Fix that Poptop push bar!

[syncroserge]

[dbeierl]

[randywebb]

BTW - VW says to lube the hinges at the rear, but says nothing about maint. on these things.


This IS an opportunity for an aftermarket fab. operation....
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1986 2.1L Westy 2wd Auto Trans.

[syncroserge]

[Ahwahnee]

My push bar had worn to the point where it was slotted half way thru (photos in a prior post, this thread). I now have the repair done:

Ace hardware has some steel bushings that fit snugly in the ends of the push bar:

These were welded in and the slot that had worn in the bar welded up & ground down:

On the inner hub a pair of bearings for each side were fashioned from slices of iron pipe that had an i.d. of 13/16". These were welded on each side of that skinny hub that was cutting thru the push bar like a saw:

Those bushings give a lot of width to the bearing surface and will also allow lube to stay in place.

Haven't assembled yet beyond a trial fit but everything clears and moves well -- looks like a 100-year fix to me.

BTW -- Wish I could claim full credit here but it was Samba member Serge who was the inspiration and a local friend with welding skills who made it possible.

[Ahwahnee]

The previous described mods to the pop top 'knee-joint' have solved my lifting woes completely. With the corrected joints (and Mark's gas shock kit) the top goes up & down with almost no effort.

One problem with this wear point (apart from the fact that there is no way to lube it w/o disassembly) is that there is also no way to look at it. The inner hub of the knee joint can be cutting thru the pushbar and you may never suspect a problem until it is pretty far gone.

That said, looking at before and after photos of the area show there was a clear indication of the problem.

Before: The hub has cut halfway thru the push bar allowing the inner portion of the joint to project forward of the outer portion:

After: A correct fit with no inner damage will have the inner portion of the joint concealed w/i the outer portion.

Hopefully this will let some (esp anyone who thinks their pop top is getting harder to raise & lower) do a quick check to see if the hinge alignment indicates internal wear.

[rocket j squirrel]

Awansee -- your Before and After photos have gone missing. Can you re-post them?

[Ahwahnee]

[rocket j squirrel]

Thanks -- here's mine:

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/F0-ZP2fu1Dj4icrcRKnxl96plcuiPrNWzDIiEL-8XWI?feat=directlink

(Don't know how to embed images inline.)

I don't see much bulge, but given the design, I'm sure it will start to happen.
Has anyone posted a preventative maintenance "how to"?

[offroad.]

i welded mine up and turned them back down to standard

[Noganav T3]

Great thread, thanks for posting, I have a pop top that I recently purchased and the left side was acting really weird. I thought it just needed lube but I could see the hub was sticking well past the edge of the plate and trying to figure out what was wrong. Now I know what is going on and will pull it down and make the repair.

[Mike Robinson]

I took apart my push bar today as I suspected mine would be as worn as the original poster - and it was.

So I have a couple of thoughts. I can find a welder to fill the wear and grind it back to 'round' or I thought I could swap the bar around so the wear would be on the other side of the bar, and fill the worn side with JB Weld.

The JB Weld would be easier and less spendy - do you think it would work ie improve the strength/integrity some/enough.

Mike
'82 Westy

[jackbombay]

[rubbachicken]

[dixoncj]

So for a van that doesn't yet have this wear would it work to take a can of white lithium with the little red tube on the sprayer and try to get the grease way down in there w/o disassembly?

[jackbombay]

[MarkWard]

Glad to see this revived. I forgot all about this wear point. Something to look at on ours. JB weld has a lots of uses, but does not have the abrasion resistance of steel. In other words, you can sand it, so probably not the best solution unless you can add a bushing to the other half to spread the wear load. Bad design.

Question, I had my top off to replace the canvas. I don't recall, Is this thing going to jump apart like a wind up clock or is it pretty tame to work with?
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[Perales]

[Mike Robinson]

Question, I had my top off to replace the canvas. I don't recall, Is this thing going to jump apart like a wind up clock or is it pretty tame to work with?

Spring loaded BEWARE!!

I would not recommend trying to take it off with the roof in a down position as the springs are in the loaded position. I though because of the weight of the roof that the springs were insignificant - nope - lots of force.

Put the roof up. Hold the roof up with a pole and undo the bar system - it is still a bit of a PITA, but safely unloaded (mostly).

Hopefully getting my grooves welded up this weekend. Then getting the Bombay lift help.

Mike

[MarkWard]

Just what I needed to know. Thanks.
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