evernon's Baja Build

[evernon]

Still waiting for the custom order 7100 shocks! Bilstein apparently takes their time when you purchase custom valving...

All the hook & pin mods are done but I am struggling with re-inserting the torsion springs. On the lower springset, I have all springs but two inserted but the last two are very stubborn. Has anyone come up with a trick for aligning the springs with the center section?

Thanks

[Ol'fogasaurus]

This is the advice I have been give by several unrelated sources:

Pull the spring packs out and take a nylon wire tie and tie the whole stack together tightly, but not too lightly, a few inches back from the opposite end you are feeding it from; then cut off the tail. Insert the stack back in and once you get it through the center the square that square will push the tie back as you finish threading the stack through. This should work with no problems unless you goof and feed the stack in upside down .

Too simple for the average or above average smarty pants to figure out ) When, if ever you pull the stack back out the nylon tie will either come out with it or drop off if you pull the stack from the other side of where you originally fed it in. Either way it is of no big deal.

Works well when you are using a center adjuster too.

Lee

[Ol'fogasaurus]

This is the advice I have been give by several unrelated sources:

Pull the spring packs out and take a nylon wire tie and tie the whole stack together tightly, but not too tightly, a few inches back from the opposite end you are feeding it from; then cut off the tail. All you want to do it keep the stack tight together and in a square.

Insert the stack back in and once you get it through the center the square that square will push the nylon tie back (as long as you didn't get it too tight) as you finish threading the stack through. This should work with no problems unless you goof and feed the stack in upside down .

Too simple for the average or above average smarty pants to figure out ) When, if ever you pull the stack back out the nylon tie will either come out with it or drop off if you pull the stack from the other side of where you originally fed it in. Either way it is of no big deal.

Works well when you are using a center adjuster too.

Lee

[Ol'fogasaurus]

This post did not belong here. Sorry!

[BAJA-IT]

Has anyone come up with a trick for aligning the springs with the center section?

Thanks

A rubber band wound around the leaves works good to hold them together to feed them through the center.
Also works good to hold the leaves together if needed to put the arms on.

[dustymojave]

I've also seen bailing wire used by real old school folks.

[dustymojave]

I like to put a zip tie on each end before trying to install the trailing arms also.

[evernon]

The front beam loosened up considering with the new bilsteins but at some point i will do a slight cut and turn or adjuster setup. The sag when loaded is a little past midway which leads to bottoming out on jumps, whoops etc. Thanks for aĺ the help and suggestions!

I have worn out the 35" Baja pros on the rear and am looking into replacements. Even though my existing rears are 35", they measure between 15.5 to 16" from the centerpoint to the ground. I am looking for an all terrain or mud terrain as the biased ply Baja pros are terrible on the road. I ran the rears from my sons rail which are 31 x 11.5 x 15 and the gearing was about perfect. Unfortunately they don't make the 11.5 width in a 31" tire any more so I would need to move up to 32" to get this width. I have to decide if the extra inch in width is worth the taller gearing. Has anyone run 32's on a three rib tranny?

[Ol'fogasaurus]

The front beam loosened up considering with the new bilsteins but at some point i will do a slight cut and turn or adjuster setup. The sag when loaded is a little past midway which leads to bottoming out on jumps, whoops etc. Thanks for aĺ the help and suggestions!

setting up for hook and pin stops 007.JPG

Have you put suspension stops on the trailing arms? It sounds like you are doing gymnastics on the trails and without the stops nasty things can happen. Case in point, I was going fairly slow down a train in the dunes when I hit "a no-see-um" which in this case was a flowing water washout on a low spot in the trail. As the river-let was so small but with the sides being so vertical my suspension hit so hard the shocks collapsed and jam-locked so there was no suspension at all. We got back to camp but in the process did dam(n)age to the body FG fenders of my buggy. It took 3 of us working together to finally get the driver's side shock to break free of it's lock down.

Bug spindle.JPG

Also, check your lower BJ to see if it hasn't been pulled up some as the way the stock Bug's BJ suspension is that can happen.

I prefer adjusters as more things can be done then if you don't like them it is easier to change the adjusters than to cut the beam apart again.

Lee

[evernon]

Yes, finished the hook and pin setup a few years back. I definitely hear and feel the stops!

https://simpletire.com/yokohama-lt32-11 ... 3303-tires

These look nice! Still trying to decide between a 31" or 32"...

[Ol'fogasaurus]

If you have IRS then check you clearance between the axle end and the rear torsion tube housing. Usually something like 30" or 31" is max when the alignment is correct.

Lee

[evernon]

The rear suspension is 3 × 3 with coil overs so nothing is in the way. The 35" Baja pros that are now shot are likely about the equivalent of a 32" when run at 20 psi. Im more concerned about gearing than anything else. The Baja pros were amazing for climbs but also allowed for perfect
2nd gear drifts around corners. I didn't realize how bad they work on the road until I recently swapped wheels with my sons rail and my baja actually drove straight for the 1st time!

[evernon]

Update on rear tires- got a pair of Maxxis. RAZR MT 32 INCH by 11.5 and am very excited with the tires. Gearing with the 3 rib seems about perfect and the rolling resistance is so much better than the Baja Pros. For the 1st time since getting this project rolling, I now feel relaxed driving at highway speeds! Downsides are that they are much gripperier than the BPs and it takes a lot more effort to drift. Everything happens faster when you're not spinning your tires so much!

[evernon]

Another fun summer has come to an end. This winter, I am going to try and improve the rear breaking performance which has been inadequate from the start. I have 914 disk breaks being pressurized by a stock vw master cylinder. The fronts work well and will lock up on dry asphalt if I push hard enough. The rears however seem to provide very little bite in comparison. The turning break also doesn't provide enough force to get me sliding. Hopefully someone will chime in with a suggestion on what I can do to improve this. I am hoping that I can leave the calipers in place as I would prefer not to replace the custom mounts. Is there a master cylinder that generates more pressure? I am a little confused why the turning brake doesn't provide more force as I recall buying the model that was intended for disks.

[Ol'fogasaurus]

My first suggestion would be to check the soft lines both in front and especially in the rear. Also check the hard line diameters too as size too could matter.

In a regular car more braking is done via. the front but with the suspension changed and the CG raised and other things that probably are done you could end up with what you are talking about. Tire dia. or weight of the rear tires could potentially cause this also.

What kind of turning brakes are you using, dual handle or push/pull single handle? Bleeding the rear brakes when you have turning brakes correctly (there can be a trick to it) could make a difference also.

There are ways to change the load on the front brakes also but that would be one of the last things I would recommend doing.

Gotta pix of the turning brake and how and where it is mounted?

Lee