my spindles, and the adjusters all of the way up, I am still very low.

The question is this, can I remove the center screw on the beam and then run my air shocks to raise it back up a bit? Will there be any issues using the stock (but shortened) beam torsions with no grub screw? If I need to buy through rods, I will but my beam as I said is 3.5 inches narrowed, not 3 or 4 like what Airkewld sells.

thanks

dont remove the centre grub screw if you are running torsions (shortened or stock) you will get side to side movement of the trailing arms especially when you corner. That centre grub screw is stopping this motion. that is the whole point of through bar that the torsions arms are tightened in from each end and held firm.

Your ride will be even stiffer with shorter torsions the more pressure you have in the bags.

You need to buy a bar thats just longer then your required length and cut it with a grinder. I think alot of people are missing the point here. This is just a long piece of threaded bar. Its nothing special and you can get it cheap-as-chips from most hardware stores.

first off thank you, i finally understand the purpose of a through rod. but now heres a few ?'s, first im on stock rims, drop spindles, ma756, am i gonna be able to lay beam with grub screws? if not how do i get the ends off my torsion arms to instert the through rods?

Sat Mar 31, 2012 5:26 am

aperry2006 wrote: .......how do i get the ends off my torsion arms to instert the through rods?

With the torsion arms off the front beam, you simply knock the caps out with a punch and a hammer. They're just sheet metal caps, like a freeze plug in a V-8. They come out really easy.