[Sunroof_64]

spec of car
narrowed front beam (set to full height) dropped spindles ,stand (ish) gas shocks, wide 5 disk brakes.

i have reset the back suspension (nice job! - not ) due to one side being 1" higher than the other. sping plates set at 20degrees from horizontal (i think it should be more of 18degrees the haynes manual says)

With the car as it is the car seams to be very vague when going in a straight line (i.e. i have trouble keeping it straight ) and when cornering it feels like the car has a mind of its own.
I think this is due to the back now being too high compared to the front (Castor angle ?)
I'm probably going to drop the back down by either a full outer spline (2.5" ish ) or do a mixture of inner and outer splines to drop it 1.5" and see how it handles

does anyone else have any sensible suggestions or ideas

Cheers

John

[Sunroof_64]

right the story continues.

I've redropped the backend not as much though ... 4 innner and 4 outer spline (this is approx. 3degrees)

after all this it still drives like a pile of shite.
wont stay in a straight line , cannot pick a line in a bend feels like there is loads of play in the steering (buit there isn't)

any-one set up the back of a bug before ?

there is forward and backward movement of the axle in the spring plate so i think i've messed up the tracking of the rear-end. How the hell do i set this up ? is there a good place to measure ?

:-(

John

[Pherlippherlop]

you mean you didn't mark the position of the plates with a cold chisel in a couple of places before doinf the rear?

oh, time for 4 wheel laser alignment.

i'm level and have castershims fitted at front (ie dropped front and back) and it's nice now.

ball joints ok?
all tight up front?

[Souper Steve ABB]

Stupid question I know - but is the steering box loose?? I had a load of grief with mine and it turned out to be that.

[Sunroof_64]

yeh i forgot to mark the rear suspension up before i took the suspension apart ....

yes i feel silly !

bollox

i've just remeasureed the car now and i still have a 10mm difference in rear ride height .... so i must still be a sline wrong somewhere

fook

looks like its a bank holiday monday strip down and re-check


John

[rapidresto]

steering vagueness and feeling light is all down to castor angle. with an arse up nose down stance you'll need to fit 1 poss 2 pairs of castor shims to restor the correct angle.

As for it sitting funny where are you checking the height from? Its very possible that its the body that is not level (years of repairs / damage etc).

[Sunroof_64]

i've check

Floor to jacking point ... 10 mm difference
floor to top of wing 10-15mm (1/2 " ) difference
either side of rear valence .... 1/2"

most important is the gap bettween spring plate and lower bump stop (where the spring plate rests) .... 2-3mm difference

i have ordered some adjustable spring plates and i'm going to get some new inner and outer bushes for the torsion bars and go from there

what do ya think ?

John

[rapidresto]

its quite possible that the torsion bars are set at exactly the same spline position but are at different heights.

It s fairly common that one side will sag more than the other due to unequal weight distribution etc.

many a bug is driving around with an uneven rear end and as long as all the tracking and alignment is ok then not to worry really.

Adjustable spring plates will even the back end up i suppose, but surely this would be unequal loading of the torsion bars?

[Sunroof_64]

Right ! it gets worse .. i think i've mentioned this earlier
The framehead or the something else round the front of the car is bent or twisted i have 20mm difference in the wheel base left to right
so i'm back to square one

Nice !

[Sunroof_64]

right well the car the car is in for a 4-wheel alignment (after explaining how to set the rear up :D ). Hope they can do it.

John

[steffreak]

just took my bug down a spline, but havnt fitted the new gearbox yet so dont no how it will sit/handle

i took the torsion bars up one spline to lower it, but the one side the spring plate fell off, but the spring plates look realy even on how they sit to the bump stops if u get me

do you rekon it will need more adjusting or is there anyway to make sure it is "perfect" before i put the box back in?

dnt meen to hijack ur thread sunroof

stef

[Sunroof_64]

if in doubt follow the haynes manual about resetting the springplates.
but you can check if there angle is the same with a spirit level and a protractor. if the torsion bar is in the inner splines and the spring plate is in the outser splines (but not resting on the lower metal bump stop) it will be at a "relaxed" angle. Make sure this angle is on the same both sides.

(40 inner splines , 44 outer splines ) i also found this site

http://www.bugbabe.co.uk/year_age.html

excuse the pink but at the bottom of the page tells you drop in cm's against rotate splines inner and outer.

hope this helps

John

[steffreak]

cheerz dude! :)