Front End Rebuild

[Buckly]

I've been rebuilding my front end the last couple of days and thought I would post a pic and cover some of it.
Im replacing all four ball joints,(which I got from mike at http://www.thingsunlimited.net/).the torsion arm bears and the stablizer bar rubber mounts. Now that I've removed and marked each t-arm I'll take them to a machine shop to have the ball joints pressed out and the new ones in. I cut and ground a big heavy washer to work as the torsion arm bearing remover. I cut two opposing sides of the washer flat and loosely attached it to a small slide hammer so I can slide the washer past the bearing , seat it on the inside of the bearing to evenly and gently pull the bearing. The torsion arm seats seem to be a good shape.
It seems to be going well, If anyone has any Ideas or advice I'd love to hear it.
_________________
Cool runnins,
_______________________
Bucky

[kubelmann]

Having done two Thing front ends in the past three years, I have more than a few offerings.

I prefer the " pull the beam" method" I would POR-15 all exterior surfaces prior to reassembly. I would replace all bushing and such with Prothane polyurethane parts that were totallt coverd with teflon lubricant. Are your torsion arms missing the end caps? Most are at the point that your front end appears to be in the photo. If you find a way to create this parts ~ let us know this continues to be an unsolved issue. And believe me I have worked this issue and not found a solution. Forget the shock tower repair plates. They are all made out of junk metal and create more problems than they could ever hope to solve. If you cut and turn your beam NEVER do it wthout adjusters!!!! Hold tough on the long tie rod bar. If it need to be replaced it is a Thing only part and go the idstance to get the real Thing. If you need help to understand the difference, pmail me and I will explain it in detail. Not to be a jerk on this point but ihave taught more than a few about this part and have created more than a few wave when it comes to this part. Replace the short tie rod as a complete unit (ensure that you get a "real" German part.. The price is $25 regardless of quality. A new shock damper is a given. The Brazilian Cofap is the only option. They are made with the orignal German dies and tools to the original specifications. This is one of the parts that has survived the transsition from Germany to South America. It can be bought for as low as $14 or as high as $30 from many sources. I just scored on off eBay for $11 including shipping. I got it for future replacemnt needs. I have a box of 5 or 6 good used orignal units that I use to determine front end issues. I would never finish off the front end and end up with drum brakes. If you have any interests in thsi pmail me quickly because I currently have a pathway to a super cheap front disk brake conversion that would include a rear conversion without rear drum change and you could run 4 x 130 x 15 wheels all around. Enough data for now K-mann

[Buckly]

[imhttps://www.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/189220.jpgg][/img]
Do you mean the round part of the outside ends of the arms, when you say "end caps"?
O.K. I'll remove the whole beam and Por-15 it. Should I por-15 the exposed part of the arms?
There is only a little surface rust, no rust problems. My shock towers seem sound and rust free.
It looks like the tidrod ends have been replaced within a few years and move smoothly with a little bit of stiffness. The long rod is slightly bowed.
I got a new shock dampner from mike.
I'm going to stick with the drum brakes on this one, want to go stock as possible. However I've been follow the issue when it comes up on the thing email thread, and plan on adding disc's to my other thing. as well as a built motor and some other goodies. I'll bring it up when i get to it.
Thanks K-mann.
_________________
Cool runnins,
_______________________
Bucky

[Buckly]

the pic didn't work, so I'll try again.
P.S. did we ever decide if there is an inner bearing or just a bushing for the torsion arms? And should I replace them either way? Mike didn't think I should worry about it.
The book shows a bushing, page 26 #18 part 181 401 313.
_________________
Cool runnins,
_______________________
Bucky

[Buckly]

I pulled the beam and wire brushed it. I was going to wash it down and por-15 it. Is there any thing else I should do? Does por-15 hold up aginst road wear, like rocks and stuff?
_________________
Cool runnins,
_______________________
Bucky

[iltis74]

I hope por-15 holds up well, because thats whats on my beam. I por-15'd the beam, supports, spindles, packing plates, (took the brakes all apart but it's pretty fast and easy,) and drums, (leaving the wheel mounting surface bare,) all black, with a black por-15 topcoat product so everything wouldn't fade. The tapers in the spindle for the ball joints and tie rod have to remain bare as well, if anything gets in there get it out with a razor and sandpaper. The trailing arms and tie rods I also por-15'd, but topcoated them in stirling silver for a wee bit of flash. Looks good but I haven't rolled it yet so can't say how it will hold up, but I ended up using por-15 instead of powdercoating because it is supposed to be very chip resistent, but if it is chipped it would be easier to touch up. The pan itself is powdercoated but the bottom protected by rubberized undercoating. Also thought I would point out that now is a good time to make sure all the grease zerks work, and replace as needed.

[Buckly]

I didn't have access to media blasting, so I wire brushed, degreased and wire brushed by hand to make sure it was really clean. I treated the beam with rust inhibitor and coated it with truck bed liner. of course I masked the holes and what not.
_________________
Cool runnins,
_______________________
Bucky

[Buckly]

I got the beam back in. Getting the torsion bars back in it was a huge pain and messy. I got the torsion arms to a shop to press out the old ball joints and press in the new ones. reinstalled the t-arm bearings. I did buy new dust covers, but the old ones are in good shape and are much higher quality. Once the ball joints are in and I get the arms on I have new bushings for the stablizer bar. Any thing else?
I am going to do the whole under side, but need to do some body work first.
BTW, no one sells Por-15 here in spokane. I checked everywhere. I didn't want to wait for it to ship and saved money. I hope the truck bed liner paint holds up.
_________________
Cool runnins,
_______________________
Bucky

[Buckly]

I got my trailing arms back yesterday, was installing them today and came across a couple problems.

1. The lower ball joint sticks out past the bottom of the knuckle, maybe 1/4+ of an inch.

2. the book shows the lower ball joint coming up from the bottom, while mine both go down into the holes of the knuckle.

3. On one of my eccentric bushings, the hole is too small to fit any of the ball joints top or bottom on both sides. The other one fits on, but the joint isn't long enough to get the fat washer on and the screw. It does seem like the lower one would be long enough, but I'll have to have the guy switch them around, like maybe he put the tops in the bottom and vise a versa.

Its clear to me that someone has done some monkeying around with this front end before. Its seems easy enough to find the right sized eccentric bushing to replace the one thats to small, what bothers me the most is the lower joint being to long, maybe switching the tops for the bottoms will solve this as well, and then i'll just need the right sized eccentric bushing. I suppose i could try sliding the top joint in the bottom and the bushing on the bottom to make sure it fits just to test the theroy.

Any help will be appreciated.
_________________
Cool runnins,
_______________________
Bucky

[wannathing]

I don't know if this pic has a good enough view of the front end, but i hope it helps. I have only had my THING for a few months and supposedly the front end had new ball joints installed recently. I could pull a wheel off mine and take some pics if this doesn't help or you don't get any help from the experts here. This is a great forum for getting help.

http://users.stratuswave.net/~dubtech/thing9.jpg

[Buckly]

Oh yeah, some one did a great job rebuilding your front end. I like the disc brake conversion. The pic helps a little. At least I see how the bjoints go in, thanks. I'll still have to figure out the rest.
_________________
Cool runnins,
_______________________
Bucky

[kubelmann]

Bucky if you are still have woes with yer front end Pmail me . I have built two in the last few years and had trouble on one that will allow me to solve some of your issues. POR-15 is great and seals the metal like wild fire. I too have no acess to media blast etc. I am a wire brush do it yourself off away restorer. In the book when the talk about one up and one down on ball joints that is refereing to "other type 1" and not the Thing. Things point both down. If your beam is not together and on the car Pmail me so I can offer what little I have learned. K-mann

[Buckly]

Well, I've consulted the best. Thanks K-Mann and Mike (from thing unlimted). I do have Thing trailing arms. I do have the right ball joints, now. Some one had put a bug ball joint on the passanger upper joint, in so doing they had to change to a bug eccentric bushing. All I have to do is get the Thing specific eccentric bushing for one side, That Ploblem is solved. I do believe the new ball joints were put in upside down. So I'm going back to the shop to have the guy press out the freshly pressed in ball joints a repress them back in were they belong. Does this cause wear or damage? How many times are ball joints able to be pressed in and out?
I wouldn't think a couple of times would be a problem. I hope.
_________________
Cool runnins,
_______________________
Bucky

[iltis74]

What ever happened to this? Were the ball joints replaced incorrectly? The bottom one is installed facing up for a Beetle but down (like the top one) on a Thing, which helps the raised spindle design.

[Buckly]

My ball joint presser guy said he would switch them the way they're supposed to be. I took the t-arms out to him last week, its a 45 minute drive oneway, no one in town would do it. Point being, the ball joints were in backwards, the tops in the bottoms and the bottoms in the tops. I'm going to pick them up today.
I still need one eccentric bushing that is Thing specific. I'll keep you posted on my ever so slow progress.
_________________
Cool runnins,
_______________________
Bucky

[kubelmann]

Mike Basso sells the eccentrics for $8. K-mann

[Buckly]

Mike is the man, I get all my parts from him. He's a great guy.
http://www.thingsunlimited.net/
_________________
Cool runnins,
_______________________
Bucky