[T3] T3 Front end bushings

[timothy kuehn]

 -- The bushing is a press fit into the sleeve, but the bushing wont break apart... it's a bronze bushing with a Teflon coating,
 it will bend, but not break. You should see the Bakelite sleeve in there, its about 1.5" deep.

The metal bushing is what came out in pieces.  Seems silver-colored, rather than brass, esp. at the shiny parts of the broken edges.

-- none of the old bushings I have removed from old beams show any signs of Teflon. They're just silver colored, like rod bearings, but full circle.

Full circle?  Hmm, looking at the broken bushing, looks like it had a split running its length?  Does this indicate a previous kludge, 
like someone tried to use an odd piece of split tubing to replace NLA bushing?
 
...

>  If I get bushings, is there any sense in not replacing the sleeves too? 
 
-- VW claims the bushings aren't replacable, that  might just mean 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.

Are we using the same words for 'bushing' and 'sleeve'?  Or do I have it backward?  If I get new bushings, their ID won't be wallowed.
The ID of the sleeve might be wallowed - esp if it had a weird homemade bushing fail inside of it.

-- 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.

Aha! Marry the new bushing & sleeve, drive those home as a unit. I like it, but...
 
-- Getting the old part out should be possible with some sort of slide hammer attachment. I would make a serious effort to leave your bushing
in place and just install a new sleeve.  ... And you will need to make some sort of tool to drive the new bushing in there correctly. 

Not so concerned about driving new ones in, more worried with getting old stuff out.  Like, describe the ideal 'slide hammer attachment'.  Just
something with a bit of a hooked foot, so it grabs an edge of the sleeve/bushing, and you work it around the circle with successive slide-whacks??  
Or is there something more clever that'll grab the whole circle? 
I guess we're talking about removing the torsion bars completely, no way to maneuver the slide-hammer in there otherwise? Is this what you were 
alluding to when you said the part about 'make a serious effort to leave bushing in place...'?



--Timmy
'72 square
Venice, CA



 		 	   		  
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