Type 3 Front Beam reconditioning guide

[ataraxia]

I wound up buying 12" long Sawzall blades and the inner bushings came out in about ten minutes (for all 4). The trick was to not put pressure on the blade as it was cutting.

There's a definite change in the way the blade acts when it's cut through most of the bakelite and that's when I backed off.

[Yabbadubbadoo]

I'm very close to having the numbers to make this batch of 10 sets. Putting out a last call for anyone interested in being included in the group buy.
Aus$ - USD exchange rate is working in favor of USD at the moment so I can include delivery and cover my paypal fees in the $220 usd price.
Doing this for love not profit so I'm not sure when or if there'll be another run.

Cheers,
P
_________________
Sydney, Australia.
66 Type 3 Fastback

[KTPhil]

I've been casually following this thread for a while, since I have some wear in my training arms at the bearings/bushings, as in the photos at bottom.

I have a used spare beam, but haven't taken it apart to see how it looks inside.

Both beams are the late style (from '73) with the late brakes. Does that change what product would fit?

I'd be willing to get a set to ensure I have a fully reconditioned beam, but not if they don't fit the late-late beam style.

Anyone know if those are different?
Thanks,
-Phil

inner:

outer:

[Yabbadubbadoo]

Fits late model. No prob.
From what I know only really early (about 62) had larger inside bushes so won't fit those early chassis.

(if anyone knows the year or chassis numbers please chime in).

About the scoring and fretting. I've come to the conclusion that you can either try to source trailing arms without the issue or find a shop with a large diameter lathe, apply weld to the scored area and then turn it down to spec. They make up an insert to put a dowel in where the splines are from outside the trailing arm and that allows them to spin the trailing arm in the lathe on a live center.

For a backyard fix, you could weld and carefully grind down with a flapper wheel on a grinder. If you can somehow spin the shaft on its axis while you're grinding you will be amazed at how round you can get it.

Make a template hole in a piece of metal at the size dia you are trying to achieve. (ie: 33mm) then slide that over your trailing arm shaft regularly to see where it needs more grinding.

Where the fretting is at the roller bearing location you might consider just flattening out the bumps a little with a dremel and the flapper (sand paper wheel) attachment.
_________________
Sydney, Australia.
66 Type 3 Fastback

[Clatter]

[ataraxia]

How much are the bushings designed to compress before it affects the ID of the bushing?

Lower outer bushing is 50.72mm while the opening is 49.42mm. Seems to be reasonable but wanted to check before I stuff them into the beam.

[Yabbadubbadoo]

I'm not sure if I mentioned but they will seem too big by a large margin. I made the interference approx 0.5mm. They also probably grew some due to temp differences. Fortunately the wall thickness of that bushing doesn't change so once it has been pressed in it should be back to spec. Note the position of that notch I cut into the flange. You probably worked out that it needs to line up with the circular boss where the other torsion bar resides so make sure that you line it up before you start pressing. Also the hook shaped thing that is on your torsion bar housing, the part that is a safety stop to prevent the trailing arm sliding out should be removed if yours unbolts. Makes things easier. Mine was welded to the beam and was getting in my way as I started pressing the bush in but once you get it in a little it's not an issue any more.

You will also find that the bearing housing should be closer to 50mm as it should be right on 49.9 to 50mm otherwise there's no way the metal roller bearings would have worked. It depends how it was measured. Will always seem a little smaller if you used a digital caliper and just spread it in the hole. I always find that I get a slightly larger and more accurate reading with a bore gauge. If you've already pulled your bearings can you check the OD of those and get back to me?

_________________
Sydney, Australia.
66 Type 3 Fastback

[ataraxia]

[Yabbadubbadoo]

I edited my previous post as you wrote your reply. There's a little more info in the first paragraph.

Yeah give it a good clean with sandpaper and put a smear of grease just for the outer bush before you start pressing. At this point I would trust that VW had decent tolerances across different years so I would go ahead and do the inside bush first, check the trailing arm fits before doing the outer. If ithe inner bush ends up too tight (which I doubt because I actually gave yours a second pass on my lathe after I did my installation video and found mine to be a little too tight for comfort) we'll need to find reamer to open it up much like VW did but I have done everything possible to make sure that won't be necessary.
_________________
Sydney, Australia.
66 Type 3 Fastback

[ataraxia]

All three of my beams are early-ish - which means that the 'safety' is welded to the beam but I don't expect that to be much of an issue.

What did you use to press the outer bushing into place? I have a solid wood dowel that's real close to the diameter of the inner bushings. I've got nothing for the outer bushing installation.

The first beam I'll assemble is the one that doesn't have the inner stops on it so I've indicated where to stop on the wood dowel. Last thing I need to do is push it in too far.

[t3kg]

[Yabbadubbadoo]

[Yabbadubbadoo]

[ataraxia]

So...I stopped digging ditches in my yard long enough to clean out the beam and attempt to fit the inner bushings.

Both sets are too small on the OD for the inner bushings - both upper and lower. I also tried to swap them - just in case they got mixed up - but that doesn't work. My beam doesn't have internal stops on the top so I couldn't just let the bushing fall into the beam because I'd probably never get it back out.

There have been no modifications to the beam - bone stock.

I took a video but it's not loaded yet.

Any ideas - what did I do wrong?

[Yabbadubbadoo]

Doesn't sound like you did anything wrong.
I can only surmise that there might be a variation in housing size that all my cross checks didn't pick up on. I'd only be speculating to the reasons why it would be a different size housing. I made my own set in the same batch as yours and I cut the OD without changing any settings so I know there is no mix up.

I would of course try to work with you to correct the problem.
Can you please measure the the housing size at the point where the bushing fits? You might need to get your hands on a bore gauge.
So you tried to fit the lower (inside) bushes in the lower beam as well and they too were small?

PS: Don't worry we'll get it sorted.
_________________
Sydney, Australia.
66 Type 3 Fastback

[ataraxia]

I'll have to find a bore gauge and get back...

Might take me a week to get back - I'm traveling for work this week.

The lower inners are also too small - they fall into the opening - I figured they should have an interference fit to keep them in place. The lowers have an internal stop but I didn't let it go in that far. I found a burr from the lower grease fitting that prevents the bushing from going in further. I'll have to get that filed down.

The internal 'sleeve' where the bushing fit isn't tapered, is it?

I'm confident it'll get sorted...no worries!

[Yabbadubbadoo]

[ataraxia]

[Yabbadubbadoo]

ok. I'll wait to hear. Just so you know, the top beam (The ones I worked with) don't have an inner cavity like the lower housing does. It looks like a round tube all the way to the other side.
_________________
Sydney, Australia.
66 Type 3 Fastback

[ataraxia]