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Sat Oct 01, 2011 2:50 pm

i just picked up a 73 Thing for like cheap the main problem right now is the rear right wheel.

it that a busted CV joint?

Sat Oct 01, 2011 3:41 pm

Verify that everything looks okay on the spring plate.

I would be concerned about the torsion bar.

Sat Oct 01, 2011 3:53 pm

blsthng wrote: Verify that everything looks okay on the spring plate.

I would be concerned about the torsion bar.

but that CV joint is toast right?

Sat Oct 01, 2011 4:36 pm

it **looks** like the cv joint is toast... but i think that something caused it to look like its current state. I seriously doubt the cv joint is still good, but you can take it off and tell to be 100% sure... that whole wheel area has some weird angles going on... i would be concerned about the torsion bar as well

Sat Oct 01, 2011 8:43 pm

CV's look weird when at full droop. The boot looks bad and needs replacing, but I really don't see anything wrong with the joint. The angle of the stub axle does look kind of funky though. Something would have to be bent or worn badly to cause that, assuming it came from the factory straight in the first place.

One side of mine is kind of the same way. I can find nothing obvious, so either it is a factory defect or somehow the trailing arm has been bent a couple of degrees. :cry:

Sat Oct 01, 2011 8:57 pm

Your trailing arm is bent. The stub axle should be horizontal, not kicked up to the outside. Compare it to the other side to confirm this. It could be straightened, but it may be easier (not necessarily cheaper) to find a good used one. The Thing arms are different than the Bug's. Good luck!

Sun Oct 02, 2011 7:38 am

Could be an optical illusion. I would measure things before replacing stuff. But for sure the boot need replacing (at that time you can inspect the CV joint).

Sun Oct 02, 2011 9:18 am

Im with Brown, torsion arm is bent. If you look where the cv and drum are mounted you can see that there is an upward angle to it. I would source out another thing arm rather then try and straighten it. Try the classifieds or Kubelmann, or Basso

Sun Oct 02, 2011 11:17 am

thats what caught my eye first.just go ahead also drop the axles inspect repair and repack cv's. replace boots.inpect everything back there...
wbrown45 wrote: Your trailing arm is bent. The stub axle should be horizontal, not kicked up to the outside. Compare it to the other side to confirm this. It could be straightened, but it may be easier (not necessarily cheaper) to find a good used one. The Thing arms are different than the Bug's. Good luck!

Sun Oct 02, 2011 12:06 pm

Yeah it was involved in a collision. I was hoping that it was a broken joint. When off the stands that side has major neg camber. I'll check those resources you all mentioned.

Sun Oct 02, 2011 7:48 pm

tenseventythree wrote: Yeah it was involved in a collision. I was hoping that it was a broken joint. When off the stands that side has major neg camber. I'll check those resources you all mentioned.

i'm looking at a little over $100 for a new trailing arm. What would it take just to bend it back?

Sun Oct 02, 2011 7:48 pm

tenseventythree wrote: Yeah it was involved in a collision. I was hoping that it was a broken joint. When off the stands that side has major neg camber. I'll check those resources you all mentioned.

i'm looking at a little over $100 for a new trailing arm. What would it take just to bend it back?

Sun Oct 02, 2011 9:32 pm

tenseventythree wrote: tenseventythree wrote: Yeah it was involved in a collision. I was hoping that it was a broken joint. When off the stands that side has major neg camber. I'll check those resources you all mentioned.

i'm looking at a little over $100 for a new trailing arm. What would it take just to bend it back?

Just buy the arm. You could spend $100 trying to get the bent one straightened and it still might not be right.

Mon Oct 03, 2011 4:23 am

A few years back, I spun out on an icy morning going over a bridge that goes over an irrigation canal (pretty inexperienced driver at that point and definitely didn't have any sort of meaningful traction on my tires). Ended up doing a full 180 and ran into the curb on the other side sideways. Unseated the driver rear tire and also bent the diagonal arm (trailing arm). I ended up just replacing it with another used one because it was cheaper and by far easier than trying to figure out how to bend the original. I was not sure how you could bend it accurately (particularly if you don't know how far off it is to begin with) and I am not convinced that you wouldn't weaken it in the process. I seem to recall that once the bent one was off the car, it was pretty hard to tell it was bent just from looking at it. Please don't sell yours and put it back in the parts circulation. Or at least be very clear that it is bent if you do.

Mon Oct 03, 2011 6:10 am

Makes sense to replace it. And yeah. I'm not gonna misrepresent any parts I sell or give away as good if they aren't. That's bad karma.

Is it a tough procedure to remove and replace? I was going to attempt to adjust the camber on my bug by adjusting the torsion awhile back and I got a lot of responses that read "take it to a shop!"

What is the basic procedure?

Mon Oct 03, 2011 10:41 am

It is not a very tough job. Air tools would make it a less time consuming process. If you can take out the C.V. axles, then you should be able to do this. You will need a 17 mm allen socket to take out the trailing arm pivot bolt.

Mon Oct 03, 2011 3:22 pm

Hey 1073,

I got the impression from your first post that you were interested in fixing your Thing. Now I am getting the feeling that you are parting it out.

What's the scoop, repair or part out?

Wish I was living back in El Paso/Las Cruces again.

Tue Oct 04, 2011 9:49 am

GMByers wrote: Hey 1073,

I got the impression from your first post that you were interested in fixing your Thing. Now I am getting the feeling that you are parting it out.

What's the scoop, repair or part out?

Wish I was living back in El Paso/Las Cruces again.

Absolutely not. This is a repair/restore
I am replacing the passenger trailing arm is all. For now
No I don't part out. I'm a borderline hoarder.
Although I have sold an odd extra part or two.

Mon Oct 17, 2011 8:48 am

Is the rear trailing arm compatible with a beetle?

Wed Mar 14, 2012 3:34 pm

Alright, i got a trailing arm from KMann.
replaced that.

ended up having to replace BOTH CV joints and one boot.

that was tricky but a lot like a rubik's cube.

NEXT:
Firing it up!

I'm getting the battery charged, gonna check all ignition essentials and see if that starter is any good.