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Dubbalicious
Samba Member
Joined: August 02, 2013
Posts: 24
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 Posted: Sun Mar 01, 2015 12:27 pm Post subject: Re-tapping Anti roll/sway bars?? |
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I've discovered that the idiot that previously owned my heavy duty roll bar, has mangled the threads up to the split pin hole.
Now I need to machine the shoulders back approx 10mm and re-tap the threads!!
Can anyone enlighten me, knowing these are hardened/sprung steel, if this is even possible????
Cheers Kez |
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[email protected]
Samba Member
Joined: June 02, 2011
Posts: 1593
Location: Louisville, ky
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| Posted: Mon Mar 02, 2015 12:35 am Post subject: |
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My stock front roll bar clamps on with large rubber blocks and clamps, there is no threads.
I had to unheat treat, machine, and reheat treat a bicycle bearing race. Heat it up white hot, put the end large can of wood ash. The ash will act as insulation and allow it to cool very slowly completely destroying the heat treating. Machine the part. As I am typing this I realize I was heat treating a bicycle race which is done by heating to white hot, cleaning an area, just touching one bit to the water, watch for the heat discoloration to show on the place you filed and then dunk the whole thing. I have know idea how to heat treat a 4 foot long bar.
Well I got you started with how to unheat treat. The wood ash is really good insulation. I heated the part up and put it in the coffee can full of ash before supper. I confidently reached into the coffee can to retrieve the part the next morning and got 3rd degree burns, whoda thunk the heat would be retained that long. |
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jhoefer
Samba Member
Joined: May 19, 2011
Posts: 987
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| Posted: Mon Mar 02, 2015 10:56 am Post subject: Re: Re-tapping Anti roll/sway bars?? |
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| Dubbalicious wrote: |
I've discovered that the idiot that previously owned my heavy duty roll bar, has mangled the threads up to the split pin hole.
Now I need to machine the shoulders back approx 10mm and re-tap the threads!!
Can anyone enlighten me, knowing these are hardened/sprung steel, if this is even possible????
Cheers Kez |
I'm not sure you want to do that. The superbeetle anti-roll bar also serves to locate the lower control arms front to back. You'll be changing the steering and suspension geometry if you alter the threaded areas on the anti-roll bar. You certainly couldn't rethread to a smaller diameter as that would make the bar weaker, and being it helps hold the wheel on, you don't want to risk it breaking. Take it to a pro if you want to mess with the heat treatment. Doing it yourself it's likely to be either too soft and bend in use or too brittle and break in use. I'd probably just replace the bar. |
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kamesama980
Samba Member
Joined: June 22, 2014
Posts: 323
Location: Columbus, IN
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| Posted: Thu Mar 12, 2015 8:48 am Post subject: |
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Doesn't heat treating make steel stronger but more brittle/stiff? Sway bars are spring steel and I'd think any hardening process would remove the spring.
_________________
-Russell
"You don't get to blame me for how I fix what you break"
1970 VW Beetle
1994 Pontiac Firebird
2001 BMW R1200C
2003 Subaru Baja |
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