[T3] Front beam is loose

[Jim Adney]

On 5 Nov 2012 at 17:11, Chris Slaymaker wrote:

> There is a good bit of axial play in the right upper torsion arm (the
> source of the shimmy?) so that I believe a new thrust ring is in
> order.

There is a 0.1% chance that you need new thrust rings.

There is a 99.9% chance that your upper torsion bar is loose in the 
left upper trailing arm. This is an easy fix if you haven't let it go 
too long, and it's always worth trying first.

Jack up the front end and remove both front wheels.

Remove the bolts that secure the upper torsion bar to the upper 
trailing arms on both sides.

Screw a long bolt into the R side of the bar and drive it out toward 
the left a couple inches.

Look at the part that has come out the L side. There should be a 
simple dimple there, where the set screw held it. If that dimple has 
turned into an elongated slot, you'll need to drill a deeper dimple, 
either on that side or on the other side.

If you need to drill a new dimple, pull the bar all the way out from 
the L side so you can work on it.

Your new dimple should be centered at the inner end of the elongated 
slot. This is where the OE dimple was. It's important that you put 
the new one in the right place.

Clean everything up and reinstall. Tighten the L side first, making 
SURE you're IN the dimple. Then adjust and tighten the R side. The 
Bentley has full instructions for this.

Don't jump into a "new" front beam. You won't know how new it is 
inside until after you've put LOTs of time and sweat into it, and 
it's usually a pointless effort.

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