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On 7 Jul 2003 at 1:27, Chris J Valade wrote: > The stabilizer bar isn't flush with the left upper torsion arm, > should it be, or is a mm or 2 nothing to worry about? The position isn't important, as long as they are tight. This sounds pretty normal. > What purpose do the setscrews serve? They hold all of these things together. > How do I go about removing the speedo cable? Look at the LF wheel bearing cap. There is a square hole in it and the square end of the cable comes thru there and is secured with a circlip. Remove the circlip and then the cable & housing should pull out of the steering knuckle. They fit thru a rubber bushing there which may be tight, but they will pull out. > I have been able to get both torsion bars and the stabilizer bar > out, but they are all attached to a torsion arm since I didn't have that > special VW pulley to remove them with when they were in the car, so I > need to know how I can go about removing them (and later installing them) > from the torsion arms without that special tool. There's no reason to pull them apart unless you're replacing or adjusting something. They can be pushed out with a hydraulic press. An automotive machine shop can do this for you. On the ones I've done it's taken a LOT of force, so I don't think that special VW tool would have done much good. > The ball joint on the right upper torsion arm is bent out on one > side , noticeably but not horribly, should I replace it? Make sure that it's the ball joint that's bent, and not the torsion arm. I'd replace whatever is bent there. > And the ball > joint on the right lower torsion arm sticks and feels like something is > in the way at one portion when I spin it in a circle around the edges, > what does this mean and should I replace this as well? It's probably fine. There's likely some dried grease there which is catching on the ball joint body, which is NOT cylindrically symmetric. > Also, all four have some rust on them (on the portion that is exposed), but > it doesn't look like it would impact their performance, would it? Also, does > it matter if a grease fitting is in the ball joints during regular to dusty > driving conditions, or should they only be put on to grease and then removed? The exposed rust is normal and nothing to worry about. VW wanted you to remove the fittings each time, just so no one would be tempted to overgrease them. The danger of overgreasing them is that if there is too much grease inside the boot when you hit a bump and expect the boot to flex to its extreme then the boot may burst. They suggest that you squeeze the boot all the way down between a thumb and forefinger while adding grease and stop when you can first feel grease entering the boot. The boot must NOT be filled with grease. > Any recommendations on how best to clean the ball joints, > including the ones on the tie rod ends? All of these need replacement > dust covers, and the other right tie rod end had what could have been > dirt, but whatever it was it wasn't grease and it wasn't a (at least > working) lubrication of any sort. You can remove the boots, force grease thru the ball joints and then resecure the boots. The tie rod ends can only be replaced. I haven't found replacement boots for the tie rod ends, and the last replacement ball joint boots disappeared from VWs stock many years ago. > Now the whopper (in both price and labor): the front axle beam > has some holes in the wielding, one is quite noticeable and I was able to > fit a coffee straw through it, then a bunch of small openings which may > actually be sealed along the wielding. There are intentional openings in the bottom weld. These are drains. Is this what you mean? The problem areas are where the beam sits in the rubber bushings: They are prone to rust-thru under there. > the right arm of the front axle beam that has the rubber > stops on it is bent so that it is impossible to remove the right upper > torsion arm without bending it in some fashion. Is there any way of > remedying this, or do I need to replace the whole damned thing? Hmmm, it's usually the lower arm that gets bent, but I suppose anything's possible. I assume you already have the UL arm out, with the torsion bar, so you may just have to hammer this one out. You'll probably see the problem once it is all apart. I suspect you'll be looking for a good UR arm. > I already have a few sources for used parts, but I would also > like to know sources for brand new parts if I decide to buy them; so, any > suggestions? For a refresher I need: retaining bolts for the right > torsion arm bar and the stabilizer bar, an upper and lower ball joint, > ball joint dust covers (including two for the tie rod ends), and a front > axle beam. Of course, this is assuming I will need to replace all of > this. I probably have most of the steel parts. Bearings and rubber parts are a problem, so you should be careful to preserve what you have as best you can. Otherwise you might be better off looking for a complete front beam in better condition. -- Jim Adney jadney@vwtype3.org Madison, WI 53711-3054 USA ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ List info at http://www.vwtype3.org/list | mailto:gregm@vwtype3.org