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Sat Apr 07, 2007 11:37 pm

I am working on the brakes of my 57 bus and have found that I have a broken brake adjuster leaf spring on one of my front backing plates. I cant find any information on how to replace or even where to find one. My guess is that it was rivetted or spot welded on originally. Are replacements sold anywhere?

Sun Apr 08, 2007 1:58 am

i use pallet banding to make a new one. you can tack it on with a mig or drill and tap for a tiny screw like porsche.

Sun Apr 08, 2007 6:31 am

I found some WW ones that fit a '53 bus.. think it was http://www.wolfsburgwest.com/cart/DetailsList.cfm?ID=211609185a
Think 55-63 and 63-67 are different than the barndoor though.

Sun Apr 08, 2007 8:24 am

bill may wrote: i use pallet banding to make a new one. you can tack it on with a mig or drill and tap for a tiny screw like porsche.

Thats a novel idea.

Sun Jan 11, 2009 4:42 pm

Anyone have new info on this? I have a broken one too. Clara's link is for a type I. I searched WW and found nothing for a bus

Mon Jan 12, 2009 6:25 am

I made some once using a strip of sheet steel from the hardware store. I attached them using hollow aluminum rivets also from the hardware store. The rivets worked well, but didn't turn out real pretty. I was happy with the fix overall. This was for front brakes on a 64.

Mon Jan 12, 2009 8:30 am

2Pack wrote: I made some once using a strip of sheet steel from the hardware store. I attached them using hollow aluminum rivets also from the hardware store. The rivets worked well, but didn't turn out real pretty. I was happy with the fix overall. This was for front brakes on a 64.

Is the one on the left the original? Mine are a little different, but what you made should work. Nice fabricating!

Mon Jan 12, 2009 8:48 am

ritchiet002 wrote: Is the one on the left the original? Mine are a little different, but what you made should work.

Yes, the left one is one of the unbroken originals on my bus.

Quote: Nice fabricating!
Thanks. It was the first part I ever fabricated. It wasn't hard. You could make one like the one you pictured just as easy.

One thing is that I heated the spring to red-hot and quenched it in water because I had heard that this would make it more springy. I could not tell if it actually worked. A NOS one would be better. These are the only ones I've ever seen for sale:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=559959

Mon Jan 12, 2009 9:06 am

I had to replace one on my '63. I bought a used one off another Samba member who had a junk backing plate sitting around.

I attached it via the same hardware rivets seen above. No problems and I have at least a few thousand miles on it.

Mon Jan 12, 2009 9:25 am

ritchiet002 wrote: Anyone have new info on this? I have a broken one too. Clara's link is for a type I. I searched WW and found nothing for a bus
Yes, Barndoors use the same piece as the beetles.

For post BD, there is the 3/4 ton kind and the 1 ton kind, which is why the pics of those springs aren't the same.... one reaches for the adjustment stars from the side, the other from head on.

Mon May 25, 2009 10:34 am

While replacing a leaky rear wheel cylinder on my '67 Bus and freshening everything up in there, new cylinders and a set of shoes on both sides, I noticed that one half of the adjuster spring leaf broke off on both sides (one adjuster star being held in place and the other not).

Okay, other than spending a lot of time trying to make some up from scratch, or locating and buying new or used backing plates in good condition, does anyone know of a source, either NOS, used or repro, of a quality replacement brake adjuster leaf/tension spring "correct" for the rear brakes on a 1967 era Bus?

I hear/understand that you can't really successfully weld spring steel to the cast housing metal (incompatible), that one could try to un-swedge the casting to remove the old and install the new spring and re-swedge, or drill small holes and hollow-rivet the replacements in. I plan to do the latter if I can locate a suitable pair of replacement leaf springs.

Does anyone have any ideas or can you direct me to a suitable fix? Thanks for any assistance! Really!

Bill

Tue May 26, 2009 10:09 pm

BulliBill wrote: that one could try to un-swedge the casting to remove the old and install the new spring and re-swedge

I've used a small chisel to push out what's left of the spring (push it to the left or right depending on which half of the spring is broken) and then I've used a chisel to open up the pean, clean it up with a file, and then have fabricated and installed new clips using the factory peans.

Sorry, I don't have a source for new springs, but they are easily fabricated.

Wed May 27, 2009 9:24 am

Thanks Greg,

I hadn't thought of "punching" the remainer out to the side and THEN cleaning it up! I'll try that once I can find a source for the one ton leaf springs (it's a '67 Bus). Man, you'd think with all the 3/4 and one tonners out there with this problem, that someong would have repro'ed those springs, especially someone like Wolfsburg West or Ronnie or the like. I know I'll stock up on several sets if/once they are repro'ed!

Thanks for the tip Greg! Now, anyone else have a source for the leaf springs?

Bill

Thu May 28, 2009 2:12 pm

Well, I put the rear drums back on and buttoned everything up. I'll keep looking for the leaf springs, or if someone is fabbing them (in my case for a '67) in quantity and selling 'em too, pass the info along please. I'll just have to keep an eye on the adjustment stars occassionally until I can fix these broken leaf springs more permanently. I'm not much of a fabricator (yet).

I should have everything on my to-do list done in time to take this '67 to the Mid-America Funfest next weekend (June 5-7th) barring any surprises... Hope to see a few of you there.

Bill Bowman

Thu May 28, 2009 6:59 pm

If the star is at all a normal fit it will back off quite quickly. You can bugger the threads of the thread part with a tiny chisel and it will thwart it from loosening then later get a good thread one when you finally get the cog spring.

Thu Mar 05, 2015 2:47 pm

BulliBill wrote: Well, I put the rear drums back on and buttoned everything up. I'll keep looking for the leaf springs, or if someone is fabbing them (in my case for a '67) in quantity and selling 'em too, pass the info along please. I'll just have to keep an eye on the adjustment stars occassionally until I can fix these broken leaf springs more permanently.

Bump this up six years...any new news on repros for our buses, or is it something we still have to buy used or fab?

Thu Mar 05, 2015 3:22 pm

Yeah, it amazes me that WW or another vendor with tooling and experience hasn't knocked out new leaf springs of all types for the vintage market so far. I'd stock up on several types for all of my fleet...

Bill

Fri Mar 06, 2015 4:17 am

Wwest sells the springs for bus..I just bought a set for all four wheels.Now installing them is another issue

Fri Mar 06, 2015 5:38 am

Hmmmmm....talked to them a few hours ago and that wasn't the case.

Fri Mar 06, 2015 12:07 pm

I think you have a Mig, right? Get some steel pallet strapping from a warehouse near you, or in their dumpster. It's a thin spring steel that fits and works perfect. It takes 5 minutes, cut and grind a piece of pallet strap and tack it to the cast block the adjusters go into. I have some pics but can't find them, and it worked great.

The hardest part is finding steel pallet strap, much of it these days is FG.

Good Luck!