[T3] Front Axle Beam & CV Joints

[Bobsnotch at aol.com]

In a message dated 7/13/2011 7:39:15 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
gbforsmo at gmail.com writes:

On 13  Jul 2011 at 8:27, Gary Forsmo wrote:

> 1)  Are NEW (complete,  ready-to-bolt-on) Front Axle Beams available for 
my
> 1969 VW  Squareback/Variant, from some source?  Approximate cost?  Or  am 
 I
> going to be relegated to "searching" for the best,  minimally rust-free,
> used, beam that I can find?

I think the  only source is used.

> 2)  A VW bus owner, and (BTW) is a  "passionate" VW bus owner, like us 
Type
3
> guys, gave me a catalog  from Mid America Motorworks (Effingham, IL).
>  www.mamotorworks.com   They are a "newly-known-to-me", VW supplier  of
> (mostly) Bug, Super-Beetle, Ghia, & Bus parts.  They seem  to have a small
> amount of Type 3 stuff.  Do they sell GOOD  quality parts?  Their prices
seem
> a bit on the high  side.  ???

Their quality is pretty good, but no one has really  good quality Type
3 parts. Stick with what you've got, or good used OG  parts, as long
as you can.

> 3)  Are the upper ball joint  arms (by themselves only) replaceable?  It
> seems that the ball  joint on the right-side has excessive "play" in it.
> Both top-to-bottom  and right-to-left.  Left-side is just OK (not great)
but
>  OK.  If I could find a good quality Front Axle Beam, I would buy  it.

There are quite specific instructions in the Bentley manual  for
measuring wear in the ball joints. Their method requires  special
tools, but you can generally make do with something equivalent.  Is
that what you've done. Otherwise, this is a really hard  determination
to do.

Yes, any of the ball joints are individually  replaceable. It's a bit of
work, but it's easier than replacing the beam. I  have new ball
joints, but I've never had to replace one.

>  4)  Do any other VW models or years, Front Axle Beams "fit" our Type  3
cars?

No

Thanks, Jim for the answers.  Not exactly  what I was hoping for ... but
helpful.

1)  Unless I can find a  "good, used" axle beam, that has been sitting, but
not "run" in the salt,  for years, I guess I'll have to look at NO-SALT
states along our return to  Texas, in the fall.

2)  Point taken.

3)  The guys at  the tire shop who have a qualified, certified technician 
who
does  "front-end" work and alignment and works with the VW Bus-guy, was able
to  tighten up the left-upper ball joint (using the instructions in my
Bentley  book) and grease the axle beam.  It took a lot of grease so it  
must
have been very dry.  After the adjustment and grease, we took it  for a test
drive.  A lot of the 55 mph "wiggle" in the steering wheel  was gone.  There
still is a good deal of "shudder" when you apply  power at highway speeds.
We first suspected engine mounts, but they're  OK.  They think there's too
much end-to-end "play" in the IRS Drive  Axle CV Joints.

4)  What are the years of the Front Axle Beams for  a given style?  Or did
the VW factory make changes throughout the  production of the Type 3's?  
Does
one Axle Beam fit ALL  years?

Gary "Frito", '69 Variant, FI, MT
Lake Geneva,  WI




1) Contact ISP West. They're about the only people trying to rebuild our  
beams, and might have a very good used one that they've checked out.
 
2) They've been around for a while, since they bought all of Rocky Mountain 
 Motor Works' inventory (a much better company) after VW's lawyers sued 
RMMW.  Now, for the most part, they sell over priced chinese stuff, and cater 
to the  T-1 crowd.
 
3) My 65 Notch used to do this. Almost right after I put it on the road, I  
had a vibration that came in at 54, and would go away at 60, unless you 
powered  thru it. It was a nightmare on surface roads (with a posted 55 limit), 
as it  always would start shaking. I had these same tires and rims on a 
different car  before, and never had an issue. Last summer (right before the 
2010 T-3  Invasion), I replaced all 4 tires, and my vibration is now gone. I 
don't know  what the real cause was, because I had the other set rebalanced 
twice trying to  get rid of it, but now it's gone. : ) I even changed the 
steering dampener  (twice) trying to "cure" it.
 
4) Beams themselves are the same from 66 on, however spindles and tie rod  
ends changed in mid 68 (inner bearing size increased, as did the tie rod 
ends),  but everything else interchanges thru 71, and then in 72 VW changed the 
 spindles, rotors and caliper (went slightly larger).
 
 
 
Bob 65 Notch  S with sunroof and IRS (Krusty)
71 Notch (Krunchy)
64 T-34 Ghia  (Wolfie)
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