Building up a VW Front Beam

20th March 2011
With the body work currently being prepped every weekend I decided that it was time to get all of the front beam parts I had been buying together hot zinc sprayed and ready for assembly. This can look a daunting takes but with the new urethane bushes that are now available on the market . The job has become a lot simpler .

The first job when buying a beam is to check exactly what you have there are several manufacturers of beam and they can all be fitted with different lowering mechanisms . My beam had SWAY AWAY adjusters fitted to lower the beam and this was the first item I checked. AS my beam was not new I checked all the bolts on the SWAY AWAY adjusters and found two of the 1/2 UNF bolts stripped and one of the Aluminum blocks damaged. Further investigating the beam I found that the beam had Bronze bearings in the bottom but not in the top. It is very important to get the correct set of urethane bushes as they are available to fit every type of installation. The replacement parts can be obtained from VW Heritage.

With the correct bushes purchased they can be hammered into the beam ends using a block of wood on top of the bush to protect it. These bushes are a very tight fit and can require considerable force to get them in. There are four in total in my beam the bottom ones are slightly larger. It is important if fitting the inner lower bushes to hammer them back into the little pin on the beam so that it covers just half of this giving the locating position. The picture shown right shows the bushes with the springs fitted it is much easier to fit the bushes without the spring fitted.

The next task is to fit the torsion springs into the beam. With SWAY AWAY adjusters there is are two allen grub screws that hold in the springs. It is important to have the that is normally hidden at the face of the adjuster when installing the springs. I found that I had to leave the grub screw lightly screwed in whilst fitting the springs to stop the adjuster sliding up the beam. The Torsion springs are handed and only fit in one way. Before inserting the springs ensure that you have the right hand and that your springs are secures together with string or a cable tie. Without this it is nearly impossible to get them in place. To get the correct spring in the correct position you need to be aware that the adjuster that you have at the top has to rotate down to show the fixing adjuster. This means that when you insert the spring they will travel through 90 degrees . With this is mind you need to be aware which arm has the grub screw on the top and which has the grub screw on the bottom. I found it was easier to lay them out so that I could get the correct orientation. I then started to try to get the springs into the center key way. I looked down the beam tube and checked the orientation of the adjuster before inserting te spring to match the orientation in the beam. This presented the springs correctly onto the adjuster . I found a tap with a hammer was required to get the springs through the adjuster block, as the spring passes through the string or cable tie slips through allowing the spring to go all the way through to the half way point. At this time I took the Grub screw out and centered the spring so that the grub screw screwed into the cup that was made in the springs. The 1/2 @ UNF grub screw can be torqued to 34 ft/lbs in most uses , however it is advisable just to nip these up as they are just place holders. The locking nut is nipped up tight as well, both are below the torque amounts for this size screw and nut This process was repeated again for the other spring.

The next job was to get the extra travel ball joints fitted. This process is straight forward if you have 2 ton press. Unfortunately I do not but a friend of a friend does. The Arms where returned to me with ball joints fitted much to my relief. Unfortunately it was noted as soon as I saw them that one of the top ball joints was upside down. This would have tro be pressed out and refitted. The other arms where fitted into the Beam The arms were quit difficult to fit into the beam after using the silicon grease that came with the bearings to coat the bearing surface of the arm a Rubber mallet was tried initially followed by a luggage strap that cramped. None of these succeeded to get the arms in. Eventually we found that two sledge hammers could be used one placed on the arm and the other to strike the first. This managed to get the arm into the arm. This was repeated for the other arm. The top arms fitted much easier.

The dampers that where on my existing beam where SPAX adjustables and I was quite prepared to buy new SPAX should my ride height require it. There is a little known fact about dropped spindles that people do not realize. Only the Axle is dropped so that the damper mount is in the same position, therefore the only drop and decrease in length is affected by the SWAY AWAY adjusters. I checked the compressed height of the spax and noted I had a good 5" of distance to the shock mount before the shock bottomed out. With the Shocks pulled apart to their maximum extend they could be fitted back on to the beam. The drop spindles where fitted onto the long travel ball joints remembering to remove the protective sleeve. My thick washers from VW heritage had arrived with different size holes in them and one needed drilling out bigger.

To my surprise the dropped spindles did not have pre drilled taped holes for fitting the disks backing plates. I decided that I wanted the backing plates fitted so marked the position of the holes on the spindles whilst using the caliper bolts to hold it in position. I used a 5.5mm drill and a 1/4 BSW tap to cut the thread. Metric threads are to fine to hold into cats material so I new the BSW thread would hold more securely. The backing plates where then fitted with 1/4 BSW x 10mm bolts. I then re greased the bearings and fitted the disks. The calipers where then offered up and bolted on with two bolts.

The new ride height was fantastic it stuck the front on the deck and the arse of the car in the air. I would not be able to judge how height this would be until my engine was refitted.

I started to paint one half of the chassis in Hamerite hammered paint. This painted over top of the boat paint . The body prep would be put on hold until the chassis was completely painted. I hoped the temperatures would have improved outside by then. I was going to spray with a modern type of spray station and felt that it would be a good idea to spray a primer filer coat onto the body work to see how this sprayed.

Torque Sizes

22th July 2008
I wrote this article on torque sizes using various manuals as reference to get the relevant torque settings that I was going to use in the engine re-build I was starting. The sizes are for my information purposes only as I needed a simple place of reference for all the torque sizes I have used. I recomend you check before using them.

	lbs./ft	mkg
ENGINE 1. Spark Plugs 2. Fan Gland Nut 3. Generator Pulley Nut 4. Crank Pulley Nut 5. Oil Pump Nut 6. Oil Drain Plug 7. Oil Strainer Cover Nuts 8. Rocker Shaft Nuts 9. Cylinder Head Nuts, 8mm 10. Flywheel Gland Bolt 11. Crankcase Nuts & M8 Bolts 12. Crankcase Nuts & M12 or M10 13. Connecting Rod Nuts or Bolts 14. Clutch Bolts 15. Engine Mounting Nuts 16. Converter Bolts FRONT BEAM & STEERING 17. Front Beam to Frame Bolts 18. Body to Front Beam Bolts 19. Shock to Beam Side Plate Nuts M10 20. Shock to Beam Side Plate Nuts M12 21. Shock to Lower Torsion Arm 22. Steering Damper to Front Beam Bolt 23. Steering Damper to Tie-rod Nut 24. Tie-rod to Steering Knuckle Castle Nut and Pitman Arm Castle Nut 25. Tie-rod Lock Nut 26. Clamp for Tie-rod Bolt 27. Set Screw for Torsion Bar 28. Lock Nut for Torsion Set Screw 29. Wheel Bearing Clamp Screw 30. Steering Ball Joint to Steering Knuckle 31. Steering Box to Front Beam Bolts 32. Steering Coupler to Worm Shaft Bolts 33. Pitman Arm to Roller Shaft Bolt 34. Lock Nut for Pitman Arm Shaft Adjusting Screw 35. Lock Nut for Worm Spindle Adjusting Screw 36. Sterring Box Housing Cover Bolts 37. Cancelling Ring to Steering Wheel Screws 38. Steering Wheel Nut 39. Steering Column to Dash Bolts 40. Column Switch to Attaching Plate 41. Column Switch Clamp to Housing 42. Steering Coupling Flange to Disc. 43. Column to Coupling Flange Bolts GEARBOX & REAR AXLE 44. Drive Pinion Round Nut 1. for double ball bearing 2. for double tapered roller bearing 45. Pinion Bearing Retainer Bolt 46. Pinion Nut 47. Drive Shaft Nut 48. Reverse Lever Guide Bolt 49. Selector Fork Bolt 50. Gearshift Housing Nuts 51. Ring Gear Bolt 52. Final Drive Cover Nuts 53. Axle Tube Retainer Nuts 54. Rear Wheel Bearing Retainer Nut 55. Oil Drain Plug 56. Oil Filler Plug 57. Rear Axle Shaft Nut 58. Transmission Carrier on Frame GEARBOX AUTO-STICK SHIFT 59. Temp., Selector, & Starter Switch 60. Converter to Drive Plate Screws 61. Retainer Nut for Tapered Roller Bearing 62. Converter Housing Nut 63. One-way Clutch Support Bolt 64. Clutch Carrier Plate Bolt 65. Bearing Lock Bolt 66. Clutch Lever Clamp Bolt 67. Trans. Oil Pan and Lock Plate Screw 68. Oil Pressure Line Union 69. Oil Return Line Union 70. Drive Shaft Screw 71. Diagonal Arm Bolt MASTER CYLINDER 72. Stop Screw in Housing Bolt 73. Residual Pressure Valve to Housing 74. Brake Light Switch 75. Master Cylinder to Frame Bolts 76. Brake Line to Master Cyl. Union Nuts FRONT BRAKES 77. Splash Shield to Steering Knuckle Bolts 78. Cylinder to Backing Plate Bolts 79. Caliper Housing Screws 80. Brake Backing Plate Bolts 81. Caliper Mounting Bolts 82. Bleeder Valves (all) 83. Hose to Cylinder/Caliper 84. Clamp Nut Screw REAR BRAKE DRUMS/DISKS 85. Cylinder to Backing Plate Bolts 86. Bearing Housing Cover Bolts 87. Brake Drum to Axle Shaft Castle Nut 88. M 14 Wheel Bolts (lugs) 89. M 12 Wheel Bolts (lugs) PEDAL ASSEMBLY 90. Pedal Bracket to Frame Bolts 91. Pedal Stop Plate to Frame Bolts	25 43 43 33 14 33 5 18 23 217 14 25 24 18 22 22 36 14 14 25 25 29 to 32 18 22 18 18 11 36 36 10 51 22 18 51 18 42 18 3.5 36 7 7 7 11 11 87 144 36 43 43 14 18 11 43 22 14 43 14 14 217 166 18 18 115 14 11 11 7 18 7 25 25 25 3 87 7 14 14 18 14 7 18 18 36 29 3.5 14 9 22 43 253 94 72 32 18	3.5 6.0 6.0 4.5 2.0 4.5 0.7 2.5 3.2 30.0 2.0 3.5 3.3 2.5 3.0 3.2 5.0 2.0 2.0 3.5 3.5 2 4.5 2.5 3.0 2.5 2.5 1.5 5.0 5.0 1.3 7.0 3.0 2.5 7.0 2.5 6.0 2.5 0.5 5.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.5 1.5 12.0 20.0 5.0 6.0 6.0 2.0 2.5 1.5 6.0 3.0 2.0 6.0 2.0 2.0 30.0 23.0 2.5 2.5 15.0 2.0 1.5 1.5 1.0 2.5 1.0 3.5 3.5 3.5 12.0 1.0 2.0 2.0 2.5 2.0 1.0 2.5 2.5 5.0 4.0 .05 2.0 1.3 3.0 6.0 35.0 13.0 10.0 4.5 2.5

Assembly or the A-Arms and spring plates

30th May 2008

I had already cleaned up my A-arms and spring plates by sending them away to be media blasted and then zinc plated and rebuilt them with their respective bearings and axles. With the A-Arm mounts welded in place and the gearbox made to fit the frame horns I was ready to re-build the read suspension. I decided after a great deal of debate that I would refit all the bearings with the Urethane type. Popular research at the time indicated that the Urethane substance was good as a bearing surface and stronger than the rubber alternatives. I ordered two A-Arm Urethane bushes and new spring plate bushes in Urethane and two new cover plates. The all arrived from SSP quite promptly.

I started with the Urethane A-Arm Bushes These are quite easy to install and can be pressed into the arms with a reasonable sized vice or cramp. SSP does not sell its bushes with Urethane grease and It is fairly common knowledge that normal motor grease will slowly wear the Urethane bushes faster.

Once I had the bushes in place I was able to put them aside and make a start on putting in the spring plates. The inner bushes where pressed onto the inner side of the spring plate and then the knobbly outer was placed on and driven onto the spring plate with a wooden mallet. I had previously bought a digital level and had used this to set up some angles on the A-Arm brackets. This had proved to be a good method and as I new that the spring plates should be set at 20 degrees I found them fairly easy to get set up in the right position. I set up both sides so that they spring plates where pushed in tight . They needed lifting over the bottom of the block on the torsion bar end. This should really be done with a special tool to lift the spring plates. I used small luggage straps around the suspension arm and the spring plate. These are the ratchet type that can allow you to ratchet up the spring plate to maneuver it over the bottom hump so that it can be driven in with a mallet further into the torsion tube. Once the spring plate had been hit into position so that it fits into the shell at the end of the torsion tube. You can fit the spring plate cover with the four bolts before releasing the straps. This can be repeated on the other spring plate . The shorter spring plate design makes the force needed to pull up the spring plate more than the amount usually used.

With the spring plates fitted the A-Arms can be pushed into their brackets with the bolt pin securing them. This allows the washers to be placed in situe. i placed a washer ether side of the bush. Some people seem to place the washers on the same side but I figured the washers should be placed on either side.

With the bolts pin loosely done up I was able hoist the A-Arm up so that it was at the same height as the spring plate. This allowed the three bolts to be placed in the holes and tightened up to 11kg m or 80 lbs ft. With the spring plate bolts torqued up you can use an Allen key 87 lb ft 12 kgm.

Next I would have to install and make up the drive shafts.