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Mellow Yellow 74
Samba Member
Joined: October 14, 2014
Posts: 1615
Location: Sydney, Australia
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 Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2015 12:58 pm Post subject: |
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| kkjellquist wrote: |
| Looking replace my spring plate bushings and asked in the stupid question thread about doing this without remove the shock or any brake components. |
I think you could so it without removing the shock and the brake line - mine is currently apart and I did it without removing the shocks and the drive shafts and just sat the drums on blocks of wood. I did have to remove the brake drum so I could remove the handbrake cable because this was in the way when I tried to undo the wheel bearing housing bolts, but I was able to do this without removing the brake shoes. I then replaced the drum so the assembly could sit on the timber blocks.
I did remove the brake lines because I wanted to remove the diagonal arm to paint it and check the upper bushing, but if you weren't doing this you wouldn't need to remove the brake lines as long as your spring plates have the cut out shown in the earlier photo.
_________________
1962 Karmann Ghia
1974 Deluxe Microbus
1985 Caravelle (Vanagon)
Last edited by Mellow Yellow 74 on Wed Feb 18, 2015 3:31 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Mellow Yellow 74
Samba Member
Joined: October 14, 2014
Posts: 1615
Location: Sydney, Australia
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| Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2015 3:25 pm Post subject: |
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| Brian wrote: |
| atomweks sells a tool, that you can make, that holds the plate from breaking your knee caps. |
I used a spring plate tool (http://www2.cip1.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=ACC-C10-7047) to release the tension on the spring plates.
It workled well but you still need to be careful because these are designed for bugs not buses so the upper part does not sit that well on the frame above the bump stop on a bus - you need to hold it in position when you are adjusting the big wing nut.
I was expecting it to travel a long way before releasing the tension once the spring plate came off the stop but it wasn't that much - still potentially dangerous but not as bad as I was expecting.
_________________
1962 Karmann Ghia
1974 Deluxe Microbus
1985 Caravelle (Vanagon) |
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Mellow Yellow 74
Samba Member
Joined: October 14, 2014
Posts: 1615
Location: Sydney, Australia
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| Posted: Sat Feb 21, 2015 3:18 am Post subject: |
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I finished this today and tried to use the spring plate tool to tension the torsion bars after adjusting them. Even though I tried to hold the tool on at the top it slipped off and the spring plate flew down which was dangerous, plus it scratched paint above the bump stop.
I gave up trying to use this tool and used a hydraulic jack to lift up the plate and it was easy and safe. Maybe the tool is ok to use on a Bug which it was designed for, but these are completely useless and dangerous for a Bus.
_________________
1962 Karmann Ghia
1974 Deluxe Microbus
1985 Caravelle (Vanagon) |
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vwwestyman
Samba Member
Joined: April 24, 2004
Posts: 5688
Location: Manhattan, Kansas, USA
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| Posted: Sat May 28, 2016 3:16 pm Post subject: Re: Rear torsion bar sizes mysteries and disinformation. |
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I just had mine all apart.
In my 1978 Westy, I had red torsion bars and they measured at ~27 mm. So I would say that the red bars are the ones speced at 26.90mm.
This also may explain why I've been unhappy with the rear end height for a long time.
I had it apart and checked/adjusted them years ago.
Today, I measured one bar at ~20 degrees. The other popped all the way out before I could measure it.
I think years ago, I had used the Bentley spec of 20 degrees, as stated for a Campmobile. However, since I seem to have the smaller bars, if I go by that, then they should have been set at 23 degrees.
I shot for 24, as I wanted a touch of lift.
I'm working on getting it put together now, so we'll see how that goes.
_________________
Dave Cook
President, Wild Westerner Club
1978 Champagne Edition Westy, repowered to '97 Jetta TDI
1973 Wild Westerner
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surfbus23
Samba Member
Joined: July 21, 2016
Posts: 383
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| Posted: Sat Apr 14, 2018 11:54 am Post subject: Re: Rear torsion bar sizes mysteries and disinformation. |
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| In order not to create a new thread. Can the rear torsion bar be adjusted with the engine out or would this make the adjustment not accurate once it's put back into place? |
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Amskeptic
Samba Member
Joined: October 18, 2002
Posts: 8568
Location: All Across The Country
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| Posted: Sat Apr 14, 2018 9:33 pm Post subject: Re: Rear torsion bar sizes mysteries and disinformation. |
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| surfbus23 wrote: |
| In order not to create a new thread. Can the rear torsion bar be adjusted with the engine out or would this make the adjustment not accurate once it's put back into place? |
Engine doesn't matter. This is all about spring plate degrees from vehicle horizontal axis.
Colin
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www.itinerant-air-cooled.com |
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surfbus23
Samba Member
Joined: July 21, 2016
Posts: 383
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| Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2018 11:08 am Post subject: Re: Rear torsion bar sizes mysteries and disinformation. |
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| Got it! Thanks Colin. Makes total sense. |
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