1978 Kombi front end rebuild. Plans, for comment!

[wcfvw69]

Holy shit.. What do they spray on the roads over there in Scotland in the winter, acid?!? That's some serious rust salt on those suspension parts. It looks like a car from the rust belt roads of the N.E. USA.

I did front end alignment work in the early to mid-80's in Southern California. We had a ton of folks moving to California back then from the rust belt states who brought their rusted cars with them. I hated when these cars came in for alignment work. It took forever to break the adjustments free to align them or change the parts.
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[mcdonaldneal]

Depressing, isn’t it Bill?

Specifically, they put rock salt and grit on the roads here. No chemical de-icer. Not all winter, but if the forecast is for frost or snow.
Actually, since we shipped the Kombi from Australia, it has very rarely been driven between October and March, when the roads are salted, and it has pretty much always been stored in a garage. Plenty of wet weather driving though over the years, as it is impossible to avoid the ‘liquid sunshine’ here in Scotland!
So, the Kombi is 40yrs old. The first 23 years were in Victoria, Australia (dry!) and so it has had 17yrs in Scotland, as well looked after as you could hope. I think the black, waxy underseal was sprayed on the first year we were back and has done a pretty good job of protecting the underbody, but some of it is dried out and starting to rust underneath it. I’m going to repaint a couple of these areas while I’m under there.

You’re right though, the parts around the wheels are pretty bad, and I’m going to paint as much with POR15 as I can.
Ultimately, a losing battle, but we’ve always been determined to use and enjoy the Kombi as much as possible, and I’m sure the work I’m doing will give it a few more years yet!
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1978 marino yellow Bay Dormobile camper
1969 signal orange Karmann Ghia convertible
1976 martini olive Bay Dormobile camper

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[mcdonaldneal]

Got a chance to get some pics of the inside of the calipers today. I’m pretty sure that two of the dust seals (at least) have a tear in them (first and second pic). Also, the second brake hose I cleaned off has a date of 1997 on it! I think that settles the matter of what to replace...
I’ll remove the calipers, clean up, remove the pistons and replace the seals and o-rings. I’ll order new hoses at the same time. I think (from reading) that there is no need to take the calipers apart, but at least I’ll be rewarded with a much improved braking system.

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1978 marino yellow Bay Dormobile camper
1969 signal orange Karmann Ghia convertible
1976 martini olive Bay Dormobile camper

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[SGKent]

you can put a wooden stake between the pistons and apply air pressure to pop them out. Usually one will come out. Push it back a little and use the stake to hold it while someone applies pressure again and the other will pop out.

DO NOT get your fingers close because they sound like a gun shot when they pop out and will dent the wooden stake. If it was a finger man would it hurt. Wrap it in an old towel when you do it because remaining brake fluid sprays into the air.

I use a lite glass beading and 2000 grit sand paper on the pistons to burnish them smooth again, and then use the spray brake cleaner to clean the caliper body. Use a little of the special fluid when assembling them, and they will work as good as new. If you can't find it just use brake fluid. Regular grease will damage the seals.

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“Most people don’t know what they’re doing, and a lot of them are really good at it.” - George Carlin

[MorkC68]

These guys do an excellent rebuild kit, we've used them on our westy when we rebuild the brakes last year.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FRONT-Brake-Caliper-Reb...:rk:1:pf:0

note the link is for ATE Calipers but they also do Girling as well.
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Major; 1977 Westfalia Campmobile
- Subaru EJ20
- Koni Classic adjustable dampers & Empi Heavy Duty Anti Roll Bar
- 180W Solar System

My blog: https://twolatebays.wordpress.com/

[mcdonaldneal]

Thanks Steve, I found a thread with tips on caliper rebuild from yourself and others which will guide me.
In other work today, I did an initial degrease and wire brushed the rust from the right hand side ball joints. This side had intact boots. The lower one has VW/Audi logos, ‘ECO’ (?) branding and I think I see a date of ‘97, which would fit with the date of the brake hoses. The upper one had no identifying marks.
My plan is to tap for grease zerks, loosen the top retaining ring to flush with grease and then reuse the old boots if I can.

QUESTION: I presume the upper ball joint boots should be capable of rotating slightly in their grooves, otherwise when the eccentric camber bushing is adjusted it would put a twisting strain on the boot. Can anyone confirm if this is correct?

_________________
1978 marino yellow Bay Dormobile camper
1969 signal orange Karmann Ghia convertible
1976 martini olive Bay Dormobile camper

Stop dead photo links! Post photos to The Samba Gallery!

[mcdonaldneal]

[MorkC68]

The rebuild kit comes with four pistons, dust seals, o rings for the caliper halves and the larger sized o rings.

Enough to do a very thorough job. Id say a couple of hours to do, inc cleaning the castings up ready to paint (not including painting though)!
_________________
Major; 1977 Westfalia Campmobile
- Subaru EJ20
- Koni Classic adjustable dampers & Empi Heavy Duty Anti Roll Bar
- 180W Solar System

My blog: https://twolatebays.wordpress.com/

[mcdonaldneal]

Couple of pics for no-one but me!
This was the suspension before I wire brushed it, mainly for reference when I’m putting things back together.

_________________
1978 marino yellow Bay Dormobile camper
1969 signal orange Karmann Ghia convertible
1976 martini olive Bay Dormobile camper

Stop dead photo links! Post photos to The Samba Gallery!

[SGKent]

it is nice to see you taking a lot of time to go thru clean up now rather then just slopping something on it to hide it. It says you will enjoy this bus for many years.
_________________
“Most people don’t know what they’re doing, and a lot of them are really good at it.” - George Carlin

[wcfvw69]

IDK,
As far as you've gone, you should consider killing or neutralizing that rust on the arms and other suspension parts. In the USA, there are several products you can apply with a brush (acid based) and in a jell that will stick, that will eat, kill, neutralize and remove the rust down to the bare metal. Then you can apply a good primer and paint.

My 67 bug pan had some rust on it under the battery. This is usually where the bug floor pans rust out. I removed the battery and cleaned the rusty (surface) metal. I then used a wire brush attachment on a drill to remove the heaviest rust. I then took my time and applied a jelly rust remover and let it soak for 20 minutes. I scrubbed the rusty metal with a hand wire brush. It really ate the rust away. I did have to apply 3-4 different coats but when I was done, there was zero rust left. I had plenty of metal left so I saved my pan! I then applied epoxy primer and several coats of good paint. It won't rust again in my life time.

For the record, I think Por-15 is really overrated. I'm not a fan of it. I'd find another epoxy based paint you can brush or spray on in a can. Cheaper and better IMHO.
_________________
Contact me at [email protected]
Follow me on instagram @sparxwerksllc

Decades of VW and VW parts restoration experience.
The Samba member since 2004.

**Now rebuilding throttle bodies for VW's and Porsche's**
**Restored German Bosch distributors for sale or I can restore yours**
**Restored German Pierburg fuel pumps for sale or I can restore yours**
**Restored Porsche fuel pumps or I can restore yours**
**Restored Porsche distributors or I can restore yours**

[mcdonaldneal]

Thanks Bill. I’ll work out a plan of action for the rust elements. I will likely go with POR, mainly because I have two small tins of black that I need to use for something! I’ve had reasonable results with it in the past.

I did a few things so far today.
I used my home soda blaster to clean up the steering box. Not to perfection, but cosmetically good enough to go back in.

Then I had a go at grease fittings for the first ball joint. The link to cross sectional pics suggested that the Meyle brand has a good bit of space above the ball.

[mcdonaldneal]

I’ve now done the second ball joint zerk on the left side. It’s the same Meyle brand as the first one, so I knew what to expect. I tried stopping drilling as soon as I was through the metal cap, but it didn’t leave enough space to tap a thread or to get the zerk to grip, as the plastic underneath is hard up against the cap. So, I drilled a bit into the plastic as I had done accidentally on the other joint and in fact went through it into the void above the metal ball. Plenty of room to tap a thread and insert the grease fitting.
Interestingly, even though the hole goes into the joint space, no grease was forced out of the bottom end of the joint, like the first one I did. I contented myself with greasing the top half.

The pic just shows the black plastic hard up against the metal of the cap.

_________________
1978 marino yellow Bay Dormobile camper
1969 signal orange Karmann Ghia convertible
1976 martini olive Bay Dormobile camper

Stop dead photo links! Post photos to The Samba Gallery!

[mcdonaldneal]

Late night session finishing off the ball joint zerks.
I have three different kinds of ball joint and they are indeed all different when it comes to fitting a grease point.
The two Meyle ones I did already had a thin cap and then a plastic section before the ball space.
The VW/Audi/ECO one and the ‘no name’ have very thick caps, and once you are through it you are above the ball, with very little space between the cap and the ball. Plenty of meaty metal to tap a zerk in though, although I was quite conservative so as not to risk hitting the ball with the threads of the tap or the zerk.
You can see I used a clip on a piece of fine wire to gauge the depth, and I put a washer to support the thread, as it is not fully inserted. I got some caps online too!

_________________
1978 marino yellow Bay Dormobile camper
1969 signal orange Karmann Ghia convertible
1976 martini olive Bay Dormobile camper

Stop dead photo links! Post photos to The Samba Gallery!

[mcdonaldneal]

Sporadic progress here due to a mixture of a holiday break abroad, cold weather and real life getting in the way!
However, it’s Spring now and I spent the day degreasing, rust treating, priming and spray painting various parts. Ball joint arms, steering knuckles, drag link, tie rod, Pitman and wheel hubs. I feel like I’ve really made progress.
A few days ago I had also painted up the calipers, before I replace the pistons and seals. I’m not really happy with the colour (the pic is before paint!) but I guess they don’t really need paint anyway!
My brake splash guards/backing plates were very rusted and I had ordered replacements, but the bolt holes are in the wrong place and the quality is not great, so I had the originals blasted and powder coated and they came out ok.

My adjustable tie rod turned out to be a little bit bent. Not much, but Bentley suggests replacing it, so I will.

_________________
1978 marino yellow Bay Dormobile camper
1969 signal orange Karmann Ghia convertible
1976 martini olive Bay Dormobile camper

Stop dead photo links! Post photos to The Samba Gallery!

[mcdonaldneal]

I’ve been slowly working away when I can, but I’ve finally got a couple of days free, so I’m hoping to really make progress! Also, we’re supposed to be going camping in a couple of weeks, so there is a bit of a deadline!
The whole process should be straightforward, but I keep getting hung up and stalling on the small, tricky steps along the way...
Three of the brake caliper pistons blew out with compressed air but the last was stuck fast. After a couple of days, I took it to a proper garage and they got it out. The repair kit someone recommended upthread was perfect, and had new pistons, so I got hold of some internal caliper grease and eventually got them back together. Top tip: using the old brake pad and a two arm puller was great for gently pushing the piston in straight!

_________________
1978 marino yellow Bay Dormobile camper
1969 signal orange Karmann Ghia convertible
1976 martini olive Bay Dormobile camper

Stop dead photo links! Post photos to The Samba Gallery!

[mcdonaldneal]

Other tasks that took a disproportionate amount of time were: pulling off the eccentric bush from the upper ball joint to get the new boot on. THREE pullers were not deep enough, but a big bearing puller and a couple of hammers eventually got it free! The new nyloc nuts on the ball joints are a PIA as well, when the joints just spin when you try to tighten... luckily, the stud has a tiny flat on the end, but a 9mm spanner doesn’t give you much leverage!
Anyway, the knuckles are back on and looking good and I have a list of jobs for today!

_________________
1978 marino yellow Bay Dormobile camper
1969 signal orange Karmann Ghia convertible
1976 martini olive Bay Dormobile camper

Stop dead photo links! Post photos to The Samba Gallery!

[airschooled]

Looking great!

Robbie

(I hope you marked the eccentric bushing alignment for reassembly!)
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[mcdonaldneal]

[mcdonaldneal]

I’ll put up a few pics as I come in and out of the house for breaks.
Here, the splash guards I had powder coated (the reason being, the repro ones I ordered were handed left/right and would have needed new bolt holes drilling!)
These originals are identical left/right.

_________________
1978 marino yellow Bay Dormobile camper
1969 signal orange Karmann Ghia convertible
1976 martini olive Bay Dormobile camper

Stop dead photo links! Post photos to The Samba Gallery!