ShopTalk Forums | Aircooled VW Tech & Restoration Help

I apologize for practicing my "punmanship" here (numbers are after all "digits). What BruceM was saying is what I was trying to say and that is to level front to rear and side to side to be sure of what you are doing measures out the same. I don't remember now how much of a difference the angles change when rotating the torsion bar, going forward or backwards, using both the inside and the outside splines.

https://engineering.stackexchange.com/q ... components

When and where I grew up magnetics and magnetic fields were thought to do more dam(n)age than apparently they actually are thought to do now. One of the reasons I still don't use electronic measuring devices around magnets.

Lee

Well, I'll see how it goes soon enough. Maybe this week

Remember, when setting the ride height on the rear, you must have a single jack stand directly centered under the front beam.

Roger that. Gotta insure the thing before I move it to my place.

Bruce2 wrote: ↑Tue May 12, 2020 12:54 am Remember, when setting the ride height on the rear, you must have a single jack stand directly centered under the front beam.

Bruce, with all due respect, I don't recommend the single jack stand directly centered under the front beam; it is a safety factor as far as I am concerned.

Bruce is stating a truism and that is the front piece of the pan is often slightly twisted... (both of my buggies are this way) then add to that jack stands are not always the tightest of fits and can wobble (especially when the jack stand is at or near the top of the adjustment notches) or slide when people are playing with things, With the screw up style of stands (https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=th ... &FORM=IGRE) you are dealing with threads under potential side loads and shear or side loading is not recommended for threads in these situations.

With a single stand on a round tube the potential of the stand allowing the top to slide on the beam is a potential. Have I seen this happen... yes, a couple of times. When a car is on jack stands (notice the "s" at the end of the word) I am still very leery about going under the vehicle then but I have done it.
When dealing with setting the preload, especially when the torsion bar is being wound up no part of your body should be under the car or under the spring plate as if there is a problem the torsion bar will unload and go through it's cycle of unloading so fast there is no time to react. When using the tool I highly recommend putting a clamp by the part of the tool on the spring plate so it doesn't allow that part of the tool to slide. Again, I have had it happen to me and it can slide very, very fast.

Lee

Anyway, good post on the subject guys.

Lee

3 points of contact is stable. 4 not.
(at least for making accurate measurements)

if it is twisted, even slightly, you will still only have one jackstand in contact up front... one one side or another...
... which is even less stable.

if it makes you feel better toss the wheels under each side of the pan up front, or another pair of stands, not quite in contact in case the single stand magically slips while fully loaded.

Piledriver wrote: ↑Tue May 12, 2020 3:53 pm 3 points of contact is stable. 4 not.
(at least for making accurate measurements)

if it is twisted, even slightly, you will still only have one jackstand in contact up front... one one side or another...
... which is even less stable.

if it makes you feel better toss the wheels under each side of the pan up front, or another pair of stands, not quite in contact in case the single stand magically slips while fully loaded.

After having my black buggy fall off the stands the other day I would recommend not using the beam but putting the stands under the Napoleons' hat instead (close to where the jack inserts are (were). I had mentioned that I wasn't getting the front of the buggy to sit on both stands even close to evenly and couldn't figure it out until I bumped into the pass side wheel while doing something and the whole kit and caboodle fell off the stands. It turned out that the stand on the left rear of the torsion bar did not set into the same notch on the stand as the right side but dropped down as I lowered the pan onto it... and I missed seeing it. Anyway, the one front stand in contact very easily slid and the whole thing went down on the left side of the buggy (no dam(n)age done to the buggy but a big bruise on my calf).

This isn't the first time I and I have seen others who have had problems like this with jack stands which is why I try to use the front of the pan vs. the beam in most cases. The height locking notches used don't seem to be to a standard as near as I can tell which is why I buy 4 at a time not 2 at a time. The beam is easier to work with but it can be in the way also.

Lee

I once pulled me arm out from under a BMW as the jack tipped over, It was a bloody freebie too .Never again.

Once you set the jack down so the car is on the jack stands (but don't let the jack go all the way to the floor yet) a good habit is to push on the car, jiggle it really good to make sure the jack stands are holding that weight. Then let the jack down all the way.

Jadewombat wrote: ↑Wed May 13, 2020 5:55 pm Once you set the jack down so the car is on the jack stands (but don't let the jack go all the way to the floor yet) a good habit is to push on the car, jiggle it really good to make sure the jack stands are holding that weight. Then let the jack down all the way.

That is basically true but in the case of a tripod setup with a single jack only on the front beam... pushing things around like that can cause the jack can slide along the bottom of the beam. I have had it done on both my buggies so I usually put two jacks in the front beam or go to the front of the main pan where the Napoleon's hat or the jack inserts are.

Lee

Being a Super Beetle guy, I don't have a beam to put a single stand under, and truthfully, I was unaware of the tripod method. The one and only time I messed with the torsion bars, I installed a set of Porsche 944 bars and I set the compensated angle using one of the magnetic bubble, angle finders. Once I had the factory angle, I counted splines to get the car sitting even. I actually got it a tad lower than I wanted/intended, but it was such a pain in the ass, I decided I could live with it. I've always planned to go back and reindex it, but it's been 2+ years and I'm still living with it.

However, if I were using the tripod method, I would do as stated above, place a second and third jack stand on either side, one notch below touching. Maybe even leave the jack in the center, just below touching as well.

H2OSB

Guys...The bars have left and right on them, Is this looking from the front or the back of the bug.
e.g .... 1 and 2 cylinder would be right
3 and 4 cylinder would be left. If looking from the back of the car.

Left & right, as you sit in the drivers seat facing forward.

Everything lacked right/left front/back in a bug is from the position of sitting in the driver seat

As far as vehicles of any sort goes left and right go back probably before written records. As was said: left and right are determined by standing behind the rig (boat, airplane, etc.) and facing forward; e.g., left hand and right hand.

The terms port and starboard are variations of the same thing; because of the "steering board" you dock a boat on the left side hence "port". Because the boats used to be double ended and didn't have rudders a-mid ship (excluding double rudders) the person steering the boat could easily turn the steering oar so the boat would go left but to go right was more difficult (being right handed is part of this) so a board was attached to the right side of the rear of the boat allowing the oar to direct the boat to the left and right easily.

On airplanes you enter on the left (port side) and the doors on the right side were for the cleaning crew to use as the passengers were leaving. they are often of a smaller size and not necessarily in-line of each other.

Worthless but maybe interesting information.

Lee

https://www.costco.com/.product.1004603 ... ianceStart

Just got this in the mail