So with everything out and disassembled I set about refurbing and getting new parts. I bought some rubberized undercoating and painted the wheel weels. What I should have done was painted them with a rust inhibitor first.
I then cleaned, bench ground, and then painted my torsion arms and steering knuckles with black caliper paint.
I ended up not doing anything with my tie rods, even though I ordered new ones. I’ll save that for another time. So on to the reassembly.
First thing I did after all the painting, etc. was lubricate my front axle with a multi-purpose (non-lithium) grease at the five points as shown in Bentley. They did not ooze out of the torsion openings as I expected, but as I found out later I had plenty in there. Next step was to install the torsion arms. NOw the manuals (and forums I would find out) weren’t much help to me at all when it came to reinstalling the arms. Maybe I was doing something wrong, but it was not easy.
Bentley pretty much says, installation is the reverse of removal, but I don’t think it was.
First off, there are five set screws, or grub screws, that you are dealing with. One on each arm, and one in the middle of the lower beam. It wasn’t real clear to me wether they should be in and tight or not on the arms. I didn’t even know there was a fifth one (on the beam) until after my trouble started. Not really understanding how the spring leafs and torsion arms work together I at first tried to put on the lower arms with the set screws tight, as someone on thesamba.com had told me to do. So I lubed up the arm and shot some grase in the opening and slid it in. I started one arm and then went to the other, as everyone has said to do – engage them both so you don’t screw things up – check. When they were both engaged, I lightly hammered one in all the way. Easy as pie. Went around to the other side and hammered that one in. Wow, this really is easy. Went back to the other side and saw that it had backed right out. Hmmm, what am I doing wrong?
So I look in Bentley under removing the torsion arm (I thought) and see “Loosen the locknut on the set screw. Then remove the setwcrew” and it refers to a picture of the setscrew in the middle of the beam. Hmm, well I didn’t do that when I removed the arms, but I guess I was supposed to (later find out this is referring to torsion bars, not arm?). And since the installation is the reverse of removal, I guess I am supposed to start with the setscrew out. So I go under and remove the setscrew. Then I put on the arm and hammer it home. Go to the other side and do the same thing. Come back and the arm has popped out again. And now the weld holding the spring leafs has broken and they are all over the place. What the heck?! S
o I go on thesamba and ask about the setscrews and the same guy says, don’t touch the middle one (too late) and that the ones on the arms are supposed to be in and tight. So I go back out and am a little suspicious about all this. I try to line up the center hole in the springs and set the screw, but can’t really find it. I then examine the indentation on the end of the springs/bars and decide to pull them out, put an arm on the end and tighten the setscrew in the right place. Then I hammered it flush with the axle, as I figured that that should mean the springs are lined up. Then I go under the bus and tighten the setscrew on the torsion bars/spring leafs. Next, I go on the other side, and because common sense tells me so, I remove the set screw from this arm. As I whack it on, a whole mess of grease comes shooting out of the setscrew hole. There was just to much pressure from all the grease in the beam and the setscrew on one of the arms had to be off to relieve it. So put one arm on and secure it, then put the other on and secure that one. easy.
You’d think I would have figured it out then, and the upper arm install would be easier, but it wasn’t. Just make sure your rubber bump stops are removed from both sides, and don’t replace them or lift the arm up until both side have been pushed in till they hit that little protruding arm with the stops. Only then can you lift them up with the pry bar (which I have now done myself four times-it is not a two person job).
This was about a four hour job, and was very messy. I had to take quite a few cool-your-head breaks so as to not get too frustrated.
Here’s the link to my samba post: http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=2635135&highlight=#2635135
Ok, so what’s it look like?
Before:
After:
I also replaced the rubber brake lines, but as I was tightening the driver’s side hose, the metal line broke. So it looks like I’ll replace all the metal lines also.
I have been working on the bearings, and once I get my new ones installed I will put the wheel assembly back together and tighten everything up.
