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wridej
Samba Member
Joined: February 24, 2015
Posts: 19
Location: Perth, Western Australia
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 Posted: Fri Aug 21, 2015 7:14 pm Post subject: Front torsion arm help |
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So I had a go at lowering the front of my Notch and followed this guide which also helped me with the rear.
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=188457
But now I'm in a bit of trouble. I didn't know I wasn't supposed to completely remove the pinch bolt and now I can't get it to thread back in.
Of course I read after I took it out that it can be very difficult to get back in without stripping the bolt. I've also read that you don't even have to undo this bolt anyway but I'm unsure. Hopefully someone can shed some light on this.
So is there any way I can get it back in? Or could I just roadkill it and put a longer bolt with a nut on the other end to hold it?
Still new.. still learning from every mistake I make.  |
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Yabbadubbadoo
Samba Member
Joined: May 21, 2012
Posts: 914
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| Posted: Fri Aug 21, 2015 8:28 pm Post subject: |
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I doubt you're gonna get the answer you want to hear but looks to me like you have to assemble it from scratch with the proper bolt. Don't cobble it together. I don't see why you can't remove the lock bolt from the top swaybar/torsion rod and push it out so it disconnects it from acting in unison with the opposite wheel then drop your wheel spindle down carefully by supporting the weight (the one requiring the bolt in the lower ball joint). Looking at your pic the only thing stopping you dropping that wheel spindle down to get that bolt back in is the top arm which is connected via its internal sway bar to the opposite side wheel. That's why you won't be able to lift the ball joint out or drop the spindle down at this point to put the bolt back in.
If you feel uncomfortable disconnecting the sway bar you can always unlock the top ball joint and drop the spindle that way but it could get a little awkward to do by yourself.
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Sydney, Australia.
66 Type 3 Fastback |
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wridej
Samba Member
Joined: February 24, 2015
Posts: 19
Location: Perth, Western Australia
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| Posted: Fri Aug 21, 2015 10:54 pm Post subject: |
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| Bummer. What a mess I've got myself into. Thankfully I only took one side out. |
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Mike Fisher
Samba Member
Joined: January 30, 2006
Posts: 17970
Location: Eugene, OR
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| Posted: Sat Aug 22, 2015 8:41 am Post subject: |
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I messed up the threads on my bolts not taking the pressure off them with my jack, while removing them. I bought/ordered new strong Grade 12 Allen head bolts at my local Specialty Fastener store.
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https://imgur.com/user/FisherSquareback/posts
69 FI/AT square Daily Driver
66 sunroof,67,70,71,71,71AT,72,72AT,73 Parts
two 57 oval ragtops sold
'68 Karmann Ghia sold
Society is like stew. If you don't keep it stirred up you end up with a lot of scum on the top! - Russ_Wolfe/Edward Abbey |
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Bobnotch
Samba Member
Joined: July 06, 2003
Posts: 22431
Location: Kimball, Mi
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| Posted: Sat Aug 22, 2015 12:50 pm Post subject: Re: Front torsion arm help |
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| wridej wrote: |
So I had a go at lowering the front of my Notch and followed this guide which also helped me with the rear.
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=188457
But now I'm in a bit of trouble. I didn't know I wasn't supposed to completely remove the pinch bolt and now I can't get it to thread back in.
Of course I read after I took it out that it can be very difficult to get back in without stripping the bolt. I've also read that you don't even have to undo this bolt anyway but I'm unsure. Hopefully someone can shed some light on this.
So is there any way I can get it back in? Or could I just roadkill it and put a longer bolt with a nut on the other end to hold it?
Still new.. still learning from every mistake I make. |
What I've found is that the ball joint actually eats the threads off the bolt when removing it, whilst not lifting the the lower arm. The bolt itself is kind of special, in that it's a 10.9 grade bolt with an extended shoulder to hold the ball joint in place. If you could a similar sized bolt (shoulder part, and grade, even though it's longer), you could use that in it's place. I normally wedge a screw driver (actually tap it in place) into the slot, as that allows the clamping forces to release the ball joint.
You could remove the 30mm nut on the top ball joint to release the hold the opposite side of the car has on it (like mentioned above), but if you're only lowering/raising, then you only need to mess with the lower ball joint.
Definitely use a longer bolt in the other end of the torsion bar to allow the bar to slip out of the splines for adjusting it, then replace with the short bolt that was in place.
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Bob 65 Notch S with Sunroof
71 Notch ...aka Krunchy; build pics here;
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=249390 -been busy working
64 T-34 Ghia...aka Wolfie, under construction... http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=412120
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| "Friends are God's way of apologizing for relatives." |
| Tram wrote: |
| People keep confusing "restored" and "restroyed". |
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wridej
Samba Member
Joined: February 24, 2015
Posts: 19
Location: Perth, Western Australia
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| Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2015 8:13 am Post subject: |
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I'm looking at the diagrams in my Haynes manual and it shows the lower ball joint as having a sort of cone shape where it sits on the clamp.
Would that and the downward forces from the torsion bar be why I can't thread anything into it because it's being stretched outwards? So if I released that tension a little by raising the lower torsion arm with a jack could I maybe thread a new bolt in? I can't try as I have to go find a new bolt now.
That's just me being logical but I've learnt that logical isn't always right when it comes to these kind of things.
If I did botch it together just for a drive down to someone who could help me reassemble everything would that be a problem?
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1972 Honey Brown Aussie Notchback |
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Bobnotch
Samba Member
Joined: July 06, 2003
Posts: 22431
Location: Kimball, Mi
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| Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2015 9:55 am Post subject: |
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| wridej wrote: |
I'm looking at the diagrams in my Haynes manual and it shows the lower ball joint as having a sort of cone shape where it sits on the clamp.
Would that and the downward forces from the torsion bar be why I can't thread anything into it because it's being stretched outwards? So if I released that tension a little by raising the lower torsion arm with a jack could I maybe thread a new bolt in? I can't try as I have to go find a new bolt now.
That's just me being logical but I've learnt that logical isn't always right when it comes to these kind of things.
If I did botch it together just for a drive down to someone who could help me reassemble everything would that be a problem? |
Yes, putting a jack under the lower shock mount will help take some load off, and allow the bolt to pass thru.
_________________
Bob 65 Notch S with Sunroof
71 Notch ...aka Krunchy; build pics here;
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=249390 -been busy working
64 T-34 Ghia...aka Wolfie, under construction... http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=412120
| Tram wrote: |
| "Friends are God's way of apologizing for relatives." |
| Tram wrote: |
| People keep confusing "restored" and "restroyed". |
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