LEAKOIL Forum

Go HAM!

Six Volt wrote:
Since Chuck ragged on me about replacing my 50 year old shocks.

Isn't Chuck about 50 years old too? Maybe we should replace him.
















Just kiddin', Chuck.....

Irreplaceable!

The time came for me to embrace my previous realization that bolting some new parts on a suspect undercarriage was not sensible. I knew I was in over my head and I really didn't want to put it on Dale. It's just too much. Thankfully, after asking Bruce, he said bring it over.

I'm sure glad I did. We all know the detail and expertise Bruce puts into his work, but this being Easter weekend, I figured Bruce would be busy and he'd have me just tow it in and we'd talk sometime next week.

We'll several hours later one of the best lessons anyone could experience in front end/rear axle repair was in full swing. Bruce got that bug on his lift and he was all over it. Here are a few pics...

I've been staring at Bill Webner's pristine interior job for months!


Good old AAA came and took her away...


Bruce went into "Woods Brothers pit crew mode" and had the wheels off in no time.


I told Bruce I put the rear axle covers back on, and even though I know next to nothing about bearings, I had some concerns. Bruce took a look and pulled one side off.


He said I could have gotten by with one, but the other was pitted. Bruce tried heat, but it looks like the "8 finger puller", or whaever its called, will be needed. I guess we need to call Chuck!


On to the front where I got a comprehensive lesson in spindles, bearings, races, trailing arms, tie rod ends, pitman arms, steering couplers and steering boxes. For years I've read about all these, but seeing them taken apart piece by piece was a priceless education.


Speaking of spindles, this bushing didn't look heathy. Time to call WideFive!


I even got a lesson in how to measure the offset on the trailing arms after removal of the spindle.


Tie rod removal seems to invole eating your Wheaties!


I also learned that (at least on early beetles) that the pitman arm needs to come off to get the steering box off.


I think we were both shocked that the steering box actually had gear oil in it! But it didn't pass Bruce's inspection.


Now on to the fun part. Who doesn't want to run a power washer on a cold spring day?


This is my favorite tool. I wish I had a blaser cabinet in my bedroom!


Bruce cleaned up the spindles before they go to WIdeFive. The driver's side one was locked up.


The formerly nasty backing plates came out like new!


The old trans and bad seals I had made a mess of the drums, but Bruce is meticulous about cleanliness.


When Bruce was done you could read the March 6, 1957 date stamp on the original drum!


I thoroughly enjoyed the day! I really enjoyed listening to Bruce explain what was going on. It was a priceless lesson. Its also fun when you can talk James Dean and the Arsenal of Democracy. You under 30's look them up!

Well, stay tuned, Bruce will no doubt take over the updates!

Ok Ok, I'm sure you're all wondering where are all the blurry pics? Was I on my best I-Phone behavior because of Bruce? NO! Here's one to keep things consistent, but I could argue I was focused on the cresent wrench!

Six Volt wrote:Bruce cleaned up the spindles before they go to WIdeFive. The driver's side one was locked up.

Thank you! Always nice getting in clean cores to werk on!

Yes, everything went smoothly even though I forgot to bring a camera and Sean came through with his best set of pics ever. Nothing really surprising was found in the teardown but the front end is a mess. One tie rod was loose so it will get a set, the link pins were really super loose, one kingpin is seized and would have been a wandering and clunking devil if not attended to. The rag joint was whipped, and once the tie rods and rag joint were disassembled I found I couldn't turn the input of the steering box by hand, so the box came off and apart. It will be replaced with a new TRW one. The front end will be completely fresh including a stock height disc brake kit when it goes together, along with tapered roller bearings to replace the ball bearings, and clamp nuts. The trailing arm offset was fine with the measurements about 7 and 7.5mm so no new arms will be needed. Cleaning the parts was a shit job but about half is done with nuts and bolts still needing to be blasted and cleaned along with one backing plate.

Pretty much everything will be attended to in the brake system- new dual MC, rear shows/cyls, hoses, etc, and it will get new rear wheel bearings and seals also. It has a new harness in it but I'm sure little tidbits will need attention, and detail like new fuel lines and much miscellaneous.

About 5 hours work time yesterday.

Great news Sean. I love this bug and can't wait to see it in motion!

Please Mr Judge "If the gloves don't fit you must acquit"

CraigOnTheBoat wrote:Please Mr Judge "If the gloves don't fit you must acquit"

I know if I didn't take a picture it didn't happen, but how did you know there was a white Bronco parked outside the house today? Seriously, there was!

Anyway, I'm thrilled this oval is finaly moving along. The immediate hangup now is the need to source a '62-'66 pitman arm for the replacement TRW steering box. The replacement boxes were all designed (understandably) for the later (read more plentiful) '60's bugs. They changed the arm after '61, so now I'm treading water. Even WW, at $99 for a little pitman arm, are out of stock. http://www.wolfsburgwest.com/cart/Detai ... =113415371 The big box outlets at $20 to $29 are also out. http://www2.cip1.com/ProductDetails.asp ... D413%2D041 Nothing listed on the samba. Maybe something will show up at Jim's Custom?

Sean have you contacted Wolfgang yet?