Split Front Beam Teardown (was: "Removing trailing arms

[johnshenry]

I'm tearing down a VERY crusty '52 front beam and have the spindles off. Took the set screws out of the trailing arms but can't get them to slip off the spring bar. Any ideas? I whacked the link pin end a bit with hammer and wooden block but that doesn't seem like a good idea.

Don't care if I trash the seals but still can see a way to pry into that gap, and would probably munge up the end of the torsion tubes.

I can see the end of the torsion spring/bar, ideally if I could get a wheel puller on it (I have many sizes) I could pull it off.

Any ideas???
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John Henry

'57 Deluxe
'51 11E Standard Sunroof (PhotoBucket resto pics)

[Chris Vellat]

Compressed air?
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(3) '69's
'67 Baja
'74 Super
'73 Bay
(2) '77's

[66brm]

Are the trailing arms seized to the beam or just the spring pack? May need to soak them in penetrating fluid or add a bit of heat to get them loose
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Aust. RHD 66 Type 1
Aust. RHD 57 Type 1 Oval

[johnshenry]

No they are free in the beam, stuck on the spring pack. One end doesn't have the rubber snubber, but I think the arm is still against the snubber post. Ah, I just though of something, take the center set screw loose so there is no torsional load on the arms.
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John Henry

'57 Deluxe
'51 11E Standard Sunroof (PhotoBucket resto pics)

[Chris Vellat]

[DDub]

John, if you take all three set screws out and use a square piece of steel just smaller then the combined torsion bars couldn't you tap the bars out of the trailing arm? You would be useing the beam as the stripper.

[johnshenry]

[splitjunkie]

[splitjunkie]

[johnshenry]

[drscope]

Is this both arms or just one side?

If you can get one arm off, just pull the spring pack with the stuck arm.

Then after you clean away all the goo a bit you can put it up in the vise and drive the springs out. Sometimes using a smaller punch and just trying to work one leaf out is enough to get the rest to break free.
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Mother Nature is a Mean Evil Bitch!

[chthemonkey]

I had a simalar problem with a short shock beam. I used a bearing puller the type with the long bolt not a slide hammer one and it came off easy. you may want to use a bit of rubber or somthing so not to dammage the trailing arms it dident matter with mine as they had been cut. hope this helps.

[Keoki]

You can make an adapter to fit a crank gear puller using 3/8 plate....?


example;




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Peev's; People that pretend to be something there "NOT"......

[johnshenry]

I got it all apart last night.

The "easy trick" is definitely:

1) Remove the nut and set screw from one side, and at the center.

2) Tap/hammer the spring pack from the end with the removed set screw, pushing the other end out. I actually used an air chisel with a blunt/stub .401 bit that was considerably smaller in diameter than the spring pack end. It didn't take much to move it, and once in about 2", the trailing arm was free. A brass punch/bar would probably be the best and safest method.

3) Take the nut/set screw out of the other end, and tap the spring pack back toward the beam, pushing it out of the trailing arm.

4) Slide the spring pack (and about 30 lbs of grease!) out of the beam.

I did this with both the upper and lower tubes/springs. The upper is toughest because the trailing arms will rest on the travel stops even without the snubber in place, putting some light torsional load on the arms.

I initially tried to use a small 2 arm puller to pull the second arm off after pushing it away from the beam with the spring pack, but this is not an option. The seal facing surface of the torsion arm is beveled outward, and any arms will slip off instantly. The gear/bearing puller might work, but you risk munging up the seal face of the arm... and the method I described above works wonderfully.

Some other beam teardown issues I encountered/solved.

Getting the bakelite bushings out was tough until I figured out a trick. Initially I tried to make an ovalled washer dealie for a slide hammer and hook them out, but they wouldn't budge. I finally put a very sharp jig saw blade in a pneumatic reciprocating saw and cut a longitudinal slot in the bushing. Once it went all the way through and I pulled the blade out, the bushing collapsed in diameter a bit and literally fell out. I did no damage to the beam save for a tiny scratch mark. Works like a charm.

Getting all that grease out I have been pondering for a long time. The media blasting shop I use for the big stuff gets really mad when I give them greasy stuff and it contaminates their media. I propped one end of the beam up on a milk crate and laid a propane torch on the down end flame pointing up the tube. I adjusted it for a VERY low flame. As the heat went up the tube, the grease melted and I caught in a tray is it came out. I had to also heat the torsion tube a bit on the outside with the torch to get the grease in the middle where the center bracket is to "flow", initially is was blocking passage. Once I got it clear in the center, LOTS of grease melted and flowed out. It WILL catch fire if you get it too hot, and it makes lots of nasty smoke. But it works well.

I'm sure there are lots of other ways to do this, I was thinking of getting the beam vertical and somehow using a heat gun blowing down the tubes from the top might also work and be safer.

I took some pics last night, will post later. I think I will try to rename this thread "Split front beam tear down". Please chime in with any other ideas/questions.
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John Henry

'57 Deluxe
'51 11E Standard Sunroof (PhotoBucket resto pics)

[johnshenry]

Here's some pics. The heat gun method definitely worked better. No fire, less smoke.

Just have to figure out how to get the inner bushing out now. Any ideas?

{Yeah, in case you were wondering, I always try to have a can of gasoline nearby when I use a torch..................}






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John Henry

'57 Deluxe
'51 11E Standard Sunroof (PhotoBucket resto pics)

[johan_l]

I had an (I think) 49 beam where the arms also was stuck... I tried several things, when I started beating on the torsionbar to push it out almost the way you described, the bar broke. A bit sad, but after that it was easy to dissassemble the rest. But I decided to use another "complete" beam and on that I did not even try to remove the arms...

So take caution, the springs CAN break. And I think they are not replaceble by later springs.
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Johan, Sweden
1960 Karmann-Ghia coupé
1957 Oval window
Bastard Split window <-- Translate

[slow36hp]

1 heavy slide hammer with properly sized and flatted washer
2.same washer put into beam and beat through the center from the opposite side resting the beam on the floor vertically.
3. build a quick puller 1/2"/13 or better same washer in beam attached to all thread running through plate over beam end to nut welded on end. grease the threads, use as large "tall" a nut as possible prefering a coupler nut, and several greased washers under the welded nut

any method other than cutting might like some au jus from your drippings pan.
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1958 custom camper
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=483656

1958 deluxe Parts needed
1 rear hatch
2 rear pressed bumper trim
3 locking t handle
4 safaris
5 front hurst