Complete Front-End Rebuild

[insyncro]

Dan from Syracuse has been talking about Fluid Film for a very long time.
Must be a NY thing...the State is now spraying there trucks with this stuff, the whole truck .

I have been using it exclusively on a few different sets of original UCABs on Syncros and one 2wd.
The rattle can and extension nozzle will make quick work of applying a few well directed shots.
Shake the can, apply it, watch it bubble and wick.
Amazing stuff.
It does wash off with power washing.
I reapply after the parts are dry.

I am paying more attention getting it into the inner side of the bushing when installed, than the outer where the hex head and nut is, but do give them a shot too so they dont rust.

[gregaz]

This seems like a good place to add something that I found to be VERY useful when doing this job, for the sake of those searching in the future. I made a sequence mistake that cost me about three hours of my time, and potentially worse (it turned out fine). I did not install the Radius Control Arm front bushing and nut early enough and it took me forever to get it afterward. The other side I did the right way, and it was a piece of cake.

So, heed the sequence advice in the post quoted below, and click the link for the full thread for more context and storytelling.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=455456

[jwallis]

[jwallis]

I am currently in the middle of this job, and have everything apart and almost all bushings replaced. Will try to press the lower ball joints myself (per http://web.archive.org/web/20100106085828/http://californiavan.com/frontend/80-84lowerballjoints/) but expect to be unsuccessful.

My real question is I can't find a welder in this part of town to take the upper control arms to for the spot weld. I'm now thinking since I need a muffler bracket weld as well, I might just install the upper control arms (with new bushings) and have them welded on the van. Instead of the original weld site, the weld would be on the outside of the arm to the larger-diameter part of the bushing.

Is there any obvious reason this is a bad idea? I feel like there have to be much tighter places welders go, my only concern is melting the plastic/rubber inside the bushing. I've read the proper way to do it is to do the spot weld and quickly quench the arm/bushing in water to avoid melting the bushing. Does everyone follow this procedure or is that overly paranoid (for a good welder of course)?
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[tsouthwi]

I have been through the forums and I am not sure the best way to replace all the bushings in the front end. Also happen to be doing the rear swing arm bushings and suspension at the same time.

It would seem like a ball joint press could be a good substitution for the VW special tool the bently manual refers to.

But I have also ready abou people getting everything prepped and then taking it to a shop to get pressed in.

I would prefer to do myself. Does anyone have a recommended press kit that I should consider buying? Do you think I can get by with the renter from PepBoys.

[levi]

For the front upper, the tool kit rental from a flaps will work.
The front lower was outside the capability of the rental kit, took it to a machine shop.
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[pomfritz]

Thought I would add some notes on my experience to this. I recently added

Powerflex bushings
GW no lift-springs
Koni shocks
T3 Sway bar
tie rods and ends
upper and lower ball joints
GW Big Brake Kit.
New hardware where available from T3

As I was starting out with a 83.5 model I needed to swap out spindles for the later 86-91 style. I picked these up from a local used parts guy for $75 bucks. Apparently they can go for a lot more as they are needed for the various big brake kits. Luckily I anticipated maybe doing this job a year earlier and picked them up when he had them.

These spindles are slightly different in that the caliper bolts do not thread into the spindle, but pass through and thread into the caliper, the diameter is also longer.

So as an added note for those doing the Big Brake kit, you will need the later model spindles, caliper bolts and dust shields. Apparently there is a slight difference in the mounting hole location for the tie-rod arm on the spindle between manual and power steering models. It appear the difference to be about 1/2 to 3/4 inch. I have a manual steering model and finding late model manual spindles is about impossible. So I used the power steering ones and can say they work fine and have noticed no difference in the steering effort. The tie rod end will fit in easily. BTW, three diffetn places, including SAH nearby did to know there was a difference in these arms and used them interchangeably.

I have never done suspension work before and wasn't sure what to expect so I spread the work over about 11 days and probably took about 30 hours over that time. A fair amount of that time involved running around getting tools or parts that were unanticipated. So for those of you thinking of doing this I will list out some things that I found I needed and you may want to have on hand.

Aside from standard tools you might have, I found I needed the following:

Open/Box end wrenches in 22mm, 24mm, 27mm or 29mm, 32mm (the last is for the tie rod end that threads into the steering rack, if replacing, a big crescent would work too, but you're supposed to tighten to 51 lbs.) (Save your receipts if you need to return anything!)

Sockets in larger sizes above 19mm to about 27mm, an impact set worked great.

8mm allen head socket for the upper ball joint, get a decent one, FLAP one was junk and couldn't handle a stuck bolt.

1/2" Breaker Bar (very handy)

1/2" & 3/8" torque wrenches, a must

1 1/2" Pipe section (2 feet) I used this to slide over a box wrench when removing the UCA nut, If you can get a breaker bar in there better, it was a tight fit.

4lb hammer, came in a lot more handy than i expected

A punch with a 1/4" or so end to peen the axle nut and tie rod end

Torch for tough nuts, I used a MAPP/propane torch. This may be have not been needed but sure fun to burn a lower ball joint up!

I also bought a twelve ton press from Harbor Freight. This actually came in very handy for the bearings and studs for the Brake kit. And pressing out old bushings. The Powerflex are great in the design so no press is needed. It popped out one ball joint but not the other. I did end up taking the spindles to SAH. $195 for 1.5 hours to pop it out and install two new ones. Ouch, but i figured they would know the best how to do this. Overall I am glad I got the press. I've also used it for the rear axles.

If you do use a press, rent the biggest ball joint kit you can find. You want a variety of diameters of round tubes to use as support/force while pressing. I had to go to 4 different ones to find a decent kit. Ended up that a Carquest store had the best one. Most were kits with only three or so tubes and the same kit.

So here's what we started off with:

The van spent it's life in California so there wasn't a ton of corrosion to deal with, i sprayed the nuts with AeroKroil a few times prior to the work but not sure it made any difference.

Measurements to take in order to have the alignment specs close for when you put it back together are:

1. Distance between frame where radius rod bushings go in and a point the arm, such as the tie rod hole. Your new bushings will be different thickness and so measuring threads may not be as accurate. My distance was 14.5 from frame to center of tie rod hole, this ended up very close to spec when the alignment was done.

2. Tie rod ends, count the number of turns to unthread it after backing off the locking nut. This one was actually useless for me as I swapped the spindles and the hole position was different, it was off at the alignment but a simple fix. I did about 13 turns on each side.

3. Make a mark on the UCA bolt head (not the nut), and another aligned to it on the frame. This will allow you to make sure the eccentric washers end up in the same location when reassembling. BTW my eccentric washer shapes were different between the left an right side. One was round with one flat side and the other side had two flat sides. Bolts corresponded to these washers., i.e., they were not interchangeable.

Disassembly was fairly straightforward. Remember you can turn the wheel to get better access to nuts. Obvious but then again not so obvious when you are in the middle of it. With the tire off this should allow the spring to expand and remove most of the tension from it, but be careful when removing the ball joint nuts and use a jack below the LCA if needed.

Loosen but leave on the Radius arm nut before you remove it from the LCA, BTW my model has three bolts holding the radius rod to the LCA, new models are different.

I started with the driver side and took my time while thinking of how things were progressing. I would say I spent 5 hours taking it apart (believe me time passes fast). As I found throughout the job, you learn as you go along and the passenger side was done in easily half the time. I was surprised at how well it went after going through it once.

Some disassembly photos:

More to follow...
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[Steve M.]

For that long Camber Adjustment Bolt you need a 14mm Hex Bit Socket.

Clean the head of the bolt before you loosen it so that you can mark it with a black Sharpie - a straight line that you reference to being in line with another surface of the Upper Control Arm when it is in the down position as the Vanagon sits on jack stands. When you put it back together you do not tighten it until the end.
For that matter get all the parts installed before you go applying a Torque wrench to them - Having the freedom of moment of the assembly helps in getting all the parts back in. Then torque down the bits saving the Camber Adjustment for last when the suspension is in the down position the same as when you loosened it.
That way you get get lucky and put your Camber where it was originally for the drive to the Alignment shop.

[Yondermtn]

I'm in the middle of this job and I need some help.

I started out replacing my rotors and pads which led to replacing the calipers and brake lines. I had new shocks and springs so I figured why not do them too and then decided I should replace my bushings also. Why not do the upper ball joints too?

Here is what I've done so far-

Removed shock
Removed Spring
Removed upper control arm
Removed outer radius rod nut and bushing
Removed upper ball joint

I cannot get the LCA bolt to budge so I figured it would need to be cut off. When I look at the LCA, it doesn't look like I can get a sawzall blade in between the front of the LCA and the drop out/bracket. Someone suggested drilling out the bolt then turning and hoping the head breaks off. I'm a little unclear exactly how this would work and fear that I'll make a bigger mess.
I'm looking for any advice for moving this project forward either on my own or doing the most I can myself, getting it back together and having a shop do the LCA.(I planned on having a shop do the lower ball joint and alignment)

Here is what I'm looking at

Can the radius rod be removed without removing the LCA? I couldn't get the rod to budge from the LCA.

[/img]
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1977 Westfalia 2.0FI 4spd
1990 Multivan 2.1 Auto

[Christopher Schimke]

Yondermtn, your control arm is pulled quite a ways forward on the stock bushing (this is common with the rubber bushings). You actually have a really nice gap between the arm and the rearward most flange to cut through the bushing and bolt. From there, you can either pry the arm rearward on the bushing to gain enough room to cut through or you can do as was suggested by the chicken man and drill through the head of the bolt until the hex portion comes off and allows the arm to drop out.

To drill through the bolt, Find the center in the head of the bolt by laying a straight edge between the points of the head of the bolt and scribing lines. Where these lines cross is the center point. Use a center punch to mark the center for drilling. Start with a small bit (1/8" or so) and work your way up. You only need to drill a little bit deeper than the thickness of the head of the bolt. If it were me, I would stop at the 13/32" or 27/64"" bit size. This is smaller than the 12mm bolt size and if you happen to be drilling a little bit off center, you won't end up drilling into the flange. Once you get to that size, you should be able to use a wrench to twist off the head from the shank of the bolt.
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[j_dirge]

The LCA bolt does not look that bad.. but it looks dry.
Soak it with penetrating oil... Wd40.. something like that.. and let it sit for a few hrs.

Give the nut a few good whacks with a hammer.. try a couple whacks with a cold chisel between the nut and flange.. Not enough to damage anything.. you are just trying to get it to start breaking loose.
Give it force in both directions, working both ways.. Often, "tightening" will loosen the rust/corrosion bit and allow you turn the nut in the "loosen" direction

Removing the radius control arm from the LCA was near impossible for me.
I left them together as "one piece" thru my rebuild.
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[Steve M.]

The radius arm can be overcome by using the right size wrench and that floor jack you have.
It will take some finessing and cursing because this is a delicate balance keeping the end of the wrench in the right spot on the jackpad so it doesn't slip off the jackpad.
Also, you have the steering spindle off so you will need a piece of 2x4 or something else that will jam the lower control arm into the down position so it does not lift as you use the jack to lift the end of the wrench effectively using hydraulics to turn the wrench to unscrew the radius arm.

CAUTION: it might take a lot of pressure from the jack to get the break the radius arm loose. anytime you do this it can be a danger to anyone near it because the wrench will want to slip off the jackpad.
What you could try doing is place a rubber pad on the jackpad so it is not metal to metal contact between the wrench and the jack pad.

Also, the floor jack will be it own problem as if does not lift straight.
it is basically a pivot arm and as it lifts the arm will follow an arc.
If you have a Bottle Jack that will work better as it is a straight lift.

I would definitely use a lot of penetrating oil the day before or spray some on there every day for a few days before trying this.

Just before you try this get a hammer and give the lower control arm some good REPETITIVE blows with a hammer around the threaded area where the radius arms screws into the lower control arm to break the bond of rust. Just a medium size ball pean hammer would do it, you do not need a sledge hammer for this. It has to be quick repetitive blows and you cannot do that with a sledge hammer or a heavy hammer.
Hitting it while the jack pressure is on it will also help.
So will heat from a torch.

Good luck and be safe with common sense when doing this.
It works because I just did it two weeks ago on mine.

[ragnarhairybreeks]

I agree with Chris, and Dirge about the methods to get the lca bolt out. I recently did one of mine (yeah, just one, have to make time to do the other) and replaced with white line polyu from Chris. I had little probelm getting nut off, both bolt head and nut looked in better shape than yours, but the bolt shaft was solidly rusted inside of bushing sleeve. I resorted to saws all then to Zip disk on angle grinder to cut out the bolt between bushing and frame member.

New 4 1/2" Zip disk would just reach in and snick the bol but only part way. had to get wrench on bolt head and rotate it ( spun inside bushing, sleeve and all, broken free from rubber) to complete the cut.

Not the most pleasant of jobs on gravel driveway

Alistair
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[SCM]

[Yondermtn]

Ok, I feel a little more confident with the latest recommendations.

What kind of drill bit do I need? Will a cobalt bit do the job?

I do have bottle jacks to attempt removal of the radius rod.
If I can get the LCA bushing bolt out will there be enough room to get the radius rod bushings on without unscrewing the rod?

Thanks again.
_________________
1977 Westfalia 2.0FI 4spd
1990 Multivan 2.1 Auto

[j_dirge]

[Steve M.]

[Yondermtn]

I got the LCA bolt out
I cut the back out first and then was just able to get the blade to fit in the front. It wasn't easy.

Now I'm working on getting the radius rod out. I ran out of time last night but it seems like I need a few more inches movement to get it out. I have not disconnected the sway bar link. Do I need to do that? I'm a little worried that might be tough now that the LCA is hanging loose.
_________________
1977 Westfalia 2.0FI 4spd
1990 Multivan 2.1 Auto

[j_dirge]

[Steve M.]

Without the LCA bolt there is nothing to anchor the LCA to unscrew the radius arm.
However, with the LCA bolt removed you should be able to drop the outboard end of the LCA and raise the inboard end a little and swing the LCA towards the rear to get the Radius bar out. the ends of the cut bolt might be getting caught.

The sway bar itself can stay where it is, but obviously you need to disconnect the link to the sway bar.
If you are going to change the bushings for the sway bar then you can remove it.

After you get the LCA out and in the open just start drilling holes through it from one end to the other so it takes the pressure off the sides of it.
If you did not cut away the rubber lip on the end when you cut the LCA bolt then it would help if you did so it can fit through the hole for it a bit easier.