Anybody ever had a radius arm break?

[GMByers]

Last week my son was pulling out of the school parking lot, the radius arm on the 91 Vanagon broke. BD said it was part # 251-407-059A.

He scanned page 40.8 of the Bentley and circled figure 1 [strut bar removal] and said the broken piece was the part with the treads and "a" above it.

I've sent a couple of emails trying to source the part; received one negative reply and no reply from the other. And I just placed a WTB ad.

Has anyone else had their radius arm break? Seems to me to be a rather substantial rod that would not just give way.

Gary
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And then there were two...downsized to 83 Doka &
74 Thing.

[IdahoDoug]

That is a pretty stout piece. Could it be it was damaged previously in an accident and straightened with heat? VW specifically warns against welding on or repairing suspension parts. Where did it break? Going to get my Bentley now out of curiousity as I was thinking of changing out the bushings on this beast of a rod before I button the front end up. This may make that higher on the list...

Anyhow, I've heard of people breaking the other threaded rod close to this which is the stabilizer bar link. Could it be that he's meaning that one? It's only about 10 inches long and is vertical (where the rod you're discussing is much longer and horizontal).

DougM
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1987 2WD Wolfsburg Vanagon Weekender "Mango", two fully locked 80 Series LandCruisers. 2017 Subaru Outback boxer. 1990 Audi 90 Quattro 20V with rear locking differential, 1990 burgundy parts Vanagon. 1984 Porsche 944, 1993 Toyota LandCruiser, 2002 BMW 325iX, 1982 Toyota Sunrader

[Vanagon Nut]

[GMByers]

DougM, Neil,

I don't think it was previously in an accident. I've owned it for 13 years and put over 100,000 miles on it since.

I don't know exactly where or how it is broke, or as Neil suggested, maybe it is the subframe. My son described the piece as being about 18 inches long.

To complicate my issue, the van is in PA and I'm in Korea, so right now all I have to go by is the Bentley drawing. I've been trying to get my son to email me a couple of pictures.

Neil, thanks for the repair photos...at least I know that if this is my problem, there is a solution.

Worse case, the van will just be parked in the driveway until I get home next July.

Gary
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And then there were two...downsized to 83 Doka &
74 Thing.

[insyncro]

Anybody ever had a radius arm break?

Only in a Syncro.
I hit a submerged rock during a stream crossing.
I tried to bend it back and it snapped.
The story was much longer....I am trying to forget about that offroad session.
Plus it was connected to the late lower control arm.
They are very hard to come by.


dylan

[Vanagon Nut]

[Captain Pike]

Location in Pa? Near 19344?
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LEARN TO SELF RESCUE
59 Panel bus, 1966 Single cab. 73' 181. 73 Westy. 91' H6 Vanagon 3.3L.
....Bad Sneakers....

[IdahoDoug]

It's actually not difficult to replace that part, in fact the hard part's done - removing the rusted bolts to get the old part off. So, if you can find a new one it wouldn't be much to lead him through it. Would need an alignment, but the truck would be mobile right away.

DougM
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1987 2WD Wolfsburg Vanagon Weekender "Mango", two fully locked 80 Series LandCruisers. 2017 Subaru Outback boxer. 1990 Audi 90 Quattro 20V with rear locking differential, 1990 burgundy parts Vanagon. 1984 Porsche 944, 1993 Toyota LandCruiser, 2002 BMW 325iX, 1982 Toyota Sunrader

[GMByers]

Kaiser Soze,
Location in Pa? Near 19344?

No, My van is over 5 hrs away from you, in Sheffield.

Doug,
I agree that it looks like a straight forward job to change it, but I have to have another one to replace it with. Hopefully I can score one through my want ad.

I know most of the salvage yards in the area, and there is not a Vanagon to be found. Maybe I can send my son to a salvage yard and have the place search online through the salvage network.

Oh well, at least the '02 Eurovan is not in storage.

Thanks guys
Gary
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And then there were two...downsized to 83 Doka &
74 Thing.

[GMByers]

Finally got my son to send me a photo of the break. The arm is definitely broken. Using Neil's top photo as a reference, it is broken to the right side of the nut, so the two nuts are still holding the bushings in place.

I would post a photo, but apparently the ability to post pictures is beyond my computer skills because I'll still haven't figured out how to despite numerous attempts.

As soon as I get to the post office to send a postal money order I'll have two brand new ones headed to PA.

And you know how it goes....as long as the area is being worked on...might as well as replace all the bushings. The occasional repairs are still cheaper than making monthly payments.

Gary
_________________
And then there were two...downsized to 83 Doka &
74 Thing.

[MarkWard]

If there is enough material on both broken halves, could it be sleeved? If your son can remove it, a local welding shop should be able to sleeve and repair it. The world is held together with welds. When a replacement comes available you could then replace the repaired one. Just an idea.

[syncrodoka]

But he has 2 new ones on the way

[GMByers]

Thanks to Ken aka "corradoken" the two new radius rods arrived at my home in PA a couple of days ago.

This morning my son and brother-in-law began to tackle the replacement. Of course the first thing they realized was that none of us had actually ordered the new bushings....cue the finger-pointing.

When they got the broken radius arm off, they found the hole in the subframe rounded out as Neil described/showed in his pictures. So, I emailed my son the link to his repair.

Monday they will order the bushings (enough to do both sides) from BD, so perhaps next weekend they will be able to complete the repair....might as well put the other new rod on the other side.

I'm just glad that (knock on wood here) they didn't save the repair for my return home next July.

Again, Neil, thanks for the photos and the link. And thanks to Ken for answering my Samba want ad.

Gary
_________________
And then there were two...downsized to 83 Doka &
74 Thing.

[JoshG]

I just broke my "radius arm"/"strut bar" right at the same place as you described - at the backing nut on the subframe. I hit a large pot hole on the highway doing about 65 MPH - not fun!

After removing the nuts and bushings I can see that the hole in the subframe is very rusted. My question is what was the original diameter? How can I tell if it is worn out and needs to be repaired?

Also, when you ordered your new bushings did you where you able to get a sleeve too?

[GMByers]

Josh,

I'm not sure of the diameter of the hole. I would guess that it is supposed to be just big enough for the sleeve to fit through.

Ken sent me the sleeves with the radius rods. I just searched van cafe and they have the sleeve part #VC.251.407.097 listed for $9.25.

My son and brother-in-law have patched the hole and replaced the broken rod. Now the van just needs a front end alignment.

As luck would have it, I found out that, next weekend, flying from Korea to Florida for a week long conference. When the conference is over, I'm going to surprise my family by flying to PA for Christmas. On my "honey-do" list is replacing the other rod, getting the front end aligned, and a new inspection sticker.

Gary
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And then there were two...downsized to 83 Doka &
74 Thing.

[JoshG]

Gary,

Thanks so much for your help! Gotta love the Samba community.

I hope you enjoy your "honey-do" list and your visit with the family for the holidays!

Cheers.

Josh

[MarkWard]

I recall the rubber bushings have shoulders that fit into the hole from both sides, but I could be wrong. I don't have the diameter.

[Christopher Schimke]

[peasant]

[Williamtaylor33]

Pm sent
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89 Bostig powered syncro westy