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Brian Samba Moderator
Joined: May 28, 2012 Posts: 8340 Location: Oceanside
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Posted: Wed Nov 27, 2013 12:21 pm Post subject: Having a bad week with EMPI |
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Luckily, I was only driving on a major road. Only hit one truck too.
_________________ Wash your hands
'69 Bug
'68 Baja Truck
'71 Bug
'68 Camper
Only losers litter |
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It's a play thing Samba Member
Joined: November 19, 2009 Posts: 575 Location: Stagecoach, Nevada
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Posted: Wed Nov 27, 2013 12:26 pm Post subject: |
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You live close enough to collect the parts and pictures and take them directly to the company and see what they plan to do about the problem. It could have been alot worse. _________________ It's not the size of your shop, it's what comes out of it that counts.
I've been playing with my thing ever since I got it... |
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Glenn Mr. 010
Joined: December 25, 2001 Posts: 77652 Location: Sneaking up behind you
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Posted: Wed Nov 27, 2013 12:29 pm Post subject: |
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I've always stayed away from cheap parts that can cause a catastrophic failure line suspension and internal engine parts.
Glad you weren't hurt. _________________ Glenn
74 Beetle Specs | 74 Beetle Restoration | 2180cc Engine
"You may not get what you pay for, but you always pay for what you get"
Member #1009
#BlueSquare
עַם יִשְׂרָאֵל חַי |
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58Dub Samba Member
Joined: June 02, 2004 Posts: 1713 Location: Davison, MI
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Posted: Wed Nov 27, 2013 12:44 pm Post subject: |
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glad you werent hurt.. be careful _________________ 58 Beetle (now just a pile of parts in the corner)
60 Beetle (2221 turbo under construction)
70 Beetle Baja project |
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greg mgm Samba Member
Joined: October 07, 2004 Posts: 573 Location: Pine Cove/ IdyllwildCA
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Posted: Wed Nov 27, 2013 12:44 pm Post subject: |
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Damn!
How old were the parts?
Thanks for sharing this. |
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Brian Samba Moderator
Joined: May 28, 2012 Posts: 8340 Location: Oceanside
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Posted: Wed Nov 27, 2013 12:51 pm Post subject: |
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I got extremely lucky I wasn't hurt. The spindles were put on less than a year ago. I went over to B&R and talked to Gary, he said he hasn't seen this happen before with empi spindles, so we're going to ship them back and hopefully they honor their guarantee.
Maybe this Christmas I'll be on the hunt for a Thing beam instead of buying presents. _________________ Wash your hands
'69 Bug
'68 Baja Truck
'71 Bug
'68 Camper
Only losers litter |
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It's a play thing Samba Member
Joined: November 19, 2009 Posts: 575 Location: Stagecoach, Nevada
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Posted: Wed Nov 27, 2013 1:46 pm Post subject: |
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You would get better results if you went in person. 301 E. OrangeThorpe Anaheim. Call talk to a manger and send him/her the photos and arrange a meeting. just a thought. _________________ It's not the size of your shop, it's what comes out of it that counts.
I've been playing with my thing ever since I got it... |
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Axitech Samba Member
Joined: August 31, 2011 Posts: 1265 Location: Bucks County, Pa
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Posted: Wed Nov 27, 2013 2:05 pm Post subject: |
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BETTER YET, find a manager's email address and send him a link to this thread! Publicity is a wonderful motivator, whether good or bad, it lights a fire under people's butts and helps them make good business decisions. _________________ He said to them, “But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one. Luke 22:36
The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.-Thomas Jefferson |
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Steve Arndt Samba Member
Joined: August 01, 2005 Posts: 1786 Location: Boise, Idaho
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Posted: Wed Nov 27, 2013 2:28 pm Post subject: |
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This should help the resale value of thing lift spindles. Wow. Glad you are okay and nobody was hurt. |
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Multi69s Samba Member
Joined: January 24, 2006 Posts: 5471 Location: Lefty, CA
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Posted: Wed Nov 27, 2013 4:40 pm Post subject: |
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After blowing up your picture and looking at the fracture / rust lines, this spindle has been waiting to fail for awhile. Unless you kissed a cub sometime before this shear, it shows classic signs of a part that was faulty from the day one. I have hit boulders with my Baja wheels (with OEM spindles), yet I have never sheared off a wheel.
I would demand a total refund and any towing and other costs that you have occurred. If they do not compensate you, please take them to small claims court. If we keep accepting inferior parts as the norm, that is all we will ever get. _________________ 69 road Bug 2110
73 Squareback - 2L, T4, Automatic W/ AC
Gone, but many fond memories 69 Baja Bug 2010 - 5 Rib Bus Transaxle
Gone but not forgotten 72 Baja Bug 2010
My builds
T4 into Squareback http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=458944&highlight=
Auto Trans Rebuild http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=516066&highlight=
AC in Squareback https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...highlight= |
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md perf Samba Member
Joined: March 07, 2012 Posts: 149 Location: Pinckney, MI
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Posted: Wed Nov 27, 2013 4:57 pm Post subject: |
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could be porosity in the casting. if the metal looks like it has little bubbles in it, then it is a faulty casting 100% _________________ They've done studies, you know. 60% of the time, it works every time |
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Iguana Samba Member
Joined: April 19, 2008 Posts: 922 Location: SOCAL
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Posted: Wed Nov 27, 2013 11:06 pm Post subject: |
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Damn looks like you got lucky. Good luck getting anything out of empi their warranty is about as good as their quality control.
I purchased stuff of them a while back and it failed, they admitted it was an issue and would rectify it on the next batch, funnily enough they didn't offer to replace them and when ask directly they said no.
Luckily I bought them off Dan's Performance Parts and he honored the warranty on their behalf and paid for new ones out of his own pocket, from a different supplier. Since my issue was only with their ball joints and tie rods it was relatively minor compared to yours.
Empi use to be good quality and now it is just Chinese junk and they work on getting price down and volume up. |
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Vanapplebomb Samba Member
Joined: November 03, 2010 Posts: 5511 Location: Holland, MI
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Posted: Thu Nov 28, 2013 9:12 am Post subject: |
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Iguana wrote: |
Damn looks like you got lucky. Good luck getting anything out of empi their warranty is about as good as their quality control.
...
Empi use to be good quality and now it is just Chinese junk and they work on getting price down and volume up. |
Lucky is right!...could have gone very wrong very fast. I'm glad you are ok!
I must say, EMPI does not have a good track record with their warranties. It is usually easier to just go to the company you bought them from.
That being said, I do have to give a lot of credit to EMPI. They have been instrumental in keeping our hobby alive! They are no different from any other aftermarket automotive equipment manufacturer. Some of their stuff is cheap while other stuff is excellent. You just have to know which parts are hot and which are not. This is something that can only be gained by experience and lots of miles. Fortunately, you don't have to put all the miles and time in by yourself. Loads of people around here have already done that for you. Personally, I would NEVR hesitate to buy their CV joints, axles, and carburetors _________________ 1800 Type 4 Berrien 295
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=487021 |
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Brian Samba Moderator
Joined: May 28, 2012 Posts: 8340 Location: Oceanside
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Posted: Mon Dec 02, 2013 4:49 pm Post subject: |
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An update on this, I'm basically out of luck.
I went over to B&R and talked with Gary and come to find that EMPI has discontinued their lift spindles. I wonder why? He said they claimed it was from them not being a popular item.
Here are some up close pictures of the spindle, as you can see it broke on day 1.
Notice the rust line on where it was broken and where it finally snapped off. It clearly is a miracle that I had put on 10,000 miles on these. On road and mildly though the desert.
I was told that I could just weld them back together, but I have also been told cast iron doesn't take to kindly to welds. So I'm not going to trust that. So if anyone has some Thing parts, please PM me. _________________ Wash your hands
'69 Bug
'68 Baja Truck
'71 Bug
'68 Camper
Only losers litter |
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bowtiebug Samba Member
Joined: March 17, 2013 Posts: 902 Location: North Texas
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Posted: Mon Dec 02, 2013 5:03 pm Post subject: |
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Man you got lucky , could have been Deadly , glad your OK .
Either go with thing spindles ( my choice ) or tweed ..
Good Luck !! _________________ http://www.etsy.com/shop/AlphaKnots |
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Vanapplebomb Samba Member
Joined: November 03, 2010 Posts: 5511 Location: Holland, MI
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Posted: Mon Dec 02, 2013 5:06 pm Post subject: |
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All you would need are Thing spindles. You can swap the lower arms side to side, and the spindles will bolt right up. A buddy of mine did that and has worked great for a long time. _________________ 1800 Type 4 Berrien 295
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=487021 |
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Brian Samba Moderator
Joined: May 28, 2012 Posts: 8340 Location: Oceanside
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Posted: Mon Dec 02, 2013 5:08 pm Post subject: |
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bowtiebug wrote: |
Man you got lucky , could have been Deadly , glad your OK .
Either go with thing spindles ( my choice ) or tweed ..
Good Luck !! |
Thank you, I'm going to invest in going with the Thing spindles. I'm going to try to get a hold of some Ghia spindles in the mean time to hold me over. It's hard having a daily driver out of commission. _________________ Wash your hands
'69 Bug
'68 Baja Truck
'71 Bug
'68 Camper
Only losers litter |
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Vanapplebomb Samba Member
Joined: November 03, 2010 Posts: 5511 Location: Holland, MI
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Posted: Mon Dec 02, 2013 5:47 pm Post subject: |
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Why Ghia spindles? Bug spindles are the same, minus the large tab for disk brakes... if you don't have disks, then just grab some cheap used bug spindles. _________________ 1800 Type 4 Berrien 295
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=487021 |
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Brian Samba Moderator
Joined: May 28, 2012 Posts: 8340 Location: Oceanside
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Posted: Mon Dec 02, 2013 6:06 pm Post subject: |
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Vanapplebomb wrote: |
Why Ghia spindles? Bug spindles are the same, minus the large tab for disk brakes... if you don't have disks, then just grab some cheap used bug spindles. |
Thats exactly why. I have discs in the front. _________________ Wash your hands
'69 Bug
'68 Baja Truck
'71 Bug
'68 Camper
Only losers litter |
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vwboat Samba Member
Joined: July 21, 2011 Posts: 95 Location: Phoenix,AZ
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Posted: Mon Dec 02, 2013 6:31 pm Post subject: EMPI Spindles |
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I purchased a set of Empi raised spindles last year and the hole for the upper ball joint was cast or drilled way off center. No way I could use the spindle or wanted to the way it was constructed. Returned set to supplier and was told Empi had found their jig was off so they discontinued the spindles. I went with Kustom1 warehouse spindles and am real happy with them....... |
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