TheSamba.com :: View topic

Thu Jun 17, 2021 3:07 pm

Hi all,

I just finished bolting up my new disc brake assembly from Airkewld.

The assembly is a little heavy and unruly... and getting it to mate up to the trailing arms is kind of a pain by itself, let alone that the ball joints are squirrely and are uncooperative...

Does anyone have tips, cheats, suggestions?

Bottom one first (bolted), then jack it up to meet the top one?

My knuckles are now bare, and the assembly is still sitting on the floor.

Thanks for any ideas you may be able to throw at me. Pictures and/or videos would be amazing.

thanks!
robo.

Thu Jun 17, 2021 4:37 pm

Not sure this reads like you have the whole brake assembly installed on the spindle and then you're trying to install it.

The best and least ungainly way would be to install just the spindle to the ball joints and then add all the brake parts.

Thu Jun 17, 2021 5:16 pm

Are these for a stock type 3 front beam? Or an airkewld modified type 1 air beam? Just asking as it does make a difference which parts you're using. You might want to post up some pics of the spindles and beam/trailing arms you're using.

Thu Jun 17, 2021 6:10 pm

yellrhd wrote: The best and least ungainly way would be to install just the spindle to the ball joints and then add all the brake parts.

Agreed.
When I've installed spindles - I've attached the spindle to the upper ball joint first, then used the commonly-available "spring plate compressor" tool (with tabs welded onto the ends to fit on the Type 3 trailing arms) to squeeze the arms together, then slowly release the tension while lining up the lower ball joint.

Thu Jun 17, 2021 6:15 pm

ok!

thanks for the tips.

I did end up removing the caliper and rotor.

My trick: I used some super heavy duty washers tapped into the spindle clamps to spread it open a hair, it worked really well. I then pressed the bottom joint in first using the floor jack and a block of wood.

Once the bottom was set, clamped, and still on the jack, I used a large c-clamp to press in the top one.

took five minutes.