[T3] T3 Front end bushings

[Jim Adney]

On 21 Dec 2012 at 10:12, timothy kuehn wrote:

> Then I must have a late-model beam, but I guess I can't be sure if
> it's original to the car. It's the metal bushing - basically a short
> section of tube - that came out in pieces.  The sleeve must still be
> in there (?), because when flushing down in the area, did not see any
> gap where the sleeve should be.  Did see the 'bottom', and a space
> that seemed correct for bushing to slide into. Does that mean I was
> looking at the face of that sleeve? 

It sounds like you can see the ID of the beam step down as you look 
inside. If so, this is the face of the plastic bushing. The Bentley 
gives dimensions to the inner bushing, so you should be able to 
compare those to the distance you measure to the bushing to verify 
that the bushings themselves are still in the right place. It's 
almost certain that you still have the original '72 (late) beam.  

> But is it reasonable to think that, since bushing was just free in
> there, bakelite sleeve is also suspect, maybe split or wallowed? If I
> get bushings from you, is there any sense in not replacing the sleeves
> too? 

VW claims that the bushings are not replacable, but I suppose that 
might just mean that they didn't sell them separately. I don't know 
if it's possible to do this. If the ID of the bushing is "wallowed 
out" then that might be your only option.

If you end up doing this, I'd think you'd need to make a driver, 
something like what Bentley shows, to drive the bushing, with bearing 
sleeve already installed, in to the proper depth.
 
> Reading Bentley section on this job.  They refer to special tools to
> pull & install.  Suggestions? 

Getting the old part out should be possible with some sort of slide 
hammer attachment, if it will come at all. I would make a serious 
effort to leave your bushing in place and just install a new sleeve, 
but to do this you would need to figure out some way to measure the 
ID of the bushing first, to make sure the sleeve would stay tight.

You will need to make some sort of tool to drive the new bushing in 
there correctly. I MAY have such a tool. I don't remember if I have 
that size, but I can check.


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Jim Adney, jadney at vwtype3.org
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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