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SolomonMan
Samba Member
Joined: July 18, 2011
Posts: 82
Location: Northwest Ohio
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 Posted: Thu Sep 18, 2014 9:56 am Post subject: 1973 Suspension..... |
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All,
Got a 1973 Super Beetle which is my first beetle but not my first air cooled VW.
Getting a list of things to tackle that's been buggin me a while....LOL...
Anyways here is the deal...The frame tower looks good but I noticed on turns and quick stops the vehicle seems to almost "roll" or bounce in the front.
I am curious besides the strut/shock what else should I look for....From memory the vehicle did not seem to wonder on the road and steering seemed "responsive".
Or another question is this how the bug drives? (First Bug)
Thanks,
Chris
Last edited by SolomonMan on Thu Sep 18, 2014 10:10 am; edited 1 time in total |
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TheAmazingDave
Samba Member
Joined: April 11, 2013
Posts: 788
Location: San Jose, CA
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| Posted: Thu Sep 18, 2014 10:09 am Post subject: |
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Sounds like you have bad struts. You can confirm this with the "bounce test."
Stand on the front bumper to compress the front suspension, then hop off. The front should raise back up and stay there. If it bounces up and down, your front shocks aren't providing any damping force. |
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CWAVE
Samba Member
Joined: September 18, 2008
Posts: 510
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| Posted: Thu Sep 18, 2014 10:30 am Post subject: |
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Understand the "bounce" but roll not sure. If you mean when you jamb on the brakes, the car kinda feels like it rolls forward and backwards a bit when the car has "stopped", I had that happen on a 1971 Super many years ago.
What it turned out being was that the swaybar mounts had rotted out and ripped out of the framehead. Rust and gravity was the only thing holding it in place. The car would roll forward and backward slightly when stopping abruptly.
Check the swaybar, make sure it's solidly affixed to the framehead of your pan.
| xBigDx408x wrote: |
Sounds like you have bad struts. You can confirm this with the "bounce test."
Stand on the front bumper to compress the front suspension, then hop off. The front should raise back up and stay there. If it bounces up and down, your front shocks aren't providing any damping force. |
_________________
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My 1973 Sports Bug Body off Restoration:
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=666556 |
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SolomonMan
Samba Member
Joined: July 18, 2011
Posts: 82
Location: Northwest Ohio
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| Posted: Thu Sep 18, 2014 10:51 am Post subject: |
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| CWAVE wrote: |
Understand the "bounce" but roll not sure. If you mean when you jamb on the brakes, the car kinda feels like it rolls forward and backwards a bit when the car has "stopped", I had that happen on a 1971 Super many years ago.
What it turned out being was that the swaybar mounts had rotted out and ripped out of the framehead. Rust and gravity was the only thing holding it in place. The car would roll forward and backward slightly when stopping abruptly.
Check the swaybar, make sure it's solidly affixed to the framehead of your pan.
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I will take a look at the sway bar....From your description maybe a issue...I plan to rip things down and replace the heater channels and pan....Maybe I will have to do some additional work?...The bug does not seem that rusty pan has no holes but the heater channel in the extreme front and back have issue....Thanks for the tip!
Chris |
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TheAmazingDave
Samba Member
Joined: April 11, 2013
Posts: 788
Location: San Jose, CA
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| Posted: Thu Sep 18, 2014 11:19 am Post subject: |
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| CWAVE wrote: |
Understand the "bounce" but roll not sure. If you mean when you jamb on the brakes, the car kinda feels like it rolls forward and backwards a bit when the car has "stopped", I had that happen on a 1971 Super many years ago.
What it turned out being was that the swaybar mounts had rotted out and ripped out of the framehead. Rust and gravity was the only thing holding it in place. The car would roll forward and backward slightly when stopping abruptly.
Check the swaybar, make sure it's solidly affixed to the framehead of your pan.
| xBigDx408x wrote: |
Sounds like you have bad struts. You can confirm this with the "bounce test."
Stand on the front bumper to compress the front suspension, then hop off. The front should raise back up and stay there. If it bounces up and down, your front shocks aren't providing any damping force. |
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Good call on the mounts.
If the struts are really bad, the car is more prone to pitching in turns because the shocks don't resist the initial weight transfer. I've had it happen with my Bug, and my old MR2s. |
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