TheSamba.com :: View topic - Need Confirmation on How I Raised Adjustable Beam

Fri Jul 29, 2016 10:53 pm

To start with, I am very new to bugs. I just acquired my 1965 bug and the previous owner had lowered it with, among other things, an adjustable beam. I research a bit, watch a video, and decided to see if I could figure it out. I crawled under the car and looked around. It seemed straight-forward so I gave it a shot.

(see picture below)
1. Lifted up the front on jack stands with the tires suspended
2. Loosened the 19mm silver nuts (outside arrows)
3. Tightened the hex screws(inside arrows)
4. Retightend the 19mm silver nuts
5. Removed jack stands and lowered the car back to the ground

The car is raised up and it seems like it was a successful mission. (I know it needs to be aligned)

QUESTIONS:
1. Is that really it? It feels like maybe there might be something I am forgetting and I don't want to learn the hard way.
2. Before I made changes it looked like the adjusters were set at different heights on the top and bottom. What would the purpose of that be and did I screw up by trying to set then equally on the top and bottom?

Sat Jul 30, 2016 6:36 am

Looks like you did it right from your description. It's ok to set the adjusters at different positions, some guys running narrowed beams prefer the ride when they are set to "fight" each other.

Only thing I can recommend is anti-seize on the threads of everything because moisture tends to get in there and rust the moving parts together. Next time you go to adjust it years later after tire or shock change or whatever- you'll have no problems. The round block that rotates inside the tube also. Maybe some WD-40 in the slot and work the torsion arms up and down to get it coated as much as possible.

Sat Jul 30, 2016 7:26 am

:arrow:

Sat Jul 30, 2016 7:33 am

if you never loosened the top nut ( the one ON TOP with NO ink on it )how is the adjuster going to move , You can tighten the bottom allen key post as much as you can but if the adjuster isn't loosened A LILLLE BIT the mechanism doesn't move and the vehicle height doesn't change .
When loosening the top ; Loosten the nut A TINY BIT; WHILE YOU HOLD THE ALLEN KEY...DO NOT MOVE THE ALLEN KEY..when you turn the LOWER allen key the top NUT AND KEY should move in the slot cut in the "axle"
WORST THING YOU CAN DO IS LOOSTEN THE TOP NUT TOO MUCH..the allen key post will come out .
I KNOW I DID IT .
had to pull the whole beam to get it put back toghether

In the center of this gallery photo you can see the ridges in the adjustor ( the piece with the TWO nuts that is laying on the wood) .
these ridges lock the beam into place . If you haven't loosened the very top nut you can't adjust your height .

Sat Jul 30, 2016 9:42 am

grandpa pete wrote: if you never loosened the top nut ( the one ON TOP with NO ink on it )how is the adjuster going to move , You can tighten the bottom allen key post as much as you can but if the adjuster isn't loosened A LILLLE BIT the mechanism doesn't move and the vehicle height doesn't change ....

...If you haven't loosened the very top nut you can't adjust your height .

hmmm...that's interesting. Is it possible these adjusters are "different" than the standard? Or maybe the top nuts were already loose?

The ride height definitely changed because I was measuring as I made a few adjustments. I did notice that when the front of the car was off the ground with the tires in the air the adjuster block seemed to be at the top of the adjustment. They were not tight down against the adjuster hex screw (see picture). I assumed they were floating because the tires were dangling.

Sat Jul 30, 2016 10:07 am

You should be fine. The grub screw just holds the spring packs into the center bit. If the car sits where you want, you're done.

Sat Jul 30, 2016 10:49 am

retterath wrote: You should be fine. The grub screw just holds the spring packs into the center bit. If the car sits where you want, you're done.

Thank you.