Stubborn spring plates: Running out of levers.

[schwim]

"Give me a lever and a place to stand and I will move the earth....


But not schwim's springplates. That shit's stuck."

Heya everyone!

I've read up on this and am aware that it can be tough to do but I've run out of leverage and I still can't get the portion at the torsion bar to pull off of the stop. I've got the spring plate out over the stop, but it just seems that the swivel point just won't come out enough to allow it to continue to pull down.

I've got this nifty tool to take the pressure off of the stop:

And in this pic, you can see that the swing plate is off the raised primary stop(the part the spring plate normally rests on , closest toward axle mount):

And I can fit the width of a honking sized adjustable wrench in the gap I've created behind the spring plate:

But in spite of this, I can completely relax the tool until you can turn the adjuster with your fingers and the plate doesn't budge any further. I'm still leveraging a crow bar at the bottom behind the spring plate while loosening.

Another thing I'm doing is loosening the tension tool just a bit past holding, then hitting the tar out of the back of the spring plate as close to the torsion bar as I can get but it never does anything as the tension tool remains loose.

I've run out of things to leverage it out further. I'm at about 1/2 - 5/8 and when I'm torquing with the crow bar, it's even more.

What else can I do to coax it off of there? Perhaps heating the cylindrical portion that mount the splines?

The pan is without body so I don't have a lot of weight to keep it from moving when framming on it so I imagine that's hurting me a bit as well.

Thanks for any insight you might be able to provide!
_________________
Zippy the Wonderbug's achingly slow meandering toward roadworthiness

[anthracitedub]

Does the nifty tool allow the plate to flex over to clear the stop? I've never had the need for any such tool...

[schwim]

[anthracitedub]

It seems that both ends of your torsions are seized... there may be another thread over that issue... I'm certain the problem has come up before.

[schwim]

Thanks very much anthracite, knowing the terminology should help me find some topics on the matter.
_________________
Zippy the Wonderbug's achingly slow meandering toward roadworthiness

[vwjetboat]

plate on backwards?

[anthracitedub]

I'd go ahead and saturate the outer part of the spline/plate area with some good penatrant while you regroup. After a day or so get a pry bar just ahead of the hard stop/rest area for the plate. Give'er hell and a few choice words.

If that fails, get some heat on it, there is another bushing behind there so be mindful with the heat.

[schwim]

[meranda]

I may be thick but to remove the torsion bar you have to take out the bolts holding the torsion bar end plate!

[Tobias Bylund]

The first pic shows them in place (covers that is), but the subsequent pics are showing them removed i dont think that is the problem, my guess would be splines seized to the spring plate, i had that with mine, the torsion bar came out with the plates.

[schwim]

Success(of sorts)!

The trick for me was tapping from the front of the snout while prying. I think I was prying so much that it was binding the splines and working against me.

The snout, however is securely fastened to the torsion rod. Like welded, so I poured a ton of PB Blaster into it and will let it sit for a day.

This leads me to a couple questions:

Should I apply anti-seize to the splines upon reassembly or just grease, which I see suggested in various places?

While not wiped out, the bushings don't look in the greatest of conditions. Is there a source for less expensive replacements? CIP1 doesn't seem to have any for a 59 pan.
_________________
Zippy the Wonderbug's achingly slow meandering toward roadworthiness

[anthracitedub]

Once you get the torsion out of the plate, clean the splines and apply either grease or antisieze.

I don't really have any recommendations for the bushing, I haven't been down that road in some time.

[Maddel]

Heya Schwim...
Wow, you're quite busy - nice progress!

Gettin' these torsion bars out can be a challange.
As you experiencend it's all about where to place that lever(s) to avoid tilted/jammed splines...

Concerning the bushings...
Most sources I checked state this part number for Bugs built till 07/59: 111 511 245 A

http://www2.cip1.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=VWC-111-511-245-A

[schwim]

[58Sleeper]

Snout? I know this is a dead thread, but I'm hoping the author could respond or anyone else who could help. What did you mean by tapping the snout? I am having this same issue with my 1959.

[mukluk]

[58Sleeper]

Thank you for the clarity! I'm dealing with this now. Best regards..