[T3] torsion arm needle bearings and machining Delrin bushings

[Jim Adney]

Check thesamba, you may be able to find new ones. I may have good used 
ones. Your old ones probably failed because the upper torsion bar came 
loose in the left upper trailing arm. That's a common problem that must be 
fixed before you do anything else. Fixing that may not be as simple as it may 
appear.

I don't know if Delrin will be strong enough for an outer bearing replacement, 
but it might be. It would likely be fine for an inner. You could probably make 
a one piece outer bearing and thrust piece, but you could do it in 2. I would 
not try to make an inner bearing as part of the same piece, because that 
would keep grease from getting to where it's needed.

The inner sleeves DO get worn out on front axles that have been neglected, 
as yours has been. You'll want to check it once you get the old outer bearing 
out of the way.

On 12 Jul 2020 at 11:13, Jacob Wener wrote:

> Just bought a 70 square back, and the drivers side upper torsion arm needle bearing (and thrust ring) appear to have exploded into nothing long ago.  With no luck finding the bearings or thrust rings, or even an off the shelf urethane bushing to replace them, I´m onto machining my own bushings out of Delrin.  The debate is- do I just make a bushing to replace the outer needle bearing and thrust ring, and leave the original inner bush in place (as it appears to be ok) or should I machine a whole sleeve to replace everything? Has anyone done these for a type 3 beam that could help providesome insight as to what dimensions I should machine the bushings to? 

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