Installing torsion arms - Part I

For my first real blog post, I’m starting my with the front end work I did over the Summer 2006. I wrote this up in August, and languished until I started this blog. I wrote what I could when I could as I did the work. I split this into a few separate posts just to keep them digestible.

I should probably start with answering the question of “why did you do this?” Well, we took a trip into Eastern Oregon (I’ll post on that later), and started hearing this uncomfortable clunk noise coming from the passenger-side front wheel when we hit a bump just the right way. Also, steering became a much greater challenge. Like I said, I’d owned and driven the bus a while, and steering had been an ongoing issue. I replaced the tires and put on new shocks, but bumps in the road and cross-winds were hard to handle. By the time we left Smith Rock (the blog picture was taken there) near the end of the trip, I had to focus all of my attention on driving because Hapy would want to grab any rut in the road and follow it. I looked at the ball joints by crawling underneath the bus, but you can’t tell how good your ball joints are from looking at them. You need the right tools, or know how to read the symptoms.

Bad Ball Joint Symptoms:
grabs ruts in the road
turning the wheel from stop-to-stop is not smooth
holding the bus straight at highway speeds requires lots of focus
clunking noises that can’t be traced to loose shocks or brakes

A no-tools test of your ball joints can be done by following the steps in the Muir “keeping your vw alive” book. On Hapy, I jacked up one side and I was able to wiggle the wheel on the passenger side and hear the clunking. It shouldn’t have had any movement, so I knew at least that one was bad.

As for the repair, I made lots of mistakes, so it was really painful. Hopefully, these install instructions will help someone not fall into every possible hole along their way.... like I did. The Gensler removal instructions (found in the type2.com library under front-end - here) were generally correct, and I have one thing to add: 1968/9 torsion arms are different from 70-79 arms in one way: the lower shock mount on the 1968/9 is 8mm. Starting in model year 1970, it was left at the 10/12mm all the way to the nut. This is important if you’re ordering “new” arms or you’re thinking of getting new shocks.

There's a question about getting "new" arms with fresh ball joints pressed in from bus-boys, versus just buying new joints and taking the old arms to a shop. The only reason for keeping your old arms is if you're one of those really strict original-parts folks that feel that a part from a different car of the same general vintage isn't the same as stock. If you're one of these folks, my blog will grate on your nerves. There are many advantages to using bus-boys arms. First, they hone the steel so there are no burrs, and paint the exposed parts so they look brand new. Second, they only use OEM parts, so the ball joint is the same as you'd buy for yourself anyway. Third, because its a whole set of arms, you don't have your bus sitting in the driveway for a week while you're waiting on the shop. No complaining neighbors, and the job is finished sooner. Last, the cost is probably about the same. I had a shop quote me $200 to remove and install ball joints in my arms. They said that the price started there and went up depending on how much they had to fight the old joints out. "Uh... no thanks". Yes, you have to pay for shipping from Redding, CA, and that could be spendy too, but at least you'll know the exact amount ahead of time. That alone made it worth it for me. I hadn't seen the bus-boys handiwork yet. They turn out really nice stuff. And no I don't work for them, but one of my trashed arms is hanging on their shop wall. More on that below.

I recommend adding to the list of parts to have before you start. They're listed below.
2 Torsion Arm Stop Clips (pn 211 401 279) - because the old ones break real easily, especially if they're rusty
2 211-405-319U Eccentric Bushing, Used from bus-boys ($2 ea) - getting the old ones off may be impossible. It was for me. Skip a morning mocha and get them.
the upper and lower snubbers are now available at CIP1, if you need them. If your old ones are either missing or torn up, get new ones in pairs so both uppers or both lowers are getting replaced at the same time.
2 sway bar bushings -OR- a new sway bar kit (bus-boys has a kit with bushings, etc. I think GermanSupply does too). If you're keeping your old bar, the bushings will probably get torn up badly when you are getting the bar off.
4 brake retaining plates (pn 211615231 5.12/pair at BusDepot) if you don’t have them. If you aren’t sure, you probably don’t have them. I didn't.
2 sets of front wheel bearings (pn 211405645K 18/wheel at BusDepot) if you plan to perform bearing maintenance. Its worth doing now if for no other reason, its less work now because the front end will be in pieces. Food for thought.

You may want to add new brake pads to your list. I just replaced my pads a few weeks before I had to do this job, so I didn't get new ones, but if you're anywhere near due, you may want to do it now.

Add to tools list:
small piece (4-6″ long) of wood 2×4 or 4×4 - for making a muffler for the sledge-hammer
masking tape

The re-install instructions were a little thin, so here’s what you do once the arms are in hand. It doesn’t matter if they’re your old ones with new joints or new arms from bus-boys (what I did). Make sure the grease seals are still on the torsion tubes. They are no longer produced, so you’d have to get new ones at a junk yard or one of the used parts vendors.

1) verify the springs
Check the leaf-springs sticking out of the tube. Are they all clumped together and shaped roughly like a square? Mine weren’t, and chances are yours aren’t either. Wipe the end with a rag and tape the springs together so they form a square, or at least as close to a square as you can. Round won’t cut it, nor will triangle, nor trapezoid… you get what I mean.

2) install upper torsion arms.
Slide and wiggle the arms on so they kinda click in. There is slight tension on the springs at this point. Pick a side, and crank the arm up with a pry bar. Tape the short section of wood (2×4 or 4x4) to the top of your sledgehammer and use that muffled hammer to bang the arms on. Do not use an unmuffled sledgehammer. The arm should move a little with each whack. Don’t swing it like you’re trying to split a log, more like you’re knocking on a door or something. If it doesn’t move a little with each bang, double check your springs (#1 above). If they hang up a few mm from the grease seal, double-check your springs (1 above). The only thing that should be slowing your progress is the friction on the pry-bar and the tension on the springs. Any other resistance means your springs need a re-check. Did I mention the springs? Once the arm sets against the seal, do the other side. My right hand side (RHS) went in nice and easy, but the left (LHS) was a bear. Remember, don’t hit too hard, just enough to push against the spring tension. By now you're wondering why I'm making such a big hairy deal about hitting the arms with a muffled sledge. I make that point because the first set of upper arms that I tried to install I didn't us a muffled sledge, and I didn't check my springs. I beat the crap out of those arms trying to get them on, and effectively destroyed them. I send them back to bus-boys, and they are now hanging in their shop as a shining example of how not to install your torsion arms. The second set I bought from them I installed with the muffled sledge method I figured out, and that worked great... once the springs were properly aligned into a square.
Oh, yeah, put on the set screws (8mm Allen) and torque to 29 ft. lbs. This can be hard if you don't have an Allen socket. I put my Allen wrench alongside my torque wrench, and torqued that way. It actually worked pretty well after a few tries. Put on the lock nuts (13mm hex) and torque to 29 ft. lbs as well. Now your upper torsion arms are in place.

—More next time—

reference picture: