My Fat Chick

[LVGhia72]

[LVGhia72]

All the Tie rod ends have been replaced. I counted the threads and used a tape measure to duplicate the original positions of the rods. That way the alignment won't be to far off. Anyway, there is an alignment shop less than a mile from where I live.

I no longer have anymore parts on hand. I'll be ordering more parts as I move on with the rest of the front suspension. If your wondering why I have not put part of the suspension back together. It's because I'm slowly stripping it down to remove the beam. Less weight will make it a little easier to remove. Have I done this before? Yes, but it was a Baja bug and I just wheeled the beam out complete with tires and wheels on it.

Some Pic's;

I used this to loosen threads.

Old/new

Little grease on threads to stop rust.

Measure length of rod.(pay no attention to junk in background LOL)

Done

Old/trash

Steve

[rbsurfguy]

Great work Steve, looking forward to seeing your entire front end completed!
Jeff
_________________
1971 Ghia convertible (Body off rebuild)
2019 VW Atlas 4Motion
2012 Passat-Sold


See my build on The Samba at:
Jeff's 71 Vert Restoration/Reassembly http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6...highlight=

[LVGhia72]

[rbsurfguy]

Oh, now that is where the real fun begins!!
Jeff
_________________
1971 Ghia convertible (Body off rebuild)
2019 VW Atlas 4Motion
2012 Passat-Sold


See my build on The Samba at:
Jeff's 71 Vert Restoration/Reassembly http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6...highlight=

[LVGhia72]

What's up with this?

Cut and scoring.

Same

With bearing on.

Looks like someone in the past was trying to cutting something off that maybe was stuck on the spindle and messed up? It is also has other cuts and is scored all around. It does not effect the area the bearing rides on. The area the bearing rides on has some scoring and pit marks.

Might be ok for some one on a limited budget. Sorry, not me. I'm replacing the spindles (no drop spindles). I'm also replacing the rotor, wheel bearings, races and backing plates etc.....

FYI

Steve

[LVGhia72]

I'm having some technical difficulties removing the torsion leaf's from the beam. I tried using the torsion arm attached to the leaf's to pull the stack out complete. No go. I then used a block of wood and a hammer to try and push the leaf's out. Some of the half leaf's moved outward. So I decided, I'll just pull them out one by one. I even used a 12lb sledge hammer, pried with a long screw drive etc... No go.

I have all the half leaf's out, but the four full leaf's will only move about a inch back and forth. I've tried everything except heating up the beam in that area.

Any suggestions would be welcomed. Thanks.

Steve

Torsion arms

Leafs that wont move

Half leafs removed

My other concern is if I do get the leaf's out. I'm sure they will be a PITA to install. I forgot to mention the beam has Sway away adjusters. Not that it should matter. But, who knows what PO's do.

[Ian Godfrey]

I expect you have looked, but just in case, you need to remove the grub screw from the centre of the beam (part of the adjuster)

Of interest, I had trouble with getting leaves back in an Avis adjuster once, the hole through the adjuster was tight on the wide leaves. so i attached a file to a broom handle then filed the inside of the adjuster a bit, pain in the neck but it worked.
the other trick I got from the Samba was to wrap a couple of layers of celo tape about 1" from the end of the leaves to keep them together. the celo tape breaks as you push the leaves through
good luck

[LVGhia72]

[LVGhia72]

I found the problem/mistake after I pulled the beam out of the car. I hate to admit it but it was another grub screw. I feel like a fool, but I found the problem. I thought the adjuster grub screw was the only screw. There was another grub screw which was 180 degrees out from the adjuster screw. I did not know this and could not see it with the beam in the car. I wanted to use the car as a platform to pull the leaf's out etc... first vs a stand. Then I would use the stand later for clean up, painting etc....

Anyway, now comes the dirty work. Some Pic's;

Beam out.

Beam on jack.

Beam on the stand.

The grub screw's I missed.

Hole for the adjuster grub screw.

Grub screw I missed.

Adjuster grub screw.

Steve

[Ian Godfrey]

I'm glad you solved that, and we have all made our share of mistakes.I'm sure the info will be useful to others in the future.

Ps my biggest boo boo 'so far' was torquing one SPS Carr bolt in my conrod with out the button depressed on the torque wrench....... then I mixed the bolt up with others so I didn't know which one I had overstretched.
it was $600 Australian dollars for 8 new bolts

[LVGhia72]

[LVGhia72]

I pulled both torsion leaf stacks out of the front beam. The parts I ordered are in. I may need a few more. I'm debating whether or not to replace the Micarta bearings. They look good and are made in Germany. My concern is getting good quality one's, also I need a inner bearing puller etc... I also stripped the beam down of all grease and paint. The weather will be turning too cold to paint next week, so I need to get it painted quickly.

I'm also missing the front inspection cover, seal, and bolts. Anyone know the bolt size for the inspection cover?

Some Pic's;

Missing cover/seal/bolts.

Leafs part way out.

Stripped

I used a old closet rod to push out leaf's

Then a smaller broom handle

Leaf's, the brown/red color is rust. Black mess on the left is electrical tape from PO's.

Steve

[overboost]

6mmX1.0 on the inspection cover bolts. 10mm is more than long enough.
_________________
The older I get... The faster I was...

[Ian Godfrey]

Once you remove the outer bearings, you will be able to 'feel' the clearance on the micarta bushes when you try each trailing arm.
or if you had a bore gauge or snap gauges you could measure them in place.
my experience is only some of them wear due to lack of lubrication, so sometimes I have only had to replace one or none. One time it was the arm the was worn but the bushing was good, much easier to find a new arm

[LVGhia72]

[LVGhia72]

[bobnorman]

Lovely car, and great thread. I’m enjoying your approach to jobs, and appreciate all the helpful information. I’ve really come to appreciate the later cars lately, all the Ghias are beautiful when you really look at them.
_________________
Air does not freeze. Air does not boil.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=289807

[LVGhia72]

[LVGhia72]

I painted the beam with 3 coats of black epoxy before the bad weather shows up. I also cleaned the rust on the front of the frame head and painted it.

Next, the torsion leaf's and arms to clean up the nasty grease etc..

Grease fittings will be replaced. Used them to cover hole while painting.

Frame head rust

Painted

Steve