[T3] Front beam is loose

Jim Adney jadney at vwtype3.org
Sun Nov 11 06:17:07 PST 2012


On 10 Nov 2012 at 7:00, Bobsnotch at aol.com wrote:

> When looking at the left side, there's 2 things to note. One is whether or  
> not the metal cap on the end is still there, and 2 is IF it's gone, how far 
> the  bar is in place inside the rectangle. If the cap is still there, 
> usually that  end is fine. But IF it's missing, that tells us, that end is loose, 
> and is  moving to the right when you adjust the right end. That's when you 
> have to pull  the bar out, and tear down the left side, and roll the bar 
> over to put a new  dimple in it, or install a replacement bar (if you have one).

Most people never realize that there's a metal cap over the L end of 
the upper torsion bar. So when they look at the left side, they see 
the cap, see that it's there and hasn't moved, and think that's the 
end of the torsion bar and that everythings fine in there. It's not; 
the torsion bar has withdrawn under the cap.

My experience is different from Bob's. I find that when that UL set 
screw looses it's grip, most of the time that metal cap stays in 
place. That's because the loose sway bar causes the L end to retract 
under the cap, not protrude.  

When you remove the sway bar to fix this, the cap will fall out. If 
your floor is clean, you'll find it there. Better yet, have a friend 
watch that side and catch it.

You're going to find that your sway bar no longer has a simple dimple 
for its set screw. No amount of adjustment will ever fix this until 
you provide good purchase for that set screw with a good dimple. The 
bar is pretty hard, but you can drill a deeper dimple, or a new 
dimple on the other side. Make sure to use a drill bit that's large 
enough to accommodate the entire end of the set screw.

You may be able to drill this with a hand drill, but using a drill 
press is much better. That will get the hole square to the bar, and 
let you apply the pressure needed to drill that hard steel.

Make sure you drill the new dimple at the end of the slot closest to 
the center of the bar.

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